Topic 3: Online Identities – Multiple, Single & Anonymous

Maintaining an online identity/identities has become increasingly popular in our everyday lives. Whether it’s for professional or personal purposes, the benefits of a digital profile allows us to be accessible to others more easily and conveniently than we can manage offline (Costa, C. & Torres, R. 2011).

But what type of online identities are there and which is the most beneficial?

Exploring MOOC, I came across three main identities and the advantages and disadvantages of using them:

Reference: FutureLearn (2018)  Created using Piktochart by Yusra Huque-Dowlet

Although all 3 forms have multiple pros and cons, it is still debatable which one tips the scale on being the most beneficial. Sheryl Sandberg argues that authenticity  is heavily valued among our society, especially on social media sites such as Facebook (Krotoski, A. 2012).

“A single public identity that’s an aggregated version of their offline past, the online present and their combined future” – Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook’s chief operating officer)

Though others, such as Andrew Lewman (executive director of the Tor Project) and Christian Poole (creator of 4Chan), disagree that singularity aids authenticity but rather, restricts it. Their argument being that we are “multi faceted individuals” and the ability to control your online privacy, using multiple identities or remaining anonymous, gives users the freedom to creatively self express themselves  without the fear of judgement from others (Krotoski, A. 2012).

However, it is possible that authenticity can’t be based purely by the amount of identities you possess online- besides, how much of our online identities actually reflects us offline? Ramona Pringle explores this thought in the video below:

But, similar to choosing a pet or which car to buy, decisions can vary depending on the person. Therefore, two main macro areas must be taken into account when deciding which identity is the best one for you – presentation and reputation (Costa, C. & Torres, R. 2011).

Reference: Costa, C. & Torres, R. (2011) Created using Piktochart by Yusra Huque-Dowlet

 

Created using Piktochart by Yusra Huque-Dowlet

 

Uploaded by Laura Collinton Available at: http://6iee.com/394799.html

Created using Piktochart by Yusra Huque-Dowlet

 

 

 

 

 

Uploaded by Diana Cook Available at: https://www.thehrdigest.com/pros-and-cons-of-having-multiple-jobs/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Word count: 294

References:

• Costa, C. & Torres, R. (2011). To be or not to be, the importance of Digital Identity in the networked society, Available at: http://eft.educom.pt/index.php/eft/article/view/216/126 [Accessed 22 Apr. 2018]
• Krotoski, A. (2012). Online identity: is authenticity or anonymity more important?. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/apr/19/online-identity-authenticity-anonymity [Accessed 22 Apr. 2018]
• Pringle, R. (2012). Identity: Are you the Same Person Online & Offline?. Rdigitallife. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10K137WU9gw [Accessed 22 Apr. 2018]
• FutureLearn (2018) What is your network identity? – Learning in the Network Age. University of Southampton. Available at: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/learning-network-age/4/steps/303357 [Accessed 22 Apr. 2018]