In my last post I touched a bit on identity in virtual communities. Well I found this interesting article online called Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community. The article makes some interesting points, some of which I’d like to highlight.
In the real world, the body is a ‘compelling and convenient definition of identity’. This is true because we often base assumptions and generalisations on people on how they look. How we dress is most often an indication of our personality and who were are. However in virtual communities we don’t have the advantage or luxury of being able to judge people on their body, or physical appearance.
Identity is an important element in communication as ‘knowing the identity of the people you communicate with is essential for understanding and evaluating an interaction.” When I go on Facebook and I sent messages and interact with my ‘friends’ I assume that they have the same identity online as they do in the real world.
The thing about online identities is that people are able to create a multitude of personalities and identities. A recent example of this is my lecturer Jude and the editor of Grocott’s Mail created false identities on the Grocott’s website. They posted comments under articles using their false identities in order to generate more comments and discussion on the site.
I think what this article is trying to make people aware of is that identities in virtual communities are not fixed and that they are not necessarily a true representation of the person sitting behind the computer screen.
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