This paper addresses the question of youth authenticity in digitally mediated societies through the ethical philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas and its relevance for contemporary philosophy of education. It focuses on teaching, learning, and the teacher–student relationship in contexts increasingly shaped by technological mediation. The study adopts a conceptual and philosophical methodology, combining close textual analysis of Levinas’s key works with a comparative engagement with contemporary educational thinkers, including Sophie Nordmann, Michel Serres, and Søren Harnow Klausen. These perspectives are brought into dialogue to develop a coherent ethical framework for understanding subjectivity and education in digital environments. The paper advances three central arguments. First, performance-driven models of schooling, reinforced by digital cultures of visibility and self-branding, risk reducing authenticity to measurable achievement and strategic self-presentation oriented toward recognition. Second, such approaches overlook the fundamentally relational and ethical dimensions of subject formation. Third, authenticity is better understood as an ongoing, ethically sustained practice of becoming with and through others. The paper contributes to current debates by extending Levinasian ethics into discussions of digital identity and youth subjectivity and by offering a normative framework for rethinking authenticity in education under conditions of digital mediation. It also outlines pedagogical implications, suggesting that educators foster responsibility, responsiveness, and ethical attentiveness in students, particularly in technologically saturated environments.

Authors:
Monika D. Kaminska, University of Hamburg, Germany

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Monika D. Kaminska is currently a Lehrbeauftragte (lecturer) at the Faculty of Education (Erziehungswissenschaft) at the University of Hamburg.

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