29
2007
Our Online Identities
I have often pondered: Do we stray from our real identities when online? Do we become different due to the extended amount of freedom or anonymity we are given on the web? I suppose it depends on the person. However, in my experience I have found that my personality is exactly the same online as it is offline.
In today’s online social world, we become members of different communities. We make names for ourselves in these communities and contribute to them. We meet many friends around the world, share videos, stories, and pics from our lives. We invite these friends into our worlds because as humans we still share a need to bond with others even if it is only a virtual bond. People today lead lives dedicated more to their StumbleUpon networks or Warcraft guilds rather than to their real life families. Therefore what good would we be doing by deceiving our community? We are leading virtual lives today. Many of us spend more hours online each day than offline (I know I do), therefore we should cherish these new bonds we created. Perhaps the real question we should be asking ourselves is: “ Do we stray from our real selves when we’re offline?”
Thanks to Yaniv Golan for the amazing pic.
Technorati tags: identity, net identity, flickr, web, freedom, anonymity, community, online community, social networks, stumbleupon, warcraft
About the Author: Ayelet Noff
Ayelet Noff has over twelve years of experience marketing companies from various industries. She has been involved in the social media world before the term social media even existed. Ayelet opened Blonde 2.0 back in 2006. Before this, she was ICQ’s Marketing Manager for four years and also held various executive marketing positions in different startups. She is also a top blogger and currently writes for three different blogs: The Blonde 2.0 blog, The Next Web, and Socialmedia.biz. She holds an MBA degree from Tel Aviv University, and a BA in Politics from Brandeis University.
Recent Comments
Tags
Recent Comments
Archives
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
I like what you wrote – “Perhaps the real question we should be asking ourselves is: b Do we stray from our real selves when web re offline?b
Very few people ask this question.
I find the virtual world liberating. Not because we can invent new identities, pretend to be somebody else. Too many people rushed to do this after discovering the virtual world. They felt trapped inside the person they had become in the “real” (let’s call it “physical” world). And they thought that the only way to escape was to invent a new self – sometimes a new age, nationality, picture, and maybe even gender. They thought that this was a clever use of imagination, when, in fact, it was simply a lack of imagination. For what they didn’t realize, and would never realize – as long as they continued to hide behind a mask – was that they were simply in a search for “self”, trying to discover who they really are. The virtual world, through the many windows it opens, allows us discover more and more about who we really are, without the need to wear masks. We can join new communities, and find our place there. Meet people from many walks of life that we may have never met, and interact with them. The wider our scope, the wider our experience, the deeper we delve into ourselves and into others – the more we learn about ourselves. The closer we become towards our real self.
And yes, in answer to your question, I think we stray more from our real self when offline, for we remained trapped within a limited world, limited in vision, opportunity and experience.
We have to learn to find a balance between these two worlds. Not look at either as a means of escape, but rather as an opportunity to dig deeper into ourselves.
Thanks graham. You’ve raised some very interesting points. I like what you say here: “The virtual world allows us to discover more and more about who we really are….the more we learn about ourselves, the closer we become towards our real selves”.
Interesting post:
http://quasifictionalviews.blogspot.com/2007/01/online-identity.html
Dio:
You are right. Dating sites especially are suffering from the issue of fake online identities.
However, I believe that most people on the social networks are relatively honest about who they are.