Concept-Development

INTERNET IDENTITY: A PUBLICATION

Essay key points

Themes

Concepts

Stable offline identity

SOCIAL IMPACT

Experimental online indentity

Catfish analysis

Concertina booklet to show development and evolution of identity

Changing, adapting and evolving online identity

Anonymity

Global community - influence on identity

Online disinhibition effect Identity as a mask

Before Internet, After internet (BI, AI)

Internet behaviour

Multiple persona’s

“Greater internet fukwad theory”

Mirror used to show identity reflected when interacting with the publication Mimic this concept using the camera on iPad Change in font or type size to visually show changes and adaptions in identity

Many identities brought together as one

Augmented reality to reveal hidden content

Flexibility

Fragmented type and grid

Production of identity which is never complete

Thomas Squire

Leeds College of Art

OUGD501

Context of Practice

Theory into Practice

1

ONLINE DISINHIBITION EFFECT You don’t know me (Dissociative anonymity)

You can’t see me (Invisibility)

See you later (Asynchronicity)

It’s all in my head (Solipistic Introjection)

It’s just a game (Dissociative imagination)

The notion of “You Don’t Know Me” comes down to simple anonymity: when the person remains anonymous, it provides a sense of protection; within the framework of the Internet, this allows the user to move about without any kind of indication of identity or even distinguishing characteristics other than potentially a username. This kind of protection can provide a meaningful release for people in that they feel free to say things they might otherwise be embarrassed to, but by the same token, it also provides an outlet for behaviors that others might term antisocial or harmful.

The Internet provides a shield to its users; often all one receives when interacting with another person on the Internet is a username or pseudonym that may or may not have anything to do with the real person behind the keyboard. This allows for misrepresentation of a person’s true self; online a male can pose as a female and vice versa, for example. Additionally, the invisibility of the Internet prohibits people from reading standard social cues; small changes in facial expression, tone of voice, aversion of eyes, etc., all have specific connotations in normal face-toface interaction.

The asynchronous nature of the Internet can also affect a person’s inhibitions. On internet message boards, conversations do not happen in real time. A reply may be posted as shortly as several minutes; however, it may take months or longer for someone to post. Because of this, it’s easier for someone to “throw their opinions out” and then leave; a person can make a single post that might be considered very personal, emotionally charged, or inflammatory and then “run away” by simply not logging in again.

In this way, the person achieves catharsis by “voicing” their feelings, even if the audience is just as invisible.

Lacking any kind of visual faceto-face cues, the human mind will assign characteristics and traits to a “person” in interactions on the internet. Reading another person’s message may insert imagined images of what a person looks like or sounds like into the mind, and mentally assigns an identity to these things. The mind will associate traits to a user according to our own desires, needs, and wishes – traits that the real person might not actually have.

By combining solipsistic introjection with the imagination, a feeling of escapism is produced – a way to throw off mundane concerns to address a specific need without having to worry about consequences. According to Suler’spersonal discussion with lawyer Emily Finch (a criminal lawyer studying identity theft in cyberspace), Finch’s observation is that people may see cyberspace as a kind of game where the normal rules of everyday interaction don’t apply to them. In this way, the user is able to dissociate their online persona from the offline reality, effectively enabling that person to don that persona or shed it whenever they wish simply by logging on or off.

Experimental indentity

Stigmatized groups

Change, adapt and evolve

Online relationships fictionalised

Shed personaility when they wish

We’re equals (Minimizing Authority) Online, a person’s status may not be known to others and often, this lack of hierarchy causes changes in interactions with others. If people can’t see the user, others have no way to know if the user is an onduty police officer, head of state, or some kind of “ordinary” person hanging out in their den on their computer. While real-world status may have a small effect on one’s status on the Internet, it rarely has any true bearing. Instead, things such as communication skill, quality of ideas, persistence, and technical ability determine one’s status in cyberspace Global community and equality Thomas Squire

Leeds College of Art

OUGD501

Context of Practice

Theory into Practice

2

Thomas Squire

Leeds College of Art

OUGD501

Context of Practice

Theory into Practice

3

Thomas Squire

Leeds College of Art

OUGD501

Context of Practice

Theory into Practice

4

Thomas Squire

Leeds College of Art

OUGD501

Context of Practice

Theory into Practice

5