IDENTITY?And Digital Culture

Identity has no one definition; the ways we form our identities are unique, therefore so are each one of us.

A person’s identity is defined by several self concepts which today are highly influenced by digital culture.

Digital culture allows us to develop interpersonal identities though mediums such as online social networking sites. These identities can be broken down into three elements:

1. Identification: where we create an association for ourselves into different social groups.

2. Categorization: where we label ourselves and others into distinct identifiable categories.

IdentificationCategorization

For example Facebook…

Which allows us to display to the public where we stand in our own private social spheres…

And...3. Comparison: where we compare ourselves and groups with other people and groups.

Social influences such as peer pressure or socialization also play a major role in the development of an individual’s self perception and identity.

Online activities allow a user to create multiple identities with which they can express parts of themselves, or even create idealized identities, that they cannot show or experience in the real world.

Examples of this are the cases of Sara and Jessica in the Frontline report; where Sara is able to bond with others over the common goal of thinness in her battle with anorexia, whereas Jessica creates an ideal image of Autumn Edows which transforms her from her current social reject position to a Goth model and artist.

Part 3 – Self Expression, Trying on New Identitieshttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=frol02p4e&continuous=1

Before… After…

Fun Fact: A new mental ailment has been discovered called

the “Truman Syndrome”. Due to the constant exposure to media and surveillance, people have developed this paranoia where they think that they lives are secretly being portrayed on a reality TV show.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/11/25/truman.syndrome/index.html

Due to the digitization of society, it has become increasingly difficult to separate reality from the digital world. As a result, these ways of thinking have become ingrained into our definitions of ourselves.

For example, surveillance… What once used to be what higher authorities subjected on us, is now what we use to keep an eye on each other and ourselves.

We have internalized the concepts of increased surveillance so much that through digital means such as blogs, and other online social networking sites, we now monitor and publish or own actions.

As a result, we are much more comfortable sharing private information and actually define ourselves by what we post online.

Each thing we post online becomes a new way to express our identities; for example our favorite quotes, pictures, videos, and wall posts… All of which define who we are, or who we want to be.

As we become more and more exposed to today’s digital culture, our definitions of ourselves will undoubtedly change and conform to what this new society has prescribed for us to be.

The nature of digital culture allows these identities to be spread faster, and further than ever before, challenging old identities and creating new ones in the ever-transforming flow of culture…

The End…