In the past, our purpose was largely handed to us. It's no coincidence that so many surnames are occupations. The Smiths, the Shoemakers, the Bakers. You were your role in society, so it's not unnatural for us to name our profession when asked "who are you?" That's how society works.
Despite this, it's not all good. Does Mr. Fischer, son of Mr. Fischer want to be a fisherman? Society does not ask this, so there is a natural angst which arises from this, and it's so common to become a central trope in classical and modern literature. Some humans are simply destined to trailblaze, but very few survive the voyage.
In the modern age, we've begun to experience the opposite. "You can be anything" so long as you know how to swim in the ocean of superfluity. We're called to adventure, but we're not killed by foes or beasts, but rather by our total lack of direction. In truth, we crave society's absence. Many would prefer to be Mr. Fischer, son of Mr. Fischer.
On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog.