Images are a versatile way of conveying meaning and adding depth to a work, and in today’s visually-focused world of mass media and communications, a picture really can be worth a thousand words. A world composed entirely of images and text, the Internet — a vast network of computers and other technology — is set as the focal point of change in the 21st century. Through the internet, millions upon millions of bytes worth of video, audio, and text are transmitted between people across the globe. This has created a system that not only represents the largest repository of information in the history of mankind, but also serves as a means of entertainment, social interaction, and learning. In this reflection, combining text with images serves as both a means of emphasizing my point, and as an example in and of itself of how the Internet can be a powerful tool for research and discussion.
“I am not made like any of those I have seen. I venture to believe that I am not made like any of those who are in existence. If I am not better, at least I am different” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Our identity, that which makes us who we are, is defined by our personality, our actions, and who we associate with, among a myriad of other things. My room is a part of my identity, it’s my sanctuary, where I have gone through a great deal of development emotionally, socially, and creativity. My identity has been shaped in my room in large part by my online experiences. This is not uncommon in our modern society, as millions upon millions of people use the internet to socialize, to create, and to learn. One of the things that makes this possible is the anonymity the internet allows its users, providing the opportunity to take on a kind of digital alter-ego in the ever-expanding cyberspace party that the internet has become. The phenomenon of online interaction with the world is changing our concept of identity through anonymity, niche social groups, and the myriad of ways to create and share experiences.
An integral part of my identity is creativity, which is reflected by my room. It’s medium-sized, located on the north-east corner of the house, with a row of windows on the west side. The walls are a soft blue, a mix between morning sky and light gray, with a mural of a hammerhead shark on the far right wall. I chose this color because blue is a calm, cool color, and I wanted this room to be a sanctuary of peace and quiet. Lining the west wall is a large collection of books, keepsakes, and paper. My “personal library”, as I call it, contains a wide variety of genres, including sci-fi, fantasy, non-fiction, historical fiction, et cetera. Although lately I do most of my reading online, I enjoy reading and re-reading a few of my favorites, and take a lot of inspiration from the themes and characters.
My favorite genres are sci-fi and high fantasy, such as Ender’s Game and the Narnia series, as well as dark poetry, like the works of Edgar Allen Poe and strange, cosmic horror stories by H.P. Lovecraft. These serve as my reservoir from which I draw an elixir of strange and fantastic stories to fuel my creative processes. On a shelf along the north wall is where I keep my sketchbooks, filled with years’ worth of drawings, ideas, etc. On the same shelf is a fish tank containing my pet snake, a Kenyan sand boa; I’m fascinated by reptiles, and I’ve always loved the creepy, primal aspect of snakes. A pet can say a lot about their owner’s identity. People often describe themselves as either a “dog person” or “cat person,” but I guess I would say I’m a “snake person,” as I have a great admiration for them. Snakes are simple creatures, seeking only food and warmth. Squiggly cannot be described as “loving”, but the way he cuddles up to me and isn’t afraid to let me touch him tells me that he trusts me, in his own way. Squiggly is currently the third snake I’ve owned, with the other two dying in gruesome ways. In a way it’s helped me learn to cope with loss, and to familiarize myself with grief in a way that allows me to weave it into my art. I love to create, building whole worlds with my sketchbook, tablet, and keyboard, and my room is where I’ve done most of that. I’ve spent hours, sometimes days in my room just filling a sketchbook or folder with pictures and ideas, all from within the small piece of the world that is my room. For me, my room is not just where I go to relax, it’s an integral part of my creative process, and of my identity as an artist.
“…millions upon millions of people use the internet to socialize, to create, and to learn”
My identity is strongly tied to the most prominent physical structure in my room, my desk, which sits in the most northeast corner. On it sits my computer, where I spend most of my time. On my computer, I have built a relatively fulfilling digital life as an artist, writer, and avid video game fan. My online identity is a rather stark contrast to most people’s perception of me in the real world, as it is really only through a digital medium that I feel comfortable expressing my true personality. The internet has been a creative outlet for me ever since I first became familiar with how to use a computer. I first realized the creative potential of the internet when I was 10 years old, through a popular comic-hosting site, called Smackjeeves, where I made several friends. This was an important part of my online life as it represented an opportunity to share my creative side with like-minded individuals, to be part of a group, whilst also maintaining my individuality through a signature style. Joining this site instilled in me a love of storytelling that I’ve nurtured ever since. A member of this online community, after getting to know me and seeing some of my early digital artwork, eventually invited me to be one of many co-authors for her comic. It was when I posted my first comic and got heaps of praise that I realized I could establish a name for myself through my art by putting it up on the internet.
Over time, I outgrew Smackjeeves and became a member of DeviantART, a well-known online gallery through which people can share and comment on other people’s art and writing. It was here that my online persona was fully established, and this virtual space now occupies the center of what I consider to be my digital identity. There I learned both artistic and life skills. I learned the nuances of character development and world-building, of internet politics and perhaps most importantly, how to resolve an argument. My experience with this site and the people I’ve met have helped me to open up more in real life interactions and improved my interpersonal skills. Despite being almost entirely separate, my digital life and my real life influence each other in notable ways and combine to form my complete identity.
“I realized I could establish a name for myself through my art by putting it up on the internet”
The plethora of social media sites, chatrooms, and forums available make it easy for people to find peers and form their own online identity. An important aspect of one’s identity is his or her social identity, the sense of who you are based on group memberships (McLeod). The term, “social identity”, comes from Henri Tajfel, a renowned British social psychologist, who proposed that groups were an important source of self-esteem and that people would eventually form an “us-vs-them” image of their group as it came to occupy a central role in their identity (McLeod). This “us-vs-them” defensiveness can be seen very easily in online interactions, as arguments can become quite heated in ways that are not often seen in real world disputes. A major cause of this volatility is the anonymity afforded to internet users, a phenomenon referred to as “deindividuation” (Sood, Omernick), and is “characterized by a reduction in private self-awareness, accountability…and self-regulation…brought on by being [un]identifiable [and in]distinguishable.” Compounding this is what Dr. John Suler calls the “online disinhibition effect,” where people act out more frequently and intensely than they would in real life. The contributing factors to this are “dissociative anonymity {being able to separate actions from identity}, invisibility {being an individual in a large group and thus less likely to be noticed}, asynchronicity {the lack of an immediate response to one’s actions}, and minimization of authority {absence of cues alluding to an individual’s status and thus lesser ability to corral the group} (Suler).” A consequence of this is that many internet users display behavior that is far more extreme (and in many cases more immature and spiteful) than they would in their real lives.
Because of this, many believe the internet to be an inferior form of social interaction. For example, in a study of anonymity’s influence on online communications, Eli Omernick and Sara Sood compared comments made on the Tech site Disqus and Facebook. Their statistical analysis indicated that the individuals who used a name or pseudonym were far less likely to post comments containing negative or swear words, while the inverse was found for anonymous comments (Omernick, Sood p4). The fact that people even chose to use pseudonyms instead of their real names indicates having some sense of identity, and being reluctant to associate that identity with undesirable behavior. The internet serves as a way of both creating a new identity for socializing and exploring new ideas, as well as a non-identity through which people shed their sense of personal responsibility and act out, for better or for worse. To be able to essentially put on a mask in order to voice inner thoughts and feelings, gives socially awkward or inept persons such as myself a means of giving their oft hidden identity a voice and a place in the world, and a sense of individuality in an ever-increasing population. Individuality is crucial to my identity as it is a source of strength and self-worth.
Identity, our perception of ourselves and others’ perceptions of us, is a concept that forms the basis for how we interact with the world around us. It determines the choices we make, the people we form bonds with, and the steps we take to pursue our goals. It can be shaped by a number of factors, and can change in miniscule or major ways due to changes in our environment, our self-perception, or our goals. My room symbolizes and shapes my identity, as its outward plain-ness disguises a vibrant world of creativity and exploration, and its seclusion provides a calm, quiet, and safe environment in which I can reflect and come to understand myself. The internet serves as a way for people, like me, to occupy a separate identity from the one they possess in the real world, and sometimes the two can influence each other or combine into a single entity that we call the self.
References:
1. McLeod, Saul. Social Identity Theory, Simply Psychology. 2008. Web. http://www.simplypsychology.org/social-identity-theory.html
2. Suler, John, Ph.D. The Online Disinhibition Effect, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.. Cyberpsychology & Behavior Volume 7, Number 3. 2004. Web. http://www.samblackman.org/Articles/Suler.pdf
3. Omernick, Eli; Sood, Sara Owsley. The Impact of Anonymity in Online Communities. 2013 International Conference on Social Computing. 8–14 September, 2013. Print. http://labfs.eecs.northwestern.edu/~sara/Site/Publications_files/anonymitySood.pdf
4. Long, Janet H; Chen, Guo-Ming. The Impact of Internet Usage on Adolescent Self-Identity Development. University of Rhode Island, 2007. http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=com_facpubs
5. Krotoski, Aleks. Online Identity: is authenticity or anonymity more important? The Guardian, April 2012. Web. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/apr/19/online-identity-authenticity-anonymity
6. McKenna, Kaetlyn Y.A.; Bargh, John A. The Internet and Social Life. New York University, 2004. Print. http://www.yale.edu/acmelab/articles/Internet_and_Social_Life.pdf
If this topic intrigues you, here are some other approaches to studying the social aspect of the internet:
HACKERS WORLD: ANONYMOUS INVESTIGATION
Frontline’s “Growing Up Online:” a look at the first generation to grow up with the internet.
“Who interacts on the Web?: The Intersection of Users’ Personality and Social Media Use”