Conclusion to Personal Identity and its affects on the Web

So as we have gone over the topics that develop when we think about personal identity and how it is presented on the web we need to think about how this affects the real world as well. Identity is a very important trait that no one can take away or make up for you, but with the Internet those rules of expression and personal traits can be lost in technological stream of virtual space. The Internet is definitely one of the greatest inventions of all time and with that comes the responsibilities and rules of the relationships created through CMC by the use of Internet. Our team has developed a great understanding and breakdown of what personal identity is and how it can become something much different when the power of anonymity is introduced. The strength of CMC continues to grow as does the technology that drives it so how must we prepare for the future and what does it hold for personal identities in the virtual world?

Anonymity

“Online communication offers an alternative to traditional methods of political discourse and, in the process, raises new ethical concerns about anonymity and accountability” (Singer, B. 1996). With the rapidly growing popularity of the Internet, more and more people around the world are able to communicate with one anther through CMC. Typically, “When we first meet someone, we perceive only a few details about them: perhaps their appearance, a few words they utter, the context in which we meet them” (Donath, 2001 P.4). By taking away all these normal cues we are used to, it is hard for people to make a first impression of someone online. In some ways this is a good thing, because for the first time people are simply judging each other based on their minds. Being able to see what people have to say without paying attention to their appearance, their gender, their race, or even little things like an accent. Online communication makes it possible for people to talk honestly to one another without society influencing their thoughts of one another. On the other hand this idea of hiding all your personality traits and who you really are, makes it possible for you to create yourself into someone completely different. “ In the online world, much of our knowledge comes from other people’s testimony. Where we believe what we hear depends on whether we find the speaker credible, i.e. do we think the speaker is both honest and competent” (Donath, 2001 P. 8). This brings us to the scary topic of anonymity online. How do we know whom we are talking to or in some cases if we are even talking to another human at all? When becoming involved in online relationships, it is important to be careful whom you are getting involved with. Words appearing on your screen from a so-called friend, can easily manipulate you. Always remember that you really do not know who is at the other end of the keyboard.  Sometimes we are not even talking to another person even though it may be an ongoing real time conversation that answers and asks questions, they are still not necessarily real people. “They are simple programs, essentially just linguistic parsers, with no underlying intelligence. Yet we easily attribute intelligence, humanity, and even personality to them” (Donath, 2001, P.2). It is easy to be tricked by these programs, even when you know you are talking to a machine, it is quite easy to get wrapped up in the conversation and to just let your self talk. ELIZA, “has almost no intelligence whatsoever, only tricks like string substitution and canned responses based on keywords,” try talking to her yourself and see if you are tricked (Eliza, computer therapist, 2006).

            Other than simply being mislead and talking to a program or someone who is completely lying to you about their identity, just remember how easy it is to be tricked online. Most people are honest and good, and would never think to lie about who they are, so it is hard for them to assume people are misleading them. The Internet is a great thing and has advanced our world greatly, but just remember never to trust anyone online. Being anonymous online is simply too easy!

References

 

Donath, S, Judith. (2001). Being Real. Retrieved November 24, 2008 from             

https://myasucourses.asu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_2_1&url=%2fw            ebapps%2fblackboard%2fexecute%2flauncher%3ftype%3dCourse%26id%3d_238 99_1%26url%3d

 

Eliza, Computer Therapist. (2006). Retrieved November 28, 2008 from           http://www.manifestation.com/neurotoys/eliza.php3

 

Singer, B. Jane. (1996). Virtual Anonymity: Online Accountability and the Virtuous Virtual Journalist. Jounral of Mass Media Ethics, Volume 11. Retrieved November 22, 2008 from http://jcomm.uoregon.edu/~tbivins/jmme/php/view.php?a=30

 

 

 

Personal Identity on the Net

Self-presentation is best defined as impression management. Impressions and 'sign vehicles' are difficult to manage in face-to-face interactions because there is a loss of control over verbal and non verbal interactions. 'Sign vehicles’ are such things as clothing, speech pattern, facial impressions and bodily gestures. (Cheung, 2004) First impressions are formed at first glance that may include stereotypes based on such things as race and age. “But psychological research has revealed that whenever other people are able to observe our behavior directly or to receive information about it, we are careful about what type of impression we leave behind and we actively shape our self-presentation.” (Doring, 2002) To address problems around stereotypes and verbal response issues personal homepages are created as a work around. In addition to eliminating face-to-face issues, personal homepages are strategic, premeditated stages that allow an individual to create a presentation of them that is favorable to family, friends, and strangers. “One can express oneself extensively and without disturbance, falling back on various modalities and codes. Being represented on the Web with an attractive, information-rich, professional or humorous personal home page may enhance the impression we make on people who are not yet familiar with us personally.” (Doring, 2002) According to the article by Eillson, Heino, and Gibbs (2006) online self presentation enable an individual to express themselves more openly and honestly due to the asynchronous nature of CMC.

Personal homepages can also serve the purpose of identity construction. There are three domains of the self according to Higgins (1987) and they are the actual self, the ideal self, and the ought self. These ‘stages’ or personal homepages that are presented to others can open a door of creativity and a stable self-identity. Although with presenting ones self through such means may create a “multiple self” and it is believed that since a page can always be “under construction” it reflects the latest self-conception. (Doring, 2002) In a study conducted by Killoran (1998) 68% of 110 homepage owners change or work on their pages at least once a month. In creating a personal profile individuals have the tendency to construct an ideal self. For example, one may indicate that they are a few pounds lighter or that they participate in various activities that they rarely participate in such as hiking or jet skiing. This type of self expression by creating an ideal self is most commonly found on dating sites. The online dating environment is slightly different when describing self-presentation strategies. Due to an individual’s purpose of participating on dating sites to seek out an intimate relationships it involves a greater level of scrutiny. Not only are pictures and personal descriptions examined, like non dating personal homepages, other aspects are judged such as emails and links to other pages. In the dating environment future plans for a face-to-face interaction is intended. Therefore, this opens up the ability for an individual to post “potentially negative aspects of themselves online” therefore increasing the credibility of dating sites. (Ellison et al., p.419)

There are many aspects involving self-presentation that constructs self-identity. Critics and psychologists use multiple terms and concepts to describe the type of self-presentation that a person may use to identify oneself online such as patchwork identity, narrative identity, multiple self, dynamic self, dialogical self; and as mentioned in this paper, ideal self, actual self, and ought self and that is just to name a few. Oddly enough only 10% of society participates in the personal homepage environment. Due to the many positives that are associated with constructing pages such as minimized stereotypes, the ability to present oneself without pressure, and the ever reducing gap of the digital divide this number is constantly growing.

References

Ellison, N., Heino, R., Gibbs, J.(2006) Managing Impressions Online: Self-Presentation
Processes in the Online Dating Environment. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, volume 11, 414-441. Retreived November 25, 2008 from
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/118554151/PDFSTART

Doring, N (2006) Personal Home Pages on the Web: A Review of Research. Journal of
Computer Mediated Communication, volume 7. Retreived November 25, 2008 from
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120837851/abstract

Cheung, C (2004) Identity Construction and Self-Presentation on Personal Homepages:
Emancipatory Potentials and Reality Constraints. Retrieved November 25, 2008 from
https://myasucourses.asu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_23899_1

Cyber Predators on the Net

The vast expansion of cyberspace has given the ability to make anything you so choose available and easily accessible to millions of other users. With this great evolution of human interaction there has been amazing results, but also the reality of harmful predators that lurk in the shadows of virtual space waiting to take advantage of an unsuspecting individual. Cyber predators are a great threat to personal lives and organizations throughout the world as identity becomes harder to trace within the endless web of the technology. When you think of a cyber predator what comes to mind? Is it a pedophile, a deranged mother, a lonely student reaching out for acceptance? The possibility of becoming someone new on the Internet is a very easy thing to do. On the Internet you can choose the persona you wish to represent making it a real danger for those who aren’t protected. As with everything else in this world it seems that for every good there is a bad waiting to be created.

I think that the most common thought when we think about cyber predators is the exploitation of children online. Cyber predators are continuously stalking chat rooms to find children for sexual activities. This is sick and wrong, but as technology grows it makes catching these criminals much harder. This being the case it is the responsibility of parents, the government, and everyone with knowledge of cyber predators to educate children to keep personal information safe. With all the resources available to protect our children is of great concern that these things still continue to happen. As stated by Ernie Allen of the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, “It's a massive problem. We know that 87 percent of teenagers are online. That's 21 million kids and that 2/3 of the victims are teenage girls.” This a scary thought as more children gain access every day. So what can we do to protect them from future dangers such as cyber predators? The choice has to be in the hands of the parents and teachers who have direct contact with the children providing them with the knowledge they need to be safer online.

Another cyber predator that aims for your personal information is the online thief. These people stroll the Internet looking to have a shopping spree with your money or to completely take what is most sacred, identity. With businesses and families going more in the direction of wireless it is making the cyber thief’s job much easier. A thief armed with a laptop can simply drive around looking to link up with a network and essentially gaining access to their personal information. It seems that instant accessibility and wireless connections our societies have created is also making the realm of thieves endless. Anyone, anywhere can find there way into your personal information if not protected properly.

The idea of cyber predators is one that can cause great grief for the victims of such actions like bullying. I remembered watching a broadcast of CNN when it explained how a mother had gone online and created a new male identity to bully a young girl that attended the same school of her daughter. Unfortunately the story unraveled to reveal that the bullied girl had committed suicide because of the adult mother’s actions. This just lets us know that what we might think is ok when we choose to create a new life on the web really can affect someone else in such a negative way. The future of technology is endless and with that we need to take into consideration are the dangers the come with it. The world will never be completely safe from predators, but with guidance we can have an enormous effect on the future of Internet safety.


References

Balkin, Adam., & Carino, Lisa. (2005). Protection from cyber predators. Retrieved November 23, 2008, from http://www.rnews.com/print.cfm?id=28003

Intro to Personal Identity

The Internet is an information super highway that has continued to grow at tremendous rates throughout the years. The idea of personal identity when we talk about computer mediated communication seems to get lost by the vast possibilities that the Internet gives us. We are constantly being asked to broadcast ourselves to the world whether it be by email, network sites, texting, etc. The very basis of communication and identity has been blasted into cyberspace creating a new world of alternative identities. With the growth of technology our world has seen many good and bad outcomes since its creation. Our basic ideas of communicating have been transformed into a new system of wireless communication making the face-to-face ways of the past slide into the passenger seat of human relation. We are looking to further the understanding of how identity makes its way into the realm of technology.
For our teams project we have chosen to represent personal identity and its role in CMC. There are four main topics that we thought could best describe the role of CMC and its effects on the future of communication. These topics include:
• Anonymity
• Digital Divide
• Cyber Predators
• Personal Identity (as it relates to expression).
Within these topics there is a vast sense of how people are becoming more technological in their forms of interaction. When we think about CMC and how it relates to what is going on in the world we see it as the future of how we interact with each other. As a whole we are becoming more independent, virtual, and most importantly, connected. This connection has come along way with the creation of email, text, and video streams, to name a few, but how do we view its change on society? Our personal lives are now shaped by the way WE intend to have people view us. Simply put, we have been given the possibility of creating a new image of ourselves. So join us on the exploration of how technology is shaping the world around us.