ONLINE PERSONAS

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Who we are online, what it means for our identities, and how it impacts our lives and the people around us.

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A digital persona is the sum of everything you do online.

“Every individual post may not [seem to] matter, but taken together, they create a pixelated digital image of

who you are.” (Refinery29, 2014)

If “identity implies a continuity in a sense of self, a constancy behind the ever-changing mask

of appearances”... (Wiszniewski and Coyne, 2002)

Then should we treat our online personas

masks? Or as parts of our identities?

How do these digital personas translate into

the real world?

Online identities are self-constructed.

Thanks to the internet’s anonymity, users can be

whoever they want.

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With unprecedented ability to control how we appear online, many individuals

seem motivated to present new and improved versions of themselves.

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Social media networks like Facebook, Twitter,

Instagram, YouTube, etc. act as platforms to show the world the person we

would we like to be by carefully curating what,

when, and how we share.

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Broadcasting idealized, exaggerated images of our lives and ourselves may provide social validation - through likes, shares, comments, friend requests and

followers.

However, if our online personas deviate from our real life personalities, it can leave us confused about our identities. Or worse - it can make us

feel bad about the people we really are. Image: an_untrained_eye on Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/an_untrained_eye/6630719431/)

What’s more, prioritizing how we appear online rather

than with face-to-face interaction can alienate us

from the real world.

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In addition to having possible repercussions for the individual,

online personas can harm others.

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By communicating with others behind the mask of

our digital persona, we may give them a false

impression of ourselves.

Image: anonymous- on Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/anonymous-/3516193313))

Sometimes we unintentionally mislead people in our efforts to portray our best selves. But, for some

people, the illusion is more deliberate.

Catfish: “refers to a person who sets up a false social networking profile for deceptive purposes”

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The term ‘Catfish,’ based on the MTV reality show, was added to the

dictionary in 2014 after becoming a cultural phenomenon, both on TV and in

real life situations.

‘Catfishing’ often results in confusion or disappointment, hurt feelings, a sense of betrayal, and

missed opportunities for real connection.

So while the internet expands our ability to control our image and communicate it to others around the world, it is not without

its risks.

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The digital world can help us hone our sense of self, gain confidence and find

like-minded individuals.

But to hide behind a computer rather than use it to express our true identities is to neglect the internet’s powerful productive

capabilities. Image: 56695083@N00 on Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/56695083@N00/4464828517/)

In sum - think carefully about who

you want to be online...

Because there could be real-world

consequences.

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REFERENCES

- "Social Media: Are You Doing It Wrong?" Refinery29. 21 May 2014. Web. <http://www.refinery29.com/daily-worth/43>. - Milian, Mark. "Online Personas Rarely Match Real-life Behavior, Observers Say." Online Personas. 14 May 2014. Web. <http://phys.org/news193046619.html>. - Wiszniewski, D. and Richard Coyne. “Mask and Identity: The Hermeneutics of Self-Construction in the Information Age.” in Renninger, Ann K. and Wesley Shumar, editors, Building Virtual Communities - Learning and Change in Cyberspace, New York: Cambridge UP, 2002. 191-214. Print.