The concept of the mask Online identity

cover of international multimedia school magazine trait d union n° 03-2003. topic: our identity. être jeune au début du 21° siècle .

dorian wiszniewski , richard coyne in contribution book building virtual communities explore online identity, emphasis on concept of masking identity. point out whenever individual interacts in social sphere portray mask of identity. no different online , in fact becomes more pronounced due decisions online contributor must make concerning or online profile. or must answer specific questions age, gender, address, username , forth. furthermore, accrual of 1 s online activity, or mask increasingly defined or style of writing, vocabulary , topics.

the kind of mask 1 chooses reveals @ least of subject behind mask. 1 might call metaphor of mask. online mask not reveal actual identity of person. it, however, reveal example of lies behind mask. instance, if person chooses act rock star online, metaphor reveals interest in rock music. if person chooses hide behind totally false identity, says fear , lack of self-esteem behind false mask.

because of many emotional , psychological dynamics, people can reluctant interact online. evoking mask of identity person can create safety net. 1 of great fears of online identity having 1 s identity stolen or abused. fear keeps people sharing are. fearful of identity theft or abuse not reveal information known them in public listings. making mask available, people can interact degree of confidence without fear.

wiszniewski , coyne state education can seen change process identity realized, how 1 finds 1 s place. education implicates transformation of identity. education, among other things, process of building sense of identity, generalized process of edification. students interacting in online community must reveal , have others respond contribution. in manner, mask being formulated in dialogue others , thereby students gain richer , deeper sense of are. there process of edification students come understand strengths , weaknesses.

blended identity

this mask perspective likened concept of blended identity , whereby offline-self informs creation of new online-self in turn informs offline-self through further interaction individual first met online.