Ctrl C: Building Digitised Societies

Shifting Identities

By Jill van Deurzen, Michelle Lucas en Sevanne Pastijn

Introduction

 

To know what is known as shifting identities, we need to know what is meant by identity. The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia defines ‘identity’ as following: the distinguishing character or personality of an individual.

Other people know your personality and body. They hear your voice, see your body language, know your facial expressions etc. But what if you would like to have another personality, act like someone else? That is where ‘shifting identity’ comes in. In a virtual world you can act like another person. In some communities you can make an avatar that looks like you, or looks like a completely other person. The barrier to talk in real life is diminished in the virtual world. This is a place you can say whatever you want without people knowing who you really are. You can act differently in a virtual world; you can be freer; you can shift your real life identity…

Development of the web

 

New technology has made ​​possible new forms of communication. We can now use mobile phones, SMS, email, chat, instant messaging, mailing lists and discussion groups. Less than before personal and physical contact is a necessary component of communication between people. Grandparents send e-mails to their grandchildren, students find each other on msn, students and workers find each other on LinkedIn. Around every complaint, hobby, lifestyle or interests are online communities. Initially, they talked about the emergence of virtual communities, relatively strong small groups of people with similar interests. By the wide distribution of e-mail and instant messaging arose then more open and more various webnetworks. The diversity of opportunities for online contact have been increased. The increased use of computers recreates the social space and changes the relationship between people and groups of people.

Most of the population is using the internet as a social interaction tool by connecting in different social networks where it is possible to contact other members of the community. Online gaming is also considered as ‘an online community’, because the player has to build a community with the other participants of the same game. The virtual community is also described as an aggregation of individuals or business partners who interact around a shared interest, where the interaction is at least partially supported and, a mediated by technology and guided by some protocols or norms’. A social network allows users to escape from the routine or their troubles in real life. Therefore, cyberspace is a place where you can forget your problems and create another identity on the web.

Real life versus Virtual life

In real life the physical body is part of the identity. The body helps forming an opinion about the person you are communicating with, because you can see, smell, hear and touch this person. When you’re communicating online, there is no body anymore and it isn’t as important as it is in real life. This is called ‘disembodiment’. Despite the impact of a body in real life, it can be easier to communicate online. Think of people who are very shy and feel uncomfortable speaking in groups etc. They feel comfortable in the virtual world because there is no physical body and you can share everything. It is said that people who haven’t much relationships offline seek for ones online. The use of internet to find and make friends is linked to satisfaction and the quality of life.

When comparing real life and virtual life it is said that communicating in real life is more secure. You can see the body language of the person you are communicating with. In virtual life you need to trust the person you are communicating with on the words he or she is saying. You can not see if somebody is lying by watching the body language. An example is online dating. You are looking for a partner, but the members can say anything about themselves. They present themselves in a very positive way. People can lie online because nobody is able to check if this person is telling the truth. When you meet somebody in real life you can tell if he or she is lying by the gestures that are made. If not, this person could be a really good liar. Robert Epstein wrote a book, ‘The truth about online dating’, about online dating and the lying that comes with it. He ones met a woman online and met her in real life. She was a completely other person in real life than on the pictures. He noticed that people do not use their own pictures to attract more people to their profile. This is an example that shows that online identity is deceptive and not trustworthy. Besides showing pictures of other people, people also lie about for example age and marital status.

 

In addition, playing the game The Sims is also an example of having another identity. You can play the game with an avatar. You are the avatar. You can design it in a way that it looks like you, or in a way that you would like to look like in real life. You play the game and share it with virtual friends who are also a member of the community. You can act like someone who you would like to be, but who you are not in real life.

Being a member of an online community can influence your identity. A study showed that members of online communities changes their behaviour because of the comments of other members of the community. They change their behaviour to not be excluded from the group. People share what the other members believe, but not what they really trust.

 Online identity

The chart below captures some interesting elements of our online identity development. As you can see in the image, the younger we are, the more we have the tendency to experiment and play with online identities. As we get older, our identity begins to clot and our online world and activities relate to our day to day life. When we are young, shifting identities is easy. As we get older, this becomes harder to do because we have to we work and have a family to raise. This data is also very much a “now” chart in that, as the Internet generation grows older, these indicators that apply today will change.

But is experimenting with our online identities dangerous? Not really, but we need to carefully consider the implications of our digital footprint. There are a few pros and cons of anonymity on the Internet. Being anonymous on the web makes it possible for everyone to discuss sensitive subjects, such as medical conditions, physical abuse and sexual orientation, without these actions affecting their everyday lives in a negative or potentially harmful way. Destructive side effects of anonymity on the web can be bullying and racism. People feel like they can say anything on the web, but nobody is helding them accountable for their words.

 

Thankfully, things are starting to change. The rise of identity-centric social networks like Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn, make it increasingly more difficult to be anonymous on the Internet. These platforms are inherently social and rely on you, as a user, to establish a network of friends and acquaintances. This effectively creates an online version of your real life that relies on your real identity in order to function.

 

But even on social media people post things that are not true. In July of this year there was an article about a girl who created seven different identities on seven different sites. Each with a different profile picture and name, she turned many men on various dating sites round her finger. When this came out, she was immediately blocked and not prosecuted for fraud.

 

The digital and physical world, in practice, do not much differ from each other. Especially when looking at the impact of social media, it appears that people online are not always different than they actually are. According to media psychologist Mischa Coster people can even feel more 'real' online than in reality.

Introvert people seem to be less bothered by social inhibitions, according to research from Michigan State University. They behaved online more exuberant and social online than in person. The danger that people pretend to be better than they actually are, does exist according to Coster.

 

Social media allows for self-regulation. People, who don’t tell the true story, will quickly be corrected by acquaintances.

Sock puppets

In the Guardian of 17 March 2011 was an article about the software that the U.S. military has made to make intelligence officers simply create multiple social media accounts of non-existing persons (foreign nationality!) under the false identity (sock puppets) try to influence public opinion. Obviously in favor of the views of the U.S. government.

Simon Tanner, working at the department of digital humanities, King's College London, says: ‘Sock puppets, referencing the cute and simple hand puppets made from a sock, are intended primarily to deceive. This is not the anonymity we all sometimes seek when online; sock puppetry is about setting up a false identity so the puppeteer can speak falsely while pretending to be another person’.

 

Reviews on internet are mostly made by sock puppeteers. The authors of books review their own books or simply buy five-star reviews by the dozen. Years ago, Amazon accidentally revealed that some authors were praising their own work and write down work from other authors.

 

 

Second Life

Sometimes real life is tough. People can struggle with things like a bad marriage, paying high rent or an awful job. In some cases they dream about a good life, a Second Life.

Second Life is a virtual world. This world was launched in 2003 by Philip Linden. Second Life is a world in which the user can move around by it’s one. Of course you can create an avatar. You can give your avatar the looks of yourself or be completely someone else. You can also choose for an avatar that isn’t human, for example a mermaid or superman. But, this virtual world is not a game like The Sims. In Second Life the avatar cannot die. You also can not achieve any goals like the ones you can achieve in a game. It is purely to escape your real life and unwind in a (virtual) life where everything is good.

 

 

Nowadays, more than 250.000 people are active on Second Life. But why are so many people using this virtual escape world? Is it only because they want to escape their horrible real life? No, there are also other cases. Second Life offers a lot of opportunities. For example it is easier to make friends because you can join a community that contains your interests. So you know that the people you are talking to in this community share the same interests. For people who are struggling with making friends, or just making any kind of contact, you may think this is a ‘safe’ way. But how safe is it really? Not as safe as in real life of course. You always have to wonder if the avatar you are talking to is really the person it says he or she is. Maybe it is a creepy pervert or something like that, but you probably will never know that. You just have to be careful with virtual friends because they can be anyone.

What brings Second Life so close to real life? That element is money. In Second Life you can buy houses or make and sell products like clothes or other goods. In this case we talk about real money. There are people who actually became rich because of this virtual life. They had invested in certain homes and make a lot of money out of it. In second life you earn the so called Linden dollars (L$). 270L$ is equivalent to 1$. There are also virtual exchange offices, where you can change your Linden dollars for real dollars. Second life offers, besides contact with friends and escaping real life, a lot for organizations. Just like in real life, organizations can open a virtual store in Second Life. For example, buying a car in Second Life is actually almost the same as buying a car in real life. You can even make a test drive in your virtual car! This off course is very interesting for organizations because they can bind potential clients to them. If the user of Second Life is interesting in the car in which he has made a test drive, he can possibly contact the company in real life and maybe buy a car.

Like mentioned before, a lot of big companies had laid their eyes on Second Life. They see a gap in the market. With seeing more people being active online nowadays, companies have to adapt. For example, ABN Amro has opened a virtual bank in Second Life. In this virtual office ABN Amro gives courses for starting entrepreneurs and graduated students. Hostess ‘Amber’ receives virtual guests that visit the bank. Amber is staffed by real employees so the questions of the avatars who visit the virtual bank can be answered. The virtual bank is open from 8 am till 10 pm. Another example of an organization that has opened a virtual store in Second Life is Philips. Philips wants to use Second Life as feedback channel. Customers can share ideas and wishes in the virtual store. These are examples of opportunities for organizations to invest in the virtual world. There are off course a lot more organizations that invest in this virtual world, and there are more ways to do this. But Second Life is really a virtual world where things go the same as in real life.