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| Image 1: Digital Identity (Deepsoni, 2011) |
The internet is a place where you can disassociate yourself
from your physical identity. Yet social networks such as Facebook require members
to use their “authentic” self. Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg considers ”You
have one identity” (Kirkpatrick, p. 199). However, this belief that there is a
distinct difference between authentic and inauthentic selves can be shown to be
flawed by simply looking at a website like Reddit.
Unlike Facebook, Reddit
does not force users to give their real name (McNeil, p. 68). While some members
do use their real name for their profile, the majority create pseudonyms which
mean something to them. These pseudonyms can relate to favourite games,
political opinions, or be a random string of words. In some circumstances, a
user may choose to name their account after particular person. For example, one
could make an account called “Tony Abbott”, and recreate their personality traits
in order to act as that character. While
this may be considered an “inauthentic” identity to Zuckerberg, to the user, it
may be their “authentic” representation of their ideal self (Kirkpatrick, p. 210).
It may seem as if online identity (selfhood) is only shaped
by the user. However, in a virtual
network, it is not only the user that is constructing their identity (Kuttainen
2016). In Reddit, there are “throwaway
accounts” - accounts created for the purpose of asking a question the user does
not associated with their main account (r/OutOfTheLoop). This shows there is at
least some outside pressure that forces people to create alternate identities.
Another way selfhood is defined on Reddit is by being
associated with certain subreddits. As discussed in last week’s blog,
users do not usually identify themselves by their favourite subreddits. This,
however, does not stop other members from doing so. It is common to judge users by the subreddits they visit.
The sense of self on Reddit is not just a product of one
person; rather, a user’s selfhood is shaped by the network they inhabit.
References:
Kirkpatrick, D. (2011). The
facebook effect: The real inside story of Mark Zuckerberg and the world’s
fastest growing company.UK: Virgin Books.
Kuttainen, V. (2016). BA1002:
Our Space, Networks, Narratives, and the making of place, Lecture 6, Networked
Narratives. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from: https://learnjcu.edu.au
McNeil, L. (2012). There is no “I” in network: Social
networking sites and posthuman auto0biography. Biography, 35(1), 65-82. doi: 10.1353/bio.2012.0009
Soni, D. (2011). Digital identity [Image]. Retrieved from: http://deepsoni.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/digital_identity_by_rainspeak-d4m28vz.jpg
The Place Space Townsville Tutorial 6 2016. (2016, August
26). R/language: The power of naming [Blog Post]. Retrieved from:
What is a throwaway account, and why do people make them?
(2015). In r/OutOfTheLoop. Retrieved from:
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