Reasons for altering Identity

Identity is the concrete and defining aspect of who we are. Without identity we have no way of discerning the differences between one another. With the birth of the internet it has allowed people of all ages and genders the opportunity to experiment with their identities. You can alter your identity by just changing a few things, or you can take it to the extreme by changing your age, personality, physical appearance, and even your gender. Many identity researchers regard the self and identity as two different, yet related constructs. They assume that while individuals have only one self, they have many different identities. (Valkenburg, 2005) There are many characteristics in why people are stimulated to change their identity while communicating online. People say and do things in cyberspace that they would never do in a face to face interaction. Some people loosen up and express themselves more openly, such as secret emotions, fears, and dreams. Others become very abusive, using foul language, harsh criticisms, and even going as far as making threats. These acts sometimes good or bad are very hard for people to explore in the real world, so they turn to cyberspace. There are several factors that are involved when a person decides to alter their identity.

References
Valkenburg, P.M. (2005) Adolescents’ identity experiments on the internet. SAGE Publications, Vol7, 383-402.

Anonymity and Invisibility

When people move around the Internet, the people they encounter can’t easily determine who you are. They don’t know your real name, who you are, where your from. This allows you the opportunity to hide all or some of your identity, or alter it. When people have the opportunity to separate their actions online from their in-person lifestyle and identity, they feel less vulnerable about self-disclosing and acting out. Whatever they say or do can’t be directly linked to the rest of their lives. (Suler, 2004) People think they don’t have to be responsible for their behaviors because they can not be identified. Invisibility is another huge factor in why people alter their identity and do things that are out of character, that they would not do in a face to face encounter. In online environments people can not see each other, giving people the freedom to go or do whatever they wish. When people talk face to face we judge the other persons reactions on what were saying based on their facial and body language. So if someone is frowning or making a sigh, a person may be reluctant to express any more information. But online you can’t see each other or the expressions, which allow people to open up and disclose information. The information they disclose though could be true or false.
References
Suler, J. (2004) The Online Disinhibition Effect. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, Vol 7, NO 3, 321-326.

Sexual Predators

One of the attractions of the Internet is the anonymity of the user, and this is why it can be very dangerous. Often we think of pedophiles as having access to children out on the playground and other places, but because of the way the Internet works, children can actually be interacting on their home computers with adults who pretend to be children. With children spending more and more time on the Internet chatting with friends, and exploring the Internet. It opens many doors for sexual predators to enter these innocent children lives, posing as their friend, trying to take advantage of them. According to Chris Hansen, an Dateline NBC reported, a recent study found that one in five children online is approached by a sexual predator, a predator who may try to set up a face to face meeting. This is a huge problem in our society, and many people and originations are trying to find ways to identify and block sexual predators. The most common way these predators contact children is through chat rooms, instant messages, and chat rooms. In February 2007, MySpace.com said it will donate its Sentinel Safe database software to the National centre for Missing & Exploited Children. The program promises to let Web sites to identify convicted sex offenders and bar them from their online communities. The database holds 600,000 registered sex offenders in the US, and designed to update from offender registries. We need to stop these predators at all costs, and send a message to them that this is not acceptable and they will be caught and punished.
References
Hansen, Chris. (2004) Dangers Children Face Online. Retrieved April 5, 2007, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6083442
(2007) MySpace Donates Tools to Block Predators. Retrieved April 5, 2007, from http://www.smh.com.au/news/Technology/MySpace-Donates-Tools-to-Block-Predators/2007/02/01/1169919442593.html