How Does The Internet & Social Networking
Affect The Development And Performance Of Our Identity?
What Are The Benefits Of
Social Networking?
What Are The Risks Of
Social Networking?
It would now be
appropriate to turn to the serious consideration of the role of social
networking sites and how they affect the development and performance of
identity. Irrespective of whether individuals take part in a virtual community
or a non-virtual community, when analysing the correlation between the internet
and the identity, the question arises whether individuals seek multiple
identifications as well as multiple identities.
Buckingham states that “yet who I am (or
who I think I am) varies according to who I am with, the social situations in
which I find myself, and the motivations I may have at the time, although I am by
no means entirely free to choose how I am defined”. As a matter of fact people
tend to judge a person by the first impression that they receive from that
individual. According to William Shakespeare “all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players”.
Individuals within different social environments, be it in on social networking
sites, with friends, with family or just alone, from personal experience I can
confirm that I for instance do change my behaviour to a certain extent in order
to adapt myself to that particular social environment and harmonise with its
individuals. In this context Erving Goffman also makes clear that “everyone is simultaneously a performer and an audience of the others’ performance of
self”. Nevertheless, I also believe
that vice versa, thesocial environment
changes the behaviour of individuals so that they become a part of that
environment. Therefore it is certainly assumable that individuality consists of
multiple personalities ergo behaviours. I am not talking about identities due to
the fact that “alternative” behaviours are part of individuals’ identities
which are unique.
According to Boyd
“We can [...] alter our performance accordingly. This process of performance,
interpretation, and adjustment is what Erving Goffman calls impression management”. Impression management refers to a concept
where individuals adjust their behaviour to a specific situation as previously
explained and the management of the identity.
Apart from the usage
of social networking sites as a medium of communication, one of the main purposes
of people signing up for social networking sites is the fact that they can
express their selves. Sam Gosling, associate professor of psychology at the University ofTexas, states that although conversations for instance on Facebook seem to be
“trivial and superficial”.
Nevertheless, he clarifies that there are important psychological needs
underlying these apparently trivial interactions, specifically the projection
of the “ideal” inner self. People now
have the opportunity of self-presentation by sharing thoughts, feelings,
interests etc. with like-minded people who have chosen a similar lifestyle ergo
who have similar culture tastes and everyday life activities. According to
Giddens, identity is expressed by our choices of “lifestyle”, for example the music that we listen to, the clothes
that we like to wear, the internet services that we like to use etc. With the
help of these lifestyle choices people are then able to make assumptions about
your identity and eventually accommodate you to that particular group with
like-minded individuals. It is all about you being able to identify yourself
with like-minded people. Hence you get the feeling of belonging somewhere, in
the case of social networking sites to particular groups that consist of your
list of friends. Anthropologist Danah Michele Boyd made
the observation that “these networks try
to represent each person's identity as the set of connections he or she has”.
Therefore one can conclude that “you are
who you know”.
Furthermore, the
internet and social networking sites allow people to construct their identity
as they perceive themselves without the necessity of validity, particularly due
to the aspect of anonymity. Paul Ohm,
a law professor at the University of Colorado, points out that “part of what makes the Internet the dynamic,
dizzying, interesting communications medium it is, is the way it lets us try on
masks and personas, to act differently than we do offline”. Social
networkers have the possibility to experiment with various roles more
comfortably and with greater self-confidence. This is a result of the fact that
they would be unable to portray themselves differently in physical reality.
In this context
I would also like to talk about the disembodiment established on the internet. In
the non-virtual reality our physical presence is inevitable to literally
perform our identity due to the fact that we “project information about ourselves”. This projection of personal
information occurs for example through gestures, clothing and the way of
talking. However, the physical presence is irrelevant in a virtual environment.
The body is not required for interactions between individuals. Therefore
psychographic information such as personality, values and interests are of
prime importance. Social networking sites represent a new vision of identity: “The main function of these systems is to
allow people to build an online identity that is defined in relation to their
interaction with others, in order to facilitate a process of matchmaking”.
Another positive
aspect of the internet is the therapeutic significance of social networking
sites that arises as a result of self-reflection. Hence the profiles on social
networking sites fulfil the function of a documentation of the life due to the
fact that it portrays a particular stage of life of a social networker.
Last but not
least it would be appropriate to point out the risks that arise from the progress
of internet technologies by emphasising on privacy related problems. These
problems can lead to embarrassment, reputation damage, stalking and bullying as
well as identity theft. Mark Zuckerberg,
one of the co-founders of the social network site Facebook, states that “the days of you having a different image for
your…co-workers and for the other people you know are probably coming to an end
pretty quickly…Having two
identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity”.
Privacy on social networking sites vanishes not only due to the fact that
people participating in online communities disclose more personal information
in order to gain benefits such as new “friendships”
but also because your privacy depends on the privacy settings of your friends
as well. For instance, on Facebook you can be linked to a picture of your
friend. The only possibility that you have is unlinking yourself from that
picture. However, by doing this you certainly will not disappear from that
picture unless your friend deletes the picture from his or her profile. Because
self-presentation is a social process, “identity
only becomes an issue when it is threatened or contested [by others] in some way and needs to be explicitly
asserted”. Identity theft is a main issue when talking about online
privacy. Identity thefts can influence the reputation of internet users, for
instance by reusing the pseudonym that you use on certain websites. Law
professor at the University of Colorado Paul Ohm makes clear that “my enemy would be able to learn things I had
said or done on other Web sites, perhaps including things I wanted to remain
secret. It isn’t just the embarrassing or sensitive things you say that can
cause you to lose your privacy online”. Furthermore, by disclosing more
information about yourself your data gets locked in somebody else’s hand. Hence
they possibly could use your personal information and abuse your identity. This
does not only affect your reputation but also your financial situation. “Professional” identity thieves primarily
use personal information to get hold of other information that could be of use
to them, particularly account numbers, passwords etc. To the question how our
online sharing will change in future Michael Fertik,
founder of Reputation Defender, responds that “more and more will be shared
unknowingly, unwittingly and unwillingly”.
Let us now turn
our attention to the definition of identity. There is a contradictory meaning
in the word identity due to the fact that it “implies both similarity and difference”. The first thing to point out is that identity
is inimitable. It differentiates us from everyone else hence our identity is “something that we uniquely possess” as a
result of our heritage and the experiences that we have gained.
It
is important to distinguish between different meanings of identity,
particularly between identity and identification due to the fact that identification
relates to the similarities that we share with other individuals. These similar
characteristics are “ascriptive” and appear
due to same nationality, culture, gender or age. Hence “identity also implies a relationship with a broader collective or
social group of some kind” by identifying oneself with a specific group.
Baumann
also places emphasis on the “fluidity of
identity” describing it as almost “infinitely
negotiable” due to the fact that our identity is never constant. As a
result of self reflection our identity is always changing.
Before examining to
what extent the internet affects the development and the
performance of one’s identity with emphasis on social networking sites, I
should like to begin by defining the complex meaning of identity. It would also
be appropriate to consider the aspect of globalisation in terms of cultural and
social development.
How is
globalisation related to the social ergo individual development?
Globalisation is
a term used to describe the increasing interaction across national boundaries
causing a growing integration of societies around the world. This
interconnection of people and places increases as a result of the advances in
transport, communication and information technologies. Hence a political,
economical and cultural convergence is created: The world “minimises” and becomes a “global
village”. Globalisation influences the economy, the culture, the politics,
the religion, the ecology and last but not least the society with every single
individual. The progress of globalisation has the power to erase geographical
and human borders so that the world becomes a “walled-off” world. According to social theorist Zygmunt Bauman “globalisation, the decline of the welfare
state, increasing social mobility, greater flexibility in employment, insecurity
in personal relationships - all these developments are contributing to a sense
of fragmentation and uncertainty, in which the traditional resources for identity
formation are no longer so straightforward or so easily available”. The
World Wide Web is a symbol for globalisation. Therefore it is of great
importance to consider the social aspect of globalisation relating to social
networking sites which have resulted from the development of the internet technology.
Social networking sites represent the modern resource of identity formation.
After presenting the basic principles of globalisation, I shall examine to what extent the internet affects the development and the performance of one’s identity. Furthermore, I am going to present the benefits and risks associated with the internet technology, particularly analysing social networking sites.
But what are social networks? What is the main purpose of social networks? How can social networking influence my identity?
“Social Network” is a term first used by Professor J. A. Barnes in the 1950s to describe a structure of individuals or organisations that are in a relationship with one another as a result of specific interdependencies such as family, work or hobby.
The significance of the term has been taken to another dimension since the introduction of web 2.0. In particular social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter have expanded the concept of social networks incredibly. People now have the possibility to be part of a virtual community irrespective of the location. In short: Individuals have the opportunity to present themselves globally via the internet.
Nevertheless, it is important that social networkers do not neglect the dangers associated with such an opportunity as they provide personal information that can be available literally to everyone in the world. I am going to deal with this matter closely in this blog.
More importantly I will be talking about the influence of such virtual communities on one’s identity and discuss whether there can be a contradiction between the way we present ourselves in the physical reality and the virtual reality in the World Wide Web.
Before examining to what extent the internet affects the development and the performance of one’s identity with emphasis on social networking sites, I should like to begin by defining the complex meaning of identity. It would also be appropriate to consider the aspect of globalisation in terms of cultural and social development.How is globalisation related to the social ergo individual development?
After presenting the basic principles of globalisation, I shall examine to what extent the internet affects the development and the performance of one’s identity. Furthermore, I am going to present the benefits and risks associated with the internet technology, particularly analysing social networking sites.But what are social networks? What is the main purpose of social networks? How can social networking influence my identity?“Social Network” is a term first used by Professor J. A. Barnes in the 1950s to describe a structure of individuals or organisations that are in a relationship with one another as a result of specific interdependencies such as family, work or hobby.The significance of the term has been taken to another dimension since the introduction of web 2.0. In particular social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter have expanded the concept of social networks incredibly. People now have the possibility to be part of a virtual community irrespective of the location. In short: Individuals have the opportunity to present themselves globally via the internet.Nevertheless, it is important that social networkers do not neglect the dangers associated with such an opportunity as they provide personal information that can be available literally to everyone in the world. I am going to deal with this matter closely in this blog.More importantly I will be talking about the influence of such virtual communities on one’s identity and discuss whether there can be a contradiction between the way we present ourselves in the physical reality and the virtual reality in the World Wide Web.0
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