The concepts associated with contemporary identity definition that we discussed in lecture have challenged my preconception on the traditional sense of “identity”. According to the lecture, identity was once defined as “one true, fixed, and stable” image that everyone holds. Departing from the old paradigm, modern definition of identity purposed that one individual can actually have multiple identities that alter over time accordingly under different occasions by suggesting that identity is “flexible, multidimensional, and social constructed sense of self”. I personally feel connected with this idea because I always feel difficult to define my personality when I am asked to. For example, I can be both extroverted and introverted, depending on who I am staying with. When I hang out with my friends, my family, or whom ever I am familiar with, I tend to be very extroverted to the point that my friends often tell me to shut up. On the contrary, I behave like a introverted person when interacting with strangers. Thus, I refuse to simply describe myself as either “extroverted” or “introverted” for I selectively present the different aspects of my personality in accordance with social needs and environments.
As Internet rapidly gained its popularity since the beginning of 21st century among common households, an increasing number of people started to explore their online identity with social networking sites. Unlike selective interaction in reality, Internet is an unique communication medium which introduced the idea of identity disembodiment, which suggested that identity can be free of physical constraints. When Internet users realize that their figures no longer depend on their true self (which is the best-known aspect of their image in reality), some of them choose to pretend to be someone else or portray different aspects of themselves, which is known as identity play. The idea of identity play, as well as multiple identity, both illustrated the uncertain nature of our socially constructed identities especially with the prosperity of modern technology.
However, just like other old technologies, Internet is evolving and developing over time with technical improvement as well as government regulation. Aleks Krotoski purposed in his article "Online identity: is authenticity or anonymity more important?” that the days of “no one knows if you are a dog on internet” might come to an end. A substantial amount of Internet users have now started to support the authenticity of online identity by calling Internet anonymity into questions. Krotoski presented the debates of authenticity identity on Internet issue by presenting the arguments from both sides: advocates contended that anonymity makes people less responsible for their comments and leads to "lack of integrity” while opponents manifested that authenticity kills creativity and denied the chance to “start over”. In my opinion, people do tend to be more responsible for what they say on the Internet when their cannot disclose their real identity (e.g., on the real name based social networking sites such as Facebook) knowing that they might face consequences. When I argue with people on Internet, I am usually less aggressive on Facebook (real name) but more fierce on twitter (pseudonym). I do agree that banning anonymity can help to create a better atmosphere on Internet, yet the harms can outweigh its benefits. People have the need to portray different aspects of self even in reality, and identity play on Internet gives them the opportunity for doing that. If everyone on the Internet knows who you are in reality, your figure on internet, once again, must depend on your physical appearance and other characteristics, such as race, education, income, etc. Internet established an utopian like visual society where everyone is equal, and overly promoting authenticity will undermine the balance. Overall, Internet challenge the traditional view on identity and supports multiple identity by introducing online identity play with its anonymity, which I believe should not be destroyed.
Reference:
No comments:
Post a Comment