Online Identity:Virtual Identity

I will admit I have caught myself making comments on youtube videos saying things that I wouldn't say to the individuals face. I'm pretty sure everyone has done things like this before. While thinking about the topic of "online identity" I began to wonder, at least as far as flaming goes, is this just more honest than real life? It's pretty interesting to think about it this way. This thought process can be applied to the idea of ones virtual identity. Is somebody's virtual identity who they truly are on the inside?

I do believe that someone's virtual identity is who they truly are but to some extent for example we talked about gay people hiding it in real life but not over the internet. Some people take their virtual identity's to extremes though. We also spoke about online dating sites in class. There have been many horror stories about people meeting over the internet and being murdered and what not. A recent survey was conducted and it was found that "over 80% of online daters have suspected that the profile images being used online are fakes and over a third have actually discovered that a person's identity does not match that of their online persona."*

I read an article which was about a program created by a man named Ben Way called Checked Profile. It is free for women and $1.99 for the basic package for men. You upload a picture of yourself get a unique code then upload a picture of you holding the code and they will give you a unique stamp you can upload that verifies you are legitimate. This is mainly aimed at dating sites but can be used on any social networking site like facebook, twitter, or myspace etc. I think that online dating sites are resourceful and Dr. Wysocki made me a little less skeptical of them. However due to the phenomena of virtual identity I think that online dating sites are overall an unreliable place to meet someone.

It is pretty creepy that the internet has made it so easy for people to change their identity. Virtual identity isn't the only identity formation. A problem society faces with the use of social networking sites is peoples sense of self being altered. This is their reflexive identity. It seems that people will base their social status upon the amount of facebook or myspace friends they have. I think people have become too interested in the personal lives of others. Sites like twitter where users will be constantly updating that they are doing or is on their mind is ridiculous.

Sometimes I wonder how my parents were able to get dates or keep in touch with their friends without social networking sites or dating sites. Having the opportunity to re-invent yourself is nice but unnecessary.



*Over 80% of Online Daters Suspect Profile Pictures on Dating Sites are Fake According to New Photo Verification Site, CheckedProfile.com. (20  August). U.S. Newswire.  Retrieved September 21, 2009, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 1837907611).