Identity in Reality and Cyberspace
According to Websters College Dictionary, identity is defined as, "the state or fact of remaining the same one, as under varying aspects or conditions." There are many claims made about the nature of identity in cyberspace. Such claims about the Internet is that you can act or express your personal opinions as another, without anybody knowing your true identity. I feel that being another identity can be very controversial and constructive at the same time. These types of aspects of changing yourself can be seen in online environments which can be over-abused and perceived as a way to express yourself and ideas.
People have many different experiences using the Internet. There are many claims and beliefs about "America Online", or "AOL". An example of an online experience is an article written by Jesse Kornbluth. "You Make Me Feel Like A Virtual Woman" is based on Kornbluth's first use of the Internet. He is a male heterosexual who uses another identity when he communicates in cyberspace. His other persona is a virtual woman. When he first signed on to AOL, he did not plan on changing his identity. He was just uninterested with the chat, lobby, and public rooms that were available. Kornbluth searched in member rooms that sounded more exciting, such as, "Le Chateau Dungeon" and "M 4 M", and soon realized that they were male-oriented rooms filled with homosexuals. He did not have a problem with homosexuals and he very much respected them, but because of this incident, he decided to change his identity to a woman named "MsTerious." He met many women by learning that all he had to do was be "intelligent, open, attentive and empathetic because gender differences really didn't matter" (Kornbluth...
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...make it that way, such as abusing it by wanting cybersex, just like what Demonboy had in mind. Yet, the Internet can be constructive in many ways if you benefit from it, such as learning to gain and express your ideas. I see the Internet as something to have fun and express my personal thoughts and opinions. I know that others can enjoy it as well if they would just give it a chance and make their first time online an interesting one, and not such a negative experience.
Works Cited
Ehrenreich, Barbara. Put Your Pants on , Demonboy. in Composing Cyberspace: Identity, Community, and Knowledge in the Electronic Age. Holeton, Richard. San Francisco: McGraw Hill, 1998.
Kornbluth, Jesse. You Make Me Feel Like a Virtual Woman. in Composing Cyberspace: Identity, Community, and Knowledge in the Electronic Age. Holeton, Richard. San Francisco: McGraw Hill, 1998.
A person’s identity is not something that can be removed, It can only change over time. Some people may feel as if they have lost their identity, but they have not lost it. It is only hidden. Many people have different definitions of identity, but there should only be one, universal definition. The definition of identity is the values someone has, and how said person treats others.
Everyone struggles with identity at one point in their life. It will eventually happen to everyone. Identity is how people see one another, it is one of the most important things about someone. Identity goes hand in hand with experience. One’s experiences can impact one’s identity.
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,
Thomassen, J. 2009. The Legitimacy of the European Union after Enlargement. In: Thomassen, J. Eds. The Legitimacy of the European Union after Enlargement. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 67-86.
Identity, an ambiguous idea, plays an important part in today’s world. To me identity can be defined as who a person is or what differentiates one person from another. Identity would be a person’s name, age, height, ethnicity, personality, and more. A quote by Anne Sexton states “It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was”(Anne Sexton). This quote helps me define identity because I believe it is saying that identity is what people are remembered by. When some people think of identity, words such as, uniqueness, distinctiveness, or individuality may come to mind. However, I disagree with this because when I think of identity I think of mimicry, self-consciousness, or opinions.
Uvalic, M. (2002, July). Regional Cooperation and the Enlargement of the European Union: Lessons Learned? International Political Science Review, 23(3), 319-333.
There are multiple scenarios where one might manage their identities. Generally the importance of identity management surfaces when we want to begin or maintain a relationship, when we want someone to act or behave a certain way, when we feel the need to preserve an image of someone, or when we are experimenting with different personalities to alter the perception that others have of us. Managing your identity is essential to sculpting the image that we want some to have of us and the way we behave in different situations will manipulate this perception as well. That is to say, when the situation changes, so does our personality
"Finding One's Own in Cyberspace." Composing Cyberspace. Richard Holeton. United States: McGraw-Hill, 1998. 171-178. SafeSurf. Press Release.
As case and point, “the impact of the Internet is far greater than any other communicative tool in the history of mass communications” (Elliot, 2008, para. 1). With an expansive, yet extremely convenient means to electronically join people through business, relationships, education and more, Sociology assumes the ...
After WWII, many politically influential people saw a need to create some form of interdependence between the nation states of Europe as a means to preventing further war (Watts, 2008: p6). In 1951 Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg all signed the Treaty of Paris creating the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC); the beginnings of an integrated Europe which has seen many changes since its creation (Thody, 1997: p1). Today it has become the highly integrated European Union with 28 member states, 18 of which share a single currency (Archick, 2014: p1). The process of EU integration is a complex one, as can be seen in its history and will surely be seen in its future. There is no simple explanation that can successfully explain the growth of the EU from a economic community of six nation states to the political and economic union it has become today. However there are two competing theories for explaining EU integration that give opposing views on the matter, neo-functionalism and intergovernmentalism. In this essay I will examine both theories and attempt to reach a conclusion if either successfully explains EU integration.
Webster's dictionary describes identity as sameness of essential character, individuality, or the fact of being the same person as one claims to be. So your identity can include your name, your age, your job title, or simply characteristics of your body. These things are facts, facts you don't care to share with the world. Just as the word suggests your identity is something by which you can be identified. These are things that describe a person in terms a stranger would understand. This area of identity is proof of who you are. However, your identity is also composed of what you are. They mark your role in society. Who you are and what you do make up your identity. This is essential in the human life span because people are always searching to find where they truly belong in the world.
“From time to time it is worth reminding ourselves why twenty-seven European nation states have come together voluntarily to form the partnership that is the European Union.” 1
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.
To begin with, we technically are not born with identity; it is a socially constructed attribute. Identity is a transient thing, which changes over time as we grow and mature. The self-concept, which is our own personal understanding of who we are, combines with self awareness to cultivate a cognitive representation of the self, called identity (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2010, p.118). In other words, who we are is controlled by internal and external factors that combine to make us who we become. Bring new media outlets into the equation, such as the internet, and media is now regarded as an "extension of everyday life and a tool of cultural change" (Singh, 2010). Thus, identity formation, as a social concept, is being transformed in new and even more global ways.
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.