Pseudo-activity substitutes publicity for actual satisfaction.

Evidence

Pseudo-activity is allied with pseudo-reality in the design of a subjective position; an activity that overplays itself and fires itself up for the sake of its own publicity without admitting to what degree it serves as a substitute for satisfaction, thus elevating itself to an end in itself. — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry, 270

Categorization

• DEFINE: Adorno’s definition of pseudo-activity — the analytical engine the reader wants: an activity that overplays itself, fires itself up for publicity, and substitutes for satisfaction.
• XREF: Definitionally parallel to pseudo-individuation in the culture-industry thesis — individuation without real difference, activity without real effect. — connects to: Publicity has become its own commodity rather than an image of commodities — Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation, 303; Pseudo-activity functions as insurance against a feared collectivization; Self-promotion is widely seen as inversely correlated with substantive achievement — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 333 (+2 more)