So, I don't think I can begin to say how pleased I was to encounter John Suler's "Identity Management in Cyberspace" this week—except that I just began to say how pleased I was to encounter it. With all the discussion about how we ought to fill out our Blogger profiles and how we should post pictures of ourselves on our forthcoming website, I was beginning to think I'd be solely burdened with articulating the merits of withholding personal information and veiling our identities. However, after reading Suler's examination of online identity, I no longer fear this prospect as it seems I'm not the only one who sees the many values of online "identity management," though my perspective (as naïve as it may be) differs considerably from Suler's.
See, it seems to me that virtually every aspect of human culture is too highly politicized. In face-to-face interactions, it's nearly always the most charismatic or personable individual who garners the most attention and clout. The advent of the printing press could've changed this feature of human interaction (content can be dissociated from its source in printed media), but you still had to be "in" with the people who ran the presses, whether you got "in" via money or by way of personability. Then the moving picture and the radio became the preferred media for opinion and information dispersal, but they, too, forced the "speaker" to convey at least one aspect of his or her identity that could influence the acceptability of his or her message. The Internet, however, promised a change in all this.
Thanks to the Internet, any individual with access to a computer and a basic understanding of markup languages can post whatever they want for whomever to see. If Francis, a meek and unsuccessful financial adviser, wants to publish a romantic swashbuckling tale, he can do so online without convincing others of his story-crafting abilities and without fearing ridicule or retribution. Likewise, if a stay-at-home, suburban mom wants to establish her own crunktastic hip-hop label, she can start it online under a false identity without worrying about being dismissed as unqualified to evaluate crunk music.
The point is that people who might be perceived as somehow unentitled to do or say a given thing can overcome this handicap in the world of the Internet by assuming new identities or retaining anonymity. Sure, it might make it more difficult to wade through the murky waters of questionable material in search of desirable content, but at least this relatively newfound freedom can expand the chorus of voices contributing to the development of human knowledge and culture. Of course, as Suler points out, there are the psychological benefits of individuals' online explorations of their psyches, but if we expand our frame of reference from the individual to humanity as a whole, it seems the collective can only "manage the multiplicities of [its] selfhood" and maintain good "mental health" by acknowledging every aspect of its "personality" (e.g., by allowing the amateur or untrained political philosopher to theorize about a new form of government instead of suppressing his or her opinion). In short, it's not only fun and/or healthy to manipulate and obscure our identities online; it's necessary for the fullest development of society, and in some cases, it may be our civic duty.
Identity Management in Cyberspace by John Suler
Do Boys (and Girls) Just Wanna Have Fun? by John Suler
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3 comments:
I wouldn't necessarily say I promote creating a fake online identity, but I do understand the point you're making. However, there are different degrees of identity changes that can take place. Someone who feels they can't express their feelings in person because they won't be taken seriously, due to the way they look, etc., can do so online without a problem. I wouldn't really consider this an identity change. Then there are those who completely change everything about themselves, lying about their background, sex, age, job, and more, which is harder for me to accept as being okay. I would think it'd be easier to simply restrict giving out certain information, instead of making up lies for everything. If you think your age might be a problem in a discussion you are taking part of, why not just avoid mentioning it?
Or, essentially, not bring up the issue in the first place? This is my beef with the internet - while some think the veil of anonymity can broaden our own creative practices, some also use it to flagrantly lie for no purpose. Truth be told, it's not okay to lie. It is demeaning to both parties involved.
*I deleted the first post because Blogger does not allow the chance for post-publish editing for some damn reason.
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