In todays world you can change, manipulate, create
an alternate or even 'better version of yourself', through online means. Via
the internet you can create a whole new persona- be whoever you want to be and
say [to an extent] what you wish to say.
Is this healthy? The Internet is becoming an outlet
for people’s thoughts, feelings and emotions- more now than ever before, and
the age groups are increasingly getting younger. As recent figures show 19% of
young American teenagers have created a blog. [Bell 2002] A blog is an outlet
whereby you can express feelings in an online forum and have control over the
feedback you receive. But there are obvious downsides to becoming to
involved or obsessed with an Internet persona. Some individuals from a young
age live and breathe the world of the net but this however is extremely
unhealthy for them in more ways than one.
An Individual identity is formed through real life experiences
and relationships formed with other people.
It is alternatively based on ‘how people acquire and make meaning in social
life’. This is something that the Internet and in turn social media cannot
provide. Although you may have 1000 friends on Facebook, this doesn’t compare
to actual interaction with them. There this draws the line of difference
between an individual’s identity and there Internet persona.
References:
Albert, Ashforth, Dutton, 2000, 'Organization identity
identification: Charting new waters and building new bridges', PG 14
Bell, B 2007, ‘Private writing in public spaces: girls’ blogs and shifting boundaries’, Growing up online: young people and digital technologies 2007, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, N.Y, pp. 98-100
Photo reference:
Group of people: http://www.umbc.edu/creativeservices/photos/students.html
Solo guy: http://singlemindedwomen.com/blog/sex-the-single-woman-is-an-online-dater-a-deal-breaker/
Hi Renee, I think you have done a good job here of comparing how identity online is different to identity in cyberspace. You make some good points about how blogs and social media can create identity, although it looks like you might be missing a couple of in text reference citations (?). Overall you have done a good job to show how identity can be formed online.
ReplyDeleteI was amazed, not surprised, but amazed to find that younger and younger kids were using blogs, or even new how to use them. I never even had a mobile till I was 13-14 years old, and now there are kids who have access to devices capable of using Facebook, Youtube and other media to share feelings they may not even understand with people they may not even know. I enjoyed reading your blog, keep it up.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all i must say this is a well written blog because it is very easy to read. I like the way you describe how a person can create a better version of themself in internet when that may not be the same reality. It is true that internet have become an outlet for people to share their thought, feeling and emotions. But it is shocking to know the percentages of teenagers group that use blog to express themselves. Internets have advantage and disadvantages depending on how an individual use it. Overall great topic
ReplyDelete