Are you one or are you two?

In kinder garden we already learn that 1+1= 2. Obviously, this is arithmetically correct, but there are also a few exceptions to this ‘formula’. For instance in the area of chemistry; when you mix two liquid substances with each other, you still end up with one substance and not two. The romantic people among us will say that love is also one of the exceptions, that two lover become one. I say that there is also an important exception that has to do with social media. In the world of social media, sometimes 1+1=1 and sometimes  1+1=2.  For those who are losing track now, I am talking about humans and their online identity and identity online. In some cases the online identity of individuals is the same as their offline identity, but often people present themselves in a more positive way online than they really are. In addition there are also people who have a completely different identity online than in ‘real’ life.

So we are talking about online identity, but what is identity exactly? There can be a distinction made in two forms of identity, namely personal identity and social identity. Personal identity is the way we see ourselves and the things we tell someone else about ourselves. Social identity is the way other people see us and the things they tell about us to other people. This post focus on the personal identity of people. The reason that the online identity of people often (slightly) differ from their offline identity is simply because the internet and social networks are very suitable for this. By telling the right information and leaving other information out we can change ourselves into the person we want to be, into our true selves and maybe even into our ideal selves.  Social networks allows people to think about their identity, and change ourselves online to who we want to be can also transform the way we think about ourselves and in the end even can change  our offline identity. So, an optimize self-presentation online doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. It can serve as a way to gain more self-knowledge and as a possibility to improve your personality.

In addition to people who optimize their self-presentation online, there are also people who have one or more completely different identities on the internet.  This we call ‘ identity online’. Experimenting with identity happens mainly online, because it is more easy to give yourself another look and it is much more anonymous than offline experimenting.  Therefore Identity experimenting also takes particularly place in anonymous CMC’s as MUD’s and MMORGH’s, like Second life and World of Warcraft. Motives for experimenting with identity are often very innocent, like curiosity or  recreation (games). For others it can be a way to escape the real world, to be who they want to be or to avoid harassments The experimenting with identity has less and more extreme forms. A less extreme form is for example that when you want to play 'World of War craft' you have to choose a fairy figure like a dwarf or an elf, which you can make look like yourself. In that case you still stay close to your own identity. But there are also other people who act completely different online, for example by gender swapping. I think there is nothing wrong with experimenting with your identity, but it is important not to lose yourself into it. After all, our identity offline is still the identity we have to live with for the rest of our lives, even when we are too old to use the internet.