The paradox of insular language
2 years ago
Friday, September 18, 2009
Avatars/Identity
One of the things I mentioned in my paper was how people only show what they want. I thought the idea of that identity is fluid on the web and uncertain, but I believe that is the case everywhere, in the real world as well. Who knows anyone. It reminds me of movies and stories of the fifties where everyone seemed to live cookie cutter lives but had a hidden lives or were just different than they appeared. The more I read about how different the web is in regards to identity and community the more I think that they are actually exactly the same.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think that the essence of Internet vs. Real communities is not that our identities are fluid only on the web, but that they are MORE fluid. A person can create a new identity in seconds on the web, wheras creating an identity is usually a reaction to necessity in real life. People escape from their RL identities on the web, while in real life, they take on the identities that they need to get them through day-to-day activity.
ReplyDeleteIronically there is the movie Avatar coming out, with a lot of hype I might add, that all plays around the idea of identity. The "avatar" in the movie is a body or persona created physically from that of a real human being. It is touching on the idea of how someone can skew identity by showing themselves in a way that they see fit. It is more or less metaphorically an idea that has taken the thought of an "avatar" and making it much more real than it is. As we know an avatar is nothing more than a created character made by a host, one that mimics themselves but adds anything the host wants it to have. Identity online has always been an issue as people seem to find interest in building on themselves by portraying their online identity to seem better. This all ties into the idea of people wanting to gain more acceptance by others.
ReplyDelete