Formation of Multiple Personae Online

2197 Words5 Pages

In past generations identity was defined by how we viewed ourselves internally but as social media has evolved throughout the internet era, individuals forms their identities externally according to what the digital world views as acceptable; then forms multiple personas to fit each and every virtual situation. Persona can be defined as the aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others; so by way of the internet one has the ability to think through what they are about to say before they say it and present an aspect of themselves that they see as positive. Conversely, they can also subconsciously reveal negative aspects of themselves that they would normally prefer hidden. In the article, “Small Pieces Loosely Joined”, written by David Weinberger searcher at Harvard Law explains how “trying on a role” like character Michael Campbell did can cause many negative outcomes for the individual playing the role of an alternate persona and for people surrounding the individual’s situation and life. Furthermore, Michael Campbell was an eighteen year old who used the online user name Soup81 to converse with a student at the infamous columbine high school. In agreement, “Cyberspace and Identity” by Sherry Turkle, explains the point that by way of the internet one can now be multiple individuals expressing different opinions in different settings. Internet and social networking sites have created the ability for one to create alternate personae’s that then can be used to express different aspects of one’s actual personality. As a result of multiple persona formation online, one may present themself to be a positive image that they’re truly not, however this attempt to cover their true identity can reveal negative s...

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...anging the way our brains function forever, which isn’t worth it.

Work Cited
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