Online identity

An online identity, internet identity, or internet persona is a social identity that an Internet user establishes in online communities and websites. Although some people prefer to use their real names online, some internet users prefer to be anonymous[original research?], identifying themselves by means of pseudonyms, which reveal varying amounts of personally identifiable information.

In some online contexts, including Internet forums, MUDs, instant messaging, and massively multiplayer online games, users can represent themselves visually by choosing an avatar, an icon-sized graphic image. As other users interact with an established online identity, it acquires a reputation, which enables them to decide whether the identity is worthy of trust.[citation needed] Some websites also use the user's IP address to track their online identities using methods such as tracking cookies.[original research?]

The concept of the personal self, and how this is influenced by emerging technologies, are a subject of research in fields such as psychology and sociology. The Online disinhibition effect is a notable example, referring to a concept of unwise and uninhibited behavior on the internet, arising as a result of anonymity and audience gratification.

Identity expression and identity exposure

The social web, i.e. the usage of the web to support the social process, represents a space in which people have the possibility to express and expose their identity (Marcus, Machilek & Schütz 2006) in a social context. For instance people define explicitly their identity by creating user profiles in social network services such as Facebook or LinkedIn or in online dating services (Siibak 2007). By using blogs and expressing opinions, they define more tacit identities.

The disclosure of a person's identity may present a certain number of issues (Nabeth 2006) related to privacy and the undesired disclosure of personal information. However many people adopt strategies allowing them to control the level of disclosure of their personal information online (Tufekci 2008).
Reliability of online identities

The identities that people define in the social web are not necessarily reliable. For example studies have shown that people lie in online dating services. (Epstein 2007) (Hancock, Toma & Ellison 2007). In the case of social network services such as Facebook, companies are even proposing to sell 'friends' as a way to increase a user's visibility, calling into question even more the reliability of a person's 'social identity'

Reputation management

Given the malleability of online identities, economists have expressed surprise that flourishing trading sites (such as eBay) have developed on the Internet[citation needed]. When two pseudonymous identities propose to enter into an online transaction, they are faced with the Prisoner's dilemma: the deal can succeed only if the parties are willing to trust each other, but they have no rational basis for doing so. But successful Internet trading sites have developed reputation management systems, such as eBay's feedback system, which record transactions and provide the technical means by which users can rate each others' trustworthiness. However, users with malicious intent can still cause serious problems on such websites.

Online identity and the concept of the mask

Dorian Wiszniewski and Richard Coyne in their contribution to the book Building Virtual Communities explore online identity, with emphasis on the concept of "masking" identity[clarification needed]. They point out that whenever an individual interacts in a social sphere they portray a mask of their identity. This is no different online and in fact becomes even more pronounced due to the decisions an online contributor must make concerning his or her online profile. He or she must answer specific questions about age, gender, address, username and so forth. Furthermore, as a person publishes to the web he or she adds more and more to his or her mask in the style of writing, vocabulary and topics. Though the chapter is very philosophical in nature, it spurs the thinking that online identity is a complex business and still in the process of being understood.

The kind of mask one chooses reveals at least something of the subject behind the mask. One might call this the "metaphor" of the mask. The online mask does not reveal the actual identity of a person. It, however, does reveal an example of what lies behind the mask. For instance, if a person chooses to act like a rock star on line, this metaphor reveals an interest in rock music. Even if a person chooses to hide behind a totally false identity, this says something about the fear and lack of self-esteem behind the false mask.

Because of many emotional and psychological dynamics, people can be reluctant to interact online. By evoking a mask of identity a person can create a safety net. One of the great fears of online identity is having one's identity stolen or abused. This fear keeps people from sharing who they are. Some are so fearful of identity theft or abuse that they will not even reveal information already known about them in public listings. By making the mask available, people can interact with some degree of confidence without fear.

Wiszniewski and Coyne state "Education can be seen as the change process by which identity is realized, how one finds one's place. Education implicates the transformation of identity. Education, among other things, is a process of building up a sense of identity, generalized as a process of edification." Students interacting in an online community must reveal something about themselves and have others respond to this contribution. In this manner, the mask is constantly being formulated in dialogue with others and thereby students will gain a richer and deeper sense of who they are. There will be a process of edification that will help students come to understand their strengths and weaknesses.[3]

Sexuality and online identity

A widely discussed topic regarding online identity is that of gender and sexual identity. Despite growing tolerance for and acceptance of different sexualities in society, sexual prejudice is still very present in real life. In the online world, users have the opportunity to enter popular MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) as typified by games such as Final Fantasy 11, World of Warcraft, or Second Life, where there is abundant opportunity to redefine sexual and gender identity, and where a large portion of interaction is dedicated to the building of relationships

Benefits of virtual communities

A commonly discussed positive aspect of virtual communities is that people can now present themselves without fear of persecution, whether it is personality traits, behaviors that they are curious about, or the announcement of a real world identity component that has never before been announced[citation needed].

This freedom results in new opportunities for society as a whole, especially the ability for people to explore the roles of gender and sexuality in a manner that can be harmless, yet interesting and helpful to those undertaking the change. Online identity has given people the opportunity to feel comfortable in wide-ranging roles, some of which may be underlying aspects of the user's life that the user is unable to portray in the real world[citation needed].

A prime example of these opportunities is the establishment of many communities welcoming gay and lesbian teens who are dealing with their sexuality. These communities allow teens to share their experiences with one another and older gay and lesbian people, and may they provide a community that is both non-threatening and non-judgmental. In a review of such a community, Silberman (in Holeton, 1998, p. 118) quotes an information technology worker, Tom Reilly, as stating "The wonderful thing about online services is that they are an intrinsically decentralized resource. Kids can challenge what adults have to say and make the news." If teen organizers are successful anywhere, news of it is readily available. The internet is arguably the most powerful tool that young people with alternative sexualities have ever had[citation needed].

The online world provides users with a choice to determine which sex, sexuality preference and sexual characteristics they would like to embody. In each online encounter, a user essentially has the opportunity to interchange which identity they would like to portray[citation needed]. As McRae argues in Surkan (2000), "The lack of physical presence and the infinite malleability of bodies complicates sexual interaction in a singular way: because the choice of gender is an option rather than a strictly defined social construct, the entire concept of gender as a primary marker of identity becomes partially subverted."

Disembodiment and implications

This issue of gender and sexual reassignment raises the notion of disembodiment and its associated implications. "Disembodiment" is the idea that once the user is online, the need for the body is no longer required, and the user can participate separately from it. This ultimately relates to a sense of detachment from the identity defined by the physical body. In cyberspace, many aspects of sexual identity become blurred and are only defined by the user. Questions of truth will therefore be raised, particularly in reference to online dating and virtual sex[citation needed]. As McRae (1997, p. 75) states, "Virtual sex allows for a certain freedom of expression, of physical presentation and of experimentation beyond one's own real-life limits." At its best, it not only complicates but drastically unsettles the division between mind, body and self in a manner only possible though the construction of an online identity.
Relation to real-world constraints

Ultimately, online identity cannot be completely free from the social constraints that are imposed in the real world. As Westfall (2000, p. 160) discusses, "the idea of truly departing from social hierarchy and restriction does not occur on the Internet (as perhaps suggested by earlier research into the possibilities presented by the Internet) with identity construction still shaped by others. Westfall raises the important, yet rarely discussed, issue of the effects of literacy and communication skills of the online user." Indeed, these skills or the lack thereof have the capacity to shape one's online perception as they shape one's perception through a physical body in the "real world."