Wednesday, November 26, 2008
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?
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3 comments:
Where do you think that the future of online identities are headed?
The topic chosen is an interesting one to discuss. As technology advances for the good, it also advances for the bad. More things are accessible for these bad people to work with and it shows when using the internet. Pedophiles and other sexual predators take advantage of the anoonimity on the web like you said. Cyber bullying is much easier because when you have no face it is much easier to say things. The story of Megan Meier, which I believe you were touching on when talking about the woman who bullied the young girl until suicide, was a horrible story to read about. Things like this happen everyday even if suicide is not the end result.
There is a good side and there is a bad side. Like you mentioned in the blog, there are homepages that allow people to talk about themselves without having a bunch of people around them ready to judge them. You are able to talk without that stutter you might have or that accent that people hear. It is a good thing when used in the right way. Some people are so sick and demented that they do take advantage of the anonimity. The fact that face-to-face interaction is taken away makes a guy that is smooth with his words for manipulative. It is scary what is possible through the internet but you guys make a good point about educating and letting people know the dangers of the web. All of these issues are present in the world today and as technology advances they will only increase. Just as technology increases so do the amount of people that are trying to do bad things with it. Know the dangers of the internet and help to inform others before we are all taken advantage of.
I enjoyed the part on online identity, and how it’s true when we first meet someone in person we mostly pay attention to their appearance and just a few words they speak. Also, I am glad they covered the fact that you can be anyone you want to be, at least pretend to be and make yourself something your not to deceive someone online. It’s a scary thing to think about, is the person on the other end who you think it is, who they say, or even a real person? With technology with cyberbots it is really something to question sometimes. With online dating, I liked how they discussed the idea about online dating. I feel this is where identity can be hidden at it’s finest. You can easily change how you are, and feel by using the internet to meet someone. You have time to construct your messages, and have the person perceive you how you want. The only question I have would be the topic of identity theft, not on the aspect of stealing information to use as money, or other things of that sort, but identity theft on personal sites. People make fake sites pretending to be other people all of the time, and I feel this is an important thing to think about when talking about online identity. An example of this was in Donath 2001, it shows how talking to a cyber bot (Eliza) can be just like talking to a human, and the identity could be mistaken.
Donath, J. S. (2001). Being real. In K. Goldberg (Ed.), The robot in the garden: Telerobotics and telepistemology in the age of the internet (pp. 297-311). Cambridge: MIT Press.
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