In his essay, “I Feel So Totally, Digitally Close to You,” Clive Thompson argues that the original conceit of the Internet was that it allowed people the ability to forged new identities for themselves on the World Wide Web, however, with the introduction of social media, this ability has become a hard, if not impossible, task to achieve. With constant updates of a person’s everyday life being presented to the world, it is difficult to manipulate a new identity overnight. Although I do agree with Thompson’s view that social media has made it almost difficult for a person to reinvent his or her identity, yet, however, it is not entirely impossible to do so. Outside the infrastructures of social media websites like Facebook, the reinventing of …show more content…
Within the realms of online gaming, a player can completely alter his or her virtual identity down to the very basic details. These alterations allow the users to remain completely anonymous in the digital world and led a second life. In fact there is even an online game call Second Life that serves this exact purpose. Second Life is an online virtual reality game that allows users to create an avatar, an online representation of the users, which are able to interact with other avatars. Within the game, users are able to create and design their own environments, landscape, shops, building, for example. Players are even able to use the game’s online currency call “Linden Dollar,” which can be exchanged for real world currency. According to Linda Lab, creators of Second Life, there are one million regular users as of 2014. That is one million people living and interacting with each other’s within virtual reality. Second Life is just that, a second life for millions of gamers who prefer to live a virtual life in contrast of their actual …show more content…
This is evident when one look at “catfish.” No! Not the fish, but, according to the online article “Catfishing” by Hayley Peterson, “catfishing” refers to the phenomena of online predators creating bogus Facebook accounts with the intention of tricking someone into believing that the fake identity is real. These catfishes often put together artificial online profiles made up entirely of fake photos, job titles, and friends. These fake online profiles are often reflections reflecting what the predators’ true desires in actuality are; desires that the predators can’t display in
In his essay Silver mentions, “Regardless of what we think or what our social media statistics indicate, as functioning humans we can only maintain a set number of actual relationships, straining what exactly a friend is.” (Silver 444). It has been expressed here that no matter what the statistics of social media portray,the average human being can only maintain so many actual and physical relationships with people. Therefore, why he is arguing that social media indeed creates fake friends that most people claim to believe that they are friends. However, I argue that fake friends are those who impact your life as a friend negatively in the real world. Fake friends become your “friend” because they need or want something from you. Once they find what they want or need, it is normal for them to ignore you and only come back when it 's convenient for them. Comparatively, friends on social media are more of an acquaintance in my point of view. On social media, those who I allow to be my friends or follow me I either have come into contact with a few times, or have been friends with them at some point in my life. That is the reasoning as to why I don’t believe that social media creates fake
For instance, while displaying one’s identity through gregarious media sanctions the utilization of different media than traditionally used such as status updates, photos, and videos to construct identity, the media does not always accurately portray our true selves. By posting specific photos and comments, individual's highlight certain characteristics of themselves while also omitting or hiding other facts and characteristics. In an example, if a college student posts only pictures of themselves attending bars and parties while also posting comments on friends’ walls about such activities, they will highlight their “identity” of partying and debauchery. Conversely, they would be debasing all other aspects of their lives that comprise their identities, such as schoolwork, family, and personal relationships. This use of social media can create a false identity, portraying a “person” to the outside world who may not truly exist or may be more complex than the “person” one portrays through their social media sites. This is how, as Roberts suggests, one ultimately creates an “empty identity
As I was watching MTV’s popular show “Catfish: The TV Show” one afternoon, a particular episode caught my eye. The episode was about a young girl named Tracey Armah who made a fake Facebook profile to attack other users virtually in an aggressive manor. The profile was under the name Jaqueline Linkwood and Tracey the creator has used another girls’, Falesha’s, profile. “Jaqueline” eventually changed her fake profile to Felisha’s name and started to pose as her. “Jaqueline” would friend request Falesha’s friends on Facebook and would post numerous hurtful comments making Falesha’s life a living nightmare. I was curious and thought to myself about the psychology behind the insensitivity of Tracey’s behavior. Why would she pose as another girl to purposely bully people online? What was her purpose to write spiteful comments to other people? I have explored through research what the psychological concepts behind Tracey’s behavior could be and found some very interesting answers.
In our age of endless involvement in social media, we often see that people know online aren’t what they seem. Some social media users don’t know that same people we follow or are friends with on Facebook are controlling the way they are being perceived by other users. It’s a new social phenomenon born online and isn’t taken noticed by the everyday users, but there had been movies and stories about it. The topic of identity on social media is being bought up more often in the worldwide conversion about what social media means to us. In the essay “Impression Management on Facebook and Twitter” by Annalise Sigona seeks to inform readers and social media users about the unknowns about the impression and the way user present themselves in social media. When reading this essay, I was introduced to new term, and something I had vague understanding for.
Social networking sites leave opportunities for vulnerability, however, I don’t believe many youths are an easy target. Using ethos, pathos and logos individuals can create their own reality to relate to the internet world who they think are and how they wish to be seen. In mediated publics such as Facebook and Instagram, the user has complete control of his or her profile and is the only one who can allow content about his/herself to be shared. It is my personal belief that as technology has evolved many people have taken to fabricating some truths here and there and omitting details to give an ideal representation of who they are without incriminating themselves or leaving themselves vulnerable for mistreatment. The fantasy of what is or could be is more desirable than reality. In the past few years, privacy settings have been adapted to cover the growing technological advances to keep users safe from online predators.
Individuals conceived between the years of 1980 and 2000, as indicated by this article, experience serious difficulties finding their actual self due to the online networking outlets; they regularly depict another person life of a fantasy dream American life on the web. As today’s more youthful era makes the transition to adulthood, trying to accommodate between online and offline characters can be hard. “Van den Bergh asked 4,056 individuals, ages 15 to 25, when they felt they were or weren't being genuine online or logged off, with companions, folks, accomplices or employers.” Through this research he found,
In an article called “Relationships, community, and Identity in the New Virtual Society” Arnold Brown explains two different identities, one that he calls “found identity” and the other “made identity” (34). The found identity is one that is created by one true self, it’s based off your background, your religion, your sexuality, everything that truly defines who you really are. And then there’s your made identity, the one you make for yourself and how you wish to be seen. As technology advances, the easier it will be for young girls to create these made identity’s of these famous celebrities, having them focus on things that don’t matter instead of valuing who they really are. As an older sister, I can say that I’ve seen change in my own sister.
Jacob Silverman’s writing documents the significant price that users of social media pay for their constant online connection. Silverman argues that people have left the Silicon-Valley companies to take not only charge of their lives but also shape their behaviors. Moreover, Silverman looks at how social media has destroyed people’s lives; while people pretend to be happy on social media, the reality is that they are indeed unhappy in real life situations. He argues his ideas on the destruction of social media in a total of thirteen chapters that range from the ideology of social media to social media rebellion. The other section includes the notion of engineered to like, ‘pics, or it didn’t
Before the internet, our characteristics such as style, identity, and values were primarily exposed by our materialistic properties which psychologists define as the extended self. But people’s inferences to the idea of online self vs. offline self insisted a translation to these signals into a personality profile. In today’s generation, many of our dear possessions have been demolished. Psychologist Russell W belk suggest that: “until we choose to call them forth, our information, communications, photos, videos, music, and more are now largely invisible and immaterial.” Yet in terms of psychology there is no difference between the meaning of our “online selves” and “offline selves. They both assist us in expressing important parts of our identity to others and provide the key elements of our online reputation. Numerous scientific research has emphasized the mobility of our analogue selves to the online world. The consistent themes to these studies is, even though the internet may have possibly created an escape from everyday life, it is in some ways impersonating
...clude the sense of human identity. People who express several aspects of self cannot develop the “aesthetic self,” as they have no experience in sharing the real feelings to others. People who express several aspects of self cannot develop the “aesthetic self,” as they have no experience in sharing the real feelings to others. Turkle’s analysis of the computer as a reminiscent object and the human relationship with the object helps us to understand online identity. Undoubtedly, technology has changed the way of leaning and thinking that helps to find the identity of individuals. As we are highly depend on technology and computer in recent times, the dependency and relationship with computer and technology are the potential to severely influence our formation of identity. As Erik Erikson and Turkle rightly said, internet has provide a safe place to find our identity.
This paper aims to explore the different reasons behind people having different personas in Twitter and real-life through a look at how the social networking site provides a unique opportunity for self...
Multiple identities have been increased by the creation of cyberspace communications according to "Cyberspace and Identity" by Sherry Turkle. Turkle uses four main points to establish this argument. Her first point is that online identity is a textual construction. Secondly she states that online identity is a consequence-free moratorium. Turkle's third point is online identity expands real identity. Finally, her last point states that online identity illustrates a cultural concept of multiplicity. I disagree with many aspects of her argument and I have found flaws in her argument. Technology is an area that does not stand still and consequently outpaced Turkle's argument.
The majority of the adult American population age 18+ is unfamiliar with the ever-growing virtual community known as Second Life. Second Life is a virtual world developed by Linden Lab, which offers its residents a place to connect, a place to shop, a place to work, and a place to love. There are many advantages for people to create a Second Life for themselves. Second Life’s residents are given the ability to explore any region they choose and allows one the ability to be themselves, or even someone different. For many, it is a freeing experience from the daily routine of “real life”. Second Life’s virtual experience also has sound; audible conversation, babbling brooks, wind in the swaying trees, and built-in chat and instant messaging. Residents purchase property, game with other residents, create objects, join clubs, attend classes, start businesses, or just hang out. The presentation of Second Life is extraordinary, making it a significant, almost guilty, indulgence. Before embarking on a journey in Second Life, one must first create an avatar. New Second Life users choose from standard male and female avatars. Residents and their avatars do not always choose the gender they are in real life. Once the gender choice is completed, residents go on to tailor their avatar’s look in a way they believe mainly suits their style, or the Second Life “lifestyle” they selected. For instance, a trained user may possibly craft a cat that follows him all over the place. Residents build items for diverse reasons. Several do this in order to strengthen the theme of a certain region or specific avatar; some construct items simply for amusement. Even though Second Life extends a convincing adventure for residents from different...
The television series of this show “Catfish” shows us that there are many individuals out there like Angela, who create completely fabricated identities, for many different reasons. Whether it is malicious or a release for the person; It is an escape from reality in most cases. This alerts us to the dangers of social media, and makes us wary of meeting new people online, as all may not be what it seems.
The Web. 11 Nov. 2013.. http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/teens-social-media_b50664> Floridi, Luciano. The Construction Of Personal Identities Online. Minds & Machines 21.4 (2011): 477-479.