Analysis of Opposing Articles About Cyberspace and Identity

Sherry Turkle, author of the article “Cyberspace and Identity”, explains in her article that true identity is found through multiple personas and the internet helps the individual act out these personas which leads to self-actualization, in which every need is met and fulfilled. Whereas, Jeffery Rosen, author of the article and book “The Naked Crowd”, contends that the identity of the individual is being lost in the Omnipticon, where the many are watching the many, of the crowd. Rosen asserts that the internet is only speeding up the individual’s loss of identity. Furthermore, Turkle and Rosen explain that the internet is used to express identity, Turkle emphasizes a high reward for using the internet to reach self-actualization through online personas while Rosen focuses on the high risks of using the internet to promote ones identity, its potential damage to your personal image.

Turkle’s definition of identity blends with the real and virtual self and finds that the line separating the virtual and “real life” identities have blurred with the increased use of the computer in our daily lives. The real life has become engrossed in the virtual world of computers, the multiple windows of the computer screen becoming the multiple roles or personas that we embody on a daily basis. Turkle clarifies “that today’s life on the screen dramatizes and concretizes a range of cultural trends that encourage us to think of identity in terms of multiplicity and flexibility.” (Turkle)

With the blending of the real and virtual worlds our identity is personified as having multiple dimensions and depth that can be seen through our use of the internet to help define ourselves. By using the internet’s virtual reality there is a high reward of exploring ...

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... one can explore and expand the individual’s identity. While, Jeffery Rosen’s The Naked Crowd depicts a high risk situation in using the internet to express one’s individuality and identity with the ever present criticisms of the public. The internet is both a place of high reward and high risk, users must be wary that the stranger on the other side of the screen, is just a stranger and knows nothing of the individuals struggles, cyberspace also provides an opportunity to explore the individual or identity. The internet is a tool and like every other tool it is in the way we use it that determines the risks and rewards.

Works Cited

Rosen, Jeffery. "The Naked Crowd." Readings for Analytical Writing. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2011. 411-424.

Turkle, Sherry. "Cyberspace and Identity." Readings for Analytical Writing. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2011. 466-474.