You Are Your Digital Identity
Your online persona is part of who you are, as are the real-life consequences of your actions
Brief disclaimer
This is the seventh of a multi-part article series based on a paper I originally wrote for a University rhetoric course. If you missed parts 1–6 I recommend reading those first.
I broke my very long paper into sections and made edits to make it easier to read, so I hope you enjoy.
Depersonalization
There seems to be a belief, especially amongst social media influencers, that we can separate our online personas from our “real life” selves. This can lead to a lack of responsibility and accountability when it comes to our online behaviour.
Not only can we use the Internet anonymously, we can also separate ourselves from the consequences of our actions if we allow ourselves to believe that we embody two distinct identities: our online selves and our “real life” selves.
While it may seem innocuous, and most of the time it probably is — this depersonalization has potentially dangerous consequences.
