Is there really a difference between your real identity and your online identity? This is a question that has been disputed ever since the rise of social networking and online interactions. The term “online identity” generally has a negative connotation due to identity thefts and fake identity that has happened on the internet. But someone’s online identity can also be a good thing. In Facebook for example, most people use their online identity to share things with their friends and express themselves to many people at once.
What is so interesting and unique about an online identity is how malleable and changeable it can be. A person can create an online identity for themselves that is exactly like how they are in real life. They can talk online how they talk in real life, they can post about things that they are interested about in real life etc. However, this is hard to do when you are behind a computer screen and people can get lost in the idea of being able to create a different identity online. Think about how easy it is to put up pictures that aren’t really yours, or to say things that you would not normally say when you are on the internet. I feel that because of this, nobodies online identity is exactly like their real identity. They are almost like two different dimensions.
On the most extreme level regarding online identity, there are people who create completely new identities or steal other people’s online identities. These more rare cases are what give the term “online identity” a somewhat negative connotation. The idea that someone can pretend to be a completely different person so successfully online is a very scary thought. People can be scammed, duped, or even worse through identity theft and it is something that people definitely need to be careful of because it affected around 10 million people in 2008 and that number is only increasing. There are some ways of protecting yourself against it, but that area is definitely something that needs to be worked on for the future now that so much of our lives run through the internet.
Overall, your online identity is simply what you make of it. You can attempt to create one exactly like your real self, you can attempt to create a “perfected” version of yourself, and some people can use it to harm others. Online identity is neither a good or a bad thing, it simply is.
Figuring out how reltionships can be applied to the subject of Google was difficult for me. It isn’t like Facebook which is built off relationships. After some time thinking about it however, I figured out that the biggest relationship in connection with Google is between the user and Google itself. That is simply what google does, it creates a two way relationship with the user. You, as the user, give information about yourself to google through your search queries, google+, gmail, and however else you use google. In return, google navigates the web for you through its searches, organizes for mail through gmail, directs you through google maps, and so much more.
The interaction between the user and google is a true relationship because one won’t receive anything without giving back. Google feeds off of the information the you give it when you use their pages. The more you use them and the more information you give them, the more advertisers they can get and the more they can specialize ads for you. In return, Google provides almost anything that you may need on the internet. It has a search engine that is tailored to bring you exactly what you are looking for. It has a very popular mail program that is organized and easy to use, not to mention its calendar, documents, maps, translator, shopping, and news features. Anything that you are looking for on the web can be found using Google. If you are not in a relationship with Google, you will have a very hard time navigating the web and getting what you want.
One of the ultimate dilemmas of Facebook will forever be the “do I add my parents as a friend?” issue. This is a recent issue with Facebook because it was only recently that older generations began to get sucked into the black hole that is Facebook. Once this happened, children and parents both had a huge issue on their hands. Parents, to the horror of their children, began to friend their kids and kids friends and see their “true” lives through their pictures and statuses. On the other side, kids began to get friend requests from their parents, which would lead to an interesting conversation if they denied it. However, if they accepted, they would be leaving themselves very exposed.
So are you the same person with your family at home as you are on Facebook? I would have to say that while you are still the same person, different sides of you come out on Facebook. At home, while I was mostly honest with my parents, I never told them everything that I was up to. However, I do tell Facebook almost everything that I am up to, and if my parents had access to that, there might be some questions raised. Luckily, Facebook created a way tallow me to be like I am at my house, but online as well. By using the security settings to control what I let my parents see, I can be mostly honest with them, but at the same time not tell them everything. Because of these features that Facebook has, I think that they have done a good job of allowing people to create an online identity that is similar to that of their true identity. This is not to say however, that people don’t abuse Facebook and use t to create identities that are nothing like their true identities.
So having a family on Facebook is a different relationship to your family at home, but it can be made similar if it is used correctly. My parents know what it is I do which they may not be totally happy about, but as long as i don’t put it in front of their face (or in this case on their news feed), they will stay happy. At the same time, as long as I don’t see my mom posting what she is doing every 10 minutes, I am happy.
I love it when yuh call me big poppa’