Discuss the past, present, and future implications of our online identities. Examine the effects of social media on identity whether it’s personal, social, or cultural and discuss whether it’s possible to create and maintain an authentic identify on the internet.
Overview
Our online identities are becoming an increasingly important part of our lives, from chatting with strangers in early internet forums to modern social media and multiplayer games. Online identity can mean a variety of things. It is the goods we buy and the books we enjoy that drive companies like Amazon. It is the content that we watch on YouTube.
Who you are and what you do define your identity. Other people recognize you based on your visual identity. And, ironically, Alexander Graham Bell’s first phone call contained the words:
“Mr. Watson, please come here — I need to see you.”
Our visual identity is an important component of human communication. It is how we mentally represent the identities of others. The need to express our identities virtually became increasingly important with the rise of the internet. How have our online personas evolved since then? And, perhaps more importantly, where do they intend to go in the future?
Internet
Online communication took off with the introduction of BBSs (1978), Usenet (1980), and IRC (1988). Creating a desire to express ourselves virtually.
Identity, like everything else on the early internet, was represented as text. A unique identifier. A fictitious name. A string of characters that represents you in online social interactions.
Regardless of how simple the visual representation was, users felt a strong connection to their fabricated identities.
