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“A rapidly expanding system of networks, collectively known as the Internet, links millions of people in new spaces that are changing the way we think, the nature of our sexuality, the form of our communities, our very identities.� (Turkle 1995: 9)
In the early 1980s, society could be forgiven for thinking of the computer as nothing more than a useful accounting tool. It was categorised by many as a high-end office aid-a better way to be organised. Few would have been able to truly predict the power it would go on to possess or foretell how deeply it would become involved in the shape and development of a person's identity. Nor could it have been predicted the incredible rate of growth of its development in new media. One of the earliest and most apparent and intriguing results of the development of the internet in the 1990s was online identity. (Flew 2002:25). Development of online identity meant human beings could, for the first time interact with each other and develop an identity specific to the online environment devoid of a physical barrier.
Online identity is developed out of a discourse that takes place online. For this discourse to take place, people first have to appear online. The reasons for this active participation in CMC (computer-mediated-communication) in discussion groups and chat rooms are many and varied. They can stem from a need for friendship or a longing for a relationship. The communication might occur through a feeling of isolation in 'real life' or social ineptitude. It might result out of an ongoing desire to actively experiment with different personas online. Whichever the reason, invisibility and in some cases a certain amount of anonymity are aspects of online identity. Its early development and historical and future importance were observed by Sherry Turkle in the mid-nineties: “identities in the age of the Internet would involve�, she wrote, “simulations, experimentation, and taking things (and people) at ‘interface value.’ It is this particular sensory communication, this taking each other at ‘interface value’ that results in an identity that is specific to the online environment. (Turkle 1995)
“The internet has become a significant social laboratory for experimenting with the constructions and reconstructions of self that characterise postmodern life.� (Turkle 1995:180) Sherry Turkle suggests that the internet has brought with it a new way of thinking about the identity as having the potential to be multiple. “Through the internet,� she states, “people are able to build a self by cycling through many selves.� (Turkle 1995:180) Much of the converging media has created an arena for online participants to form new identities in other worlds in cyberspace. Users can now adopt identities that are different from one they have in ‘real life’. This ‘other self’ or ‘cyber self’ is uniquely specific to the internet.
Multiple identities or avatars occur mainly through online interaction in discussion groups, chat room and MUDS, (Multi-User Dimensions). Historically, (before the internet) it was difficult for people to operate with multiple identities because of the obvious necessitation to communicate face-to-face. Turkle describes the importance of this multiplicity. She believes it has given people a new fluidity in their online lives and in some instances a new level of excitement, danger and risk as a result of not being harnessed to the one idea of the ‘self’. In her writing in Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet, Turkle uses the work of the poststructuralist, Jacques Lacan, (in particular his belief that the ego is an illusion-source Turkle 1995: 178) to draw distinctions between his theory and the new ‘self’ that is born for some online. (Turkle 1995:178) Lacan believed the self to be a “realm of discourse rather than a real thing or a permanent structure of the mind.� (Turkle 1995:178) The reconstruction of identity through the games people play with multiple identities cannot help but have an influence on society socially, politically, economically and culturally. Multiple Identities and avatars are a result of the decentralisation that has occurred from the use of the internet.
“The image of the cyborg describes a fusion between human and machine, the organic and the technological.� (Hartley 2002:59) The cyborg is a direct result of a world that has begun to live within and alongside the machine. It is a unique merging of the animate with the inanimate and it is a specific product of new media convergence. The cyborg does not exist solely in cyberspace. As Hartley explains, the cyborg is a result of artificial limbs, pacemakers and online chat rooms. It takes form wherever the line between the human body and the machine is blurred. Cyborgs are important socially, culturally and politically because they have invoked a change in human natural life as it is known. In the future they will continue to create a shift in the way society is formulated because they recreate form and boundaries and the very idea of what it means to be human. The ongoing manifestation of the cyborg will challenge accepted notions of gender, class and identity. The cyborg is in many ways the way forward for release and freedom of the individual. It is a way of challenging power and politics because it causes a shift to the ‘imposed natural state’ (Hartley 2002:60) of humanness.
One of the major consequences of online identity is that the sense of connection to the computer is heightened. Online identity can be strategic and it can, if it wants to challenge, and in some instances defy gender. Donna Haraway attests that: “Gender, race or class consciousness is an achievement forced on us by the terribly contradictory social realities of patriarchy, colonialism and capitalism.� (Haraway 1991:155). Haraway uses the word ‘transcendence’ to refer to the state of being online where a person is free of the preconceptions that come with the physical world. She believes that because of the ability to be ‘transported’ this ‘transcendence’ has both negative and positive aspects in terms of the future development of virtual identity. Haraway writes about the positivity of a “political unity� that is borne from virtuality: “A unification of race, gender, sexuality and class�. (Haraway 1991:157) The importance of this transcendence is potentially revolutionary socially. Other key issues related to the exploration of ‘transcendence’ are fragmentation and disembodiment. The physical is less important in an online environment where users are developing a world where they are potentially politically free.
“Many of the institutions that used to bring people together-a main street, a union hall, a town meeting-no longer work as before. Many people spend most of their day alone at the screen of a television or a computer. Meanwhile, social beings that we are, we are trying (as Marshall McLuhan said) to retribalise.� (Turkle 1995:178) Communication occurs, for a large proportion of society through electronic mail. For many more, this online communication is extended into participation in virtual communities or interest groups. Users develop friendships and relationships with faceless, sometimes nameless people all over the globe. As a consequence, the world has become smaller. However, socially, it has become more disparate and less tangible. Turkle raises questions about the issues related to the social impacts of virtual identity and the transformation for society from passivity to online interactivity. She writes about a potential loss of commitment that human beings could suffer from in relationships in the future. In the current climate of a society that has become over-stimulated from a bombardment of technological instant gratification, there are very definite and, as yet to be revealed implications and issues to do with accountability and responsibility surrounding virtuality. Laura Keneally 16:43, 9 Sep 2004 (EST)
Virtual identity is important to the millions of Internet users worldwide. (Flew 2002) has established a number of reasons as to why people involve themselves with concept of virtual identity. These include:
• The ability to change character. This is an important aspect of virtual identity as it gives the user opportunities to self examine. The parts of their personality they feel may not best represent them can be easily transformed, if not hidden, when creating their online identity. Users are able to make themselves more appealing, aggressive or humorous – what ever they wish.
• The opportunity to form friendships and relationships that may be perceived as being more difficult to develop in the ‘offline’ society. This important concept of virtual identity ties directly with the ability to change ones character. There are a number of people in society who feel they are unable to conduct face-to-face conversations, as they fear intimidation, embarrassment or repercussion. Virtual identities allow such people to form friendships online, sustaining a healthy relationship. Virtual identities also provides the opportunity for people from vastly different backgrounds from around the world to communicate as barriers such as race or religion need not be recognised
• Those who are marginalised or persecuted in society have the ability to express their views and opinions in a way that they will not be discriminated against. Users with a virtual identity, who come from such backgrounds, now have the opportunity to express themselves without fear of repercussion. This is a significant aspect of the notion as it gives freedom to many in this group that they are unable to achieve ‘offline’.
• Possibility of sexual relations. Virtual identity is also very important to those who seek sexual or romantic relations. Once again, those who may be timid or lack confidence, now have the opportunity to create who they really want to be in the hope of finding someone they could sustain relation with.
• The ability to find groups with the same interests. Virtual identities create a wonderful opportunity to bring together people who hold the same interests. In order to maintain a healthy and happy lifestyle, it has been noted that sharing same interests with people and thus forming strong bonds can help to gain such success.
• Generate ideas amongst like-minded people. This is an important concept of virtual identities as it allows people to feel they can discuss what they believe with others without fear of ridicule. Users can sustain healthy conversations with others that feel the same way.
Overall, virtual identity plays a large role in many Internet users lives. The creation of such identities enables people across the world, regardless of their background or beliefs to find a sense of belonging, whilst the communication divide is significantly decreased. Opportunities for new friendships and relationships are forever occurring. Virtual identities allows users the freedom to create their ideal self , free from the restrictions of real world grounding and therefore have the ability to explore all possibilities they wish to.
However, while there are a number of positive aspects of virtual identities that are of recognised in today’s’ society, it must also be noted that the negative repercussion of the creation of such personas, are also important in today’s society.
An important issue that is often discussed when considering virtual identities is that belief that many users lose touch with the sense of reality. When creating their ‘new’ selves, many people forget their real life and are soon absorbed in the make believe. Others can become so wrapped up in their fantasy world that they begin to resent reality and those within and in the process, can inflict pain and suffering upon not only themselves, but also their family, friends and lovers.
As a direct link to the loss of reality and an important aspect to be considered, Internet addiction is also another issue that surrounds the creation of virtual identities. Many people can spend hours a day in front of the computer, living out their fantasy life, in which who they really are not presented. This in turn can lead to depression about themselves, as once reality sets in that they are not who they created online, people can feel despondent about their lives and those in it.
Deception through false identity is also of importance to people’s lives. With millions of people changing their personas to fit with what they feel will encourage others to pursue friendships if not relationships with them, the chance of finding someone who is not who they say they really are is highly possible.
Laura Keneally 18:58, 9 Sep 2004 (EST) Belinda Gatz 19:01, 9 Sep 2004 (EST)
