The Importance of Being Low-Profile

Katsushika Ōi,
Night Scene in the Yoshiwara (1844).

In the shadowed corridors of Renaissance Florence, Niccolò Machiavelli whispered a cautionary maxim in The Prince:

Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.

This counsel, penned amid the intrigue of 16th-century Italian politics, urged rulers to mask their ambitions lest they invite ruin. Half a millennium later, in an era where digital spotlights illuminate every corner of existence, Machiavelli's words resonate anew—not for princes, but for the doctor navigating a world where visibility often courts peril rather than power.

The Shifting Value of Fame

Once upon a time, fame was a gilded ticket to prosperity and privilege. In the golden age of Hollywood or the opulent courts of Versailles, celebrities and courtiers alike reaped rewards from their renown: lucrative endorsements, exclusive invitations, and the adulation of the masses. Consider the 19th-century physician Sir William Osler, whose renown as a medical educator and diagnostician amplified his influence, granting access to elite institutions and societal esteem with scant downside. Fame once opened doors that frugality could not. Yet this equation began to invert with the advent of mass media in the 20th century, accelerating precipitously with the rise of social networks in the early 2000s.

The transformation was stark. Where once broadcasters commanded vast audiences through controlled channels, today any individual armed with a smartphone can amass followers rivaling those of entire networks. Attention, that once-scarce commodity, has been democratized to the point of devaluation. A 2019 survey by The Harris Poll revealed that nearly a third of American children aspired to be YouTubers, twice as many as those dreaming of becoming astronauts—a trend that has only intensified. By 2025, a Whop survey of Generation Alpha (those aged 12-15) found that 32% coveted the role of YouTuber, with one in five eyeing influencer status, eclipsing traditional vocations like athlete or doctor. This shift underscores a market reality: attention is now cheap and abundant, while privacy has ascended to luxury status, akin to a rare vintage wine in an oversaturated vineyard.

The Surveillance Society and Rising Hostilities

Yet the perils of prominence extend beyond economic dilution. In an increasingly surveilled globe, being low-profile is not merely prudent but essential for survival. The global video surveillance market, valued at over $92 billion in 2025, reflects a relentless expansion of watchful eyes—from urban CCTV networks to algorithmic tracking on social platforms. Governments and corporations alike harvest data with the zeal of medieval tax collectors, rendering anonymity a fleeting illusion. Philosopher Michel Foucault's concept of the panopticon, a prison design where inmates are perpetually observable yet unseen by their watchers, finds modern embodiment in this digital gaze. One might quip that Jeremy Bentham, the panopticon's originator, would be envious of today's tech titans, who have scaled his vision to planetary proportions without the inconvenience of brick and mortar.

This omnipresent oversight dovetails with rising societal hostilities, particularly in Europe, where political violence has surged amid polarized landscapes. The European Union's 2025 Terrorism Situation and Trend Report documented numerous attacks across ideological spectrums, fueled by online propaganda that exploits global events. Allianz Commercial's analysis of political violence trends for 2025 highlights how such unrest disrupts entire countries, with incidents ranging from protests to targeted assaults. In Germany alone, surveys indicate a pervasive sense of escalating aggression against public figures, including politicians and emergency responders, with perceptions of violence intensifying in 2024. Such trends are not confined to the continent; globally, the erosion of civility amplifies risks for those in the public eye. Professionals like physicians, once revered, now find discretion vital. I don't quite understand how being "low-profile" hasn't resonated in medical circles. The previous generation of doctors rarely advocated for frugality and incognito, even though it's the best way of living while evading envy or malice in volatile societies—a wisdom echoed in ancient Greece by Epicurus, who championed ataraxia, or untroubled tranquility, through modest, unobtrusive existence.

The Toll of Visibility

Witty observers might note that in this attention economy, the truly affluent are those who can afford to opt out—like reclusive authors J.D. Salinger or Thomas Pynchon, whose invisibility only heightened their mystique without the attendant hazards. Yet for the masses, the mental toll of perpetual performance is stark. Experts decry the YouTuber aspiration as "the least mentally healthy profession", citing burnout, harassment, and the dopamine-driven hamster wheel of content creation. As one commentator dryly remarked in 2019, it's terrifying that children fantasize about a career blending the isolation of a hermit with the scrutiny of a celebrity.

Janitor Mopping Floor, 1971.

Seamlessly, these threads weave into a broader tapestry: the low-profile life as a philosophical bulwark against modernity's excesses. Drawing from Stoic sage Seneca, who warned that "fortune falls heavily on those to whom she is unexpected," one discerns the virtue in preparedness through obscurity.

Looking Ahead

The implications are profound. As artificial intelligence amplifies surveillance—facial recognition woven into everyday fabrics—and deepfakes blur truth from fiction, the premium on privacy will only escalate. In a future where quantum computing cracks encryptions and social credit systems extend beyond China, the low-profile doctor may emerge as the ultimate survivor: frugal, incognito, and unencumbered by the digital chains that bind the conspicuous. Machiavelli would approve; after all, in the game of thrones—or timelines—one wins by not playing at all. Yet, in this reflective vein, one wonders if the pendulum might swing back, restoring balance to a world weary of its own reflections. Until then, the wise will heed the shadows, where true freedom often lurks. As a humble Village Doctor, living by the sea.