A group of five boys created a profile on Myspace.com pretending to be a girl in order to cheer up one of their friends who had broken up with his girlfriend. A couple days went by and they started receiving messages from a man. The man continued sending sexual messages to the “girl” and also sent the “girl” pictures of him and arranged a date and location for them to meet. He told the “girl” to meet him in a public park in Fontana. The group of boys went to the park that day and as soon as they saw the man they called the police. Michael Ramos, age forty-eight, admitted that his plans were to meet the fifteen year old girl and have sex with her
Identity is an important and delicate subject for almost everyone. Who we say we are, how others see us, and how we present ourselves, all have much to do with identity. Identity can change depending on whether or not you can see the person. In a face-to-face interaction, identity is mostly judged by what is seen, and gender, race, class, looks, among other characteristics, greatly matter; allowing identity to be manipulated by how others perceive us. However, in the virtual world, in which, we are not able to see the physical appearance of a person or other preliminary characteristics of the self, the perception of identity changes. By hiding behind the computer screen and with the ability to describe ourselves as however we want, we are able to explore multiple identities. Unlike in the “real world” where we have one identity, in the virtual world we are able to be who we desire. We are able to create multiple identities and be a completely different person. The internet as a form of interaction and communication allows us to have access to multiple identities and have control over how we present our selves. As the cartoonist Peter Steiner says, “On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.”
Knowing that presenting a fake identity is extremely easy over the internet, we can never be sure if a person is who he/she says he/she is. We should no longer feel secure when interacting with people whom we have never met before. Self presentation over the internet can be harmful and affect the lives of innocent people if we do not use the methods of communication that the internet offers with caution. Myspace is one of many online communities where interaction can put at risk the lives of many if not used with caution. Because of the access the internet gives people to have control over the self presentation and take on multiple identities, it is no longer secure to use Myspace without learning about the dangers associated with it, such as receiving messages from people who we have never meet before, who have a great chance of not being who they say they are, or even being sexually assaulted by other users. It is important to be aware of identity issues on the internet in order to have a safe and enjoyable experience when using Myspace as a form of interaction and communication with other people.
The internet as a form of interaction and communication has greatly shaped the aspect of identity. With the introduction of the internet into our world the way society views identity and self presentation has changed. “Traditional definitions regard the self as unique, individual, autonomous ego, a dichotomy of mind and body, and the authorial voice of texts. In virtual reality, the self becomes a “virtual eye” that encounters various perspectives through sense perception. The virtual self denies its identity because the virtual self sees and experiences the virtual world as other virtual selves do and learns by identification and empathy.” The true identity that exists in the real world is denied and changes in the virtual world. “CMC contexts, offer communicators the ability to manipulate their personal identities…” The internet allows its users to have control over the way they present their selves and take on multiple identities if they desire. The way we present ourselves is strongly based on how we want others to perceive us as well as who we would like to be. The internet gives people the opportunity “to present themselves in a variety of different ways. You can alter your style of being just slightly or indulge in wild experiment with your identity by changing your age, history, personality, physical appearance, even your gender.” There is a great amount of freedom in cyberspace to change your gender, age, history, personality and many other things. For this great freedom that the internet gives to its users to control their identity, it is crucial to use the internet with caution and to have knowledge of the dangers associated with it.
The book, Online Communication, Linking Technology, Identity, and Culture, provides great examples of how internet users manipulate their identities and how this can affect the lives of others. The authors give an example of a woman who has been using the internet as a way of interaction for about three years. She became extremely close to a women known as Julie Graham who shared details of her personal life with the women. She told the women that she was a “mute, paraplegic, victim of a car crash who had wrestled with suicidal depression.” The woman was moved by her story and decided to find Julie to offer her face to face support. She wanted to help Julia so she did everything possible to find Julie. When the women got a hold of her, she was surprised to find out that Julie was neither a paraplegic mute, nor a stay home house woman, but a fulltime professional psychologist and what was worse is that Julie was not a she but a man who had crated a fake profile. The women as well as other users were very mad at “Julie” for what he had done. The woman says that she became extremely close to Julie and she felt that she was a significant part of her life and that finding out that Julie was not who she said she was affected her emotionally. In this case the man who played as Julie had complete control over the way he presented himself over the internet. He wanted to experience being a woman with disabilities to make others feel sorry for “her”. Self presentation on the internet is strongly influenced by what who we wish to be and how we want others to see us and feel for us. The man clearly wanted others to have compassion for his character as Julie therefore he manipulated his online identity and played to be Julie. Stories similar to this, having to do with multiple identities on the internet occur daily. This woman is one of many who are affected by users who create fake identities pretending to be someone who they are not. “When we step through the screen into virtual communities we reconstruct our identities on the other side of the looking glass.” The risks associated with it can range from emotional ones, like the one just described, to physical ones, like the one that could have occurred by the man who was arrested for attempting to have sex with a fifteen year old girl.
On the internet there are places used for interaction and communication known as online communities. It is in these online communities where people manipulate their identities and interact with other users. “Virtual communities ranging form MUDs to computer bulletin boards allow people to generate experiences, relationships, identities and living spaces that arise only through interaction with technology.” MySpace is one of these many online communities used as a method of interaction. According to CBS News technology analyst, Larry Magid, Myspace is the second most popular website on the internet, following the first which is EBay. “Since appearing in January 2004, the site currently has 87 million accounts, and it’s adding around 270,000 new users a day. Of those 87 million, about one-fourth are minors. In fact, the site grew 752% in one year, one of the largest – if not the largest – expansions on the Web in history.” By having a MySpace account you are able to create a home page where you can input a range of things having to do with your looks, personality, and personal information about yourself. By what the page contains one can assume many characteristics regarding the identity of the user. MySpace is free and opening an account is very easy. The age limit is of fourteen years of age but then there is no actual way to prove that the information provided is true. There is no actual way to verify the age of users who create a MySpace profile. Therefore anyone, including young kids, can access Myspace just by lying about their age. Lying on the internet is something extremely easy and uncontrollable given the fact that one is hiding behind the computer screen. On a user’s page one can find pictures of the user, information ranging from the real name of the user, the place where he or she was born, the school the user attends, the users favorite food place, the number of drugs the user has done, the number of tattoos and piercing the user has, and many other very informative things. With pictures and concrete details such as the ones just described it is unbelievably easy for a user with a fake profile who is not who he or she says he or she is, to get a hold of another user. It is very easy for a pervert to find his or her victim by creating a fake profile and using Myspace to find the victim. Myspace allows users to be who ever they want so we should never assume that the person who we are meeting through Myspace is who the person says he or she is.
A good example about identity in MySpace and the dangers associated with it is the story of 14 year old girl. The girl was sexually assaulted through MySpace and could have even been raped if police would not have arrested John Wentworth of age twenty seven before the prosecutor met the girl face to face. He contacted the young girl pretending to be a young boy. The man planed to meet the girl and have sex with her regardless of the fact that she was a minor. Lying about your age on MySpace is extremely easy. This man could have abused of this young girl who he interacted with through MySpace. The girl would have gone through a terrible experience because she did not question the identity of the man; she believed what the man said regarding his identity and age. Assuming that the person at the other end of the computer screen is saying the truth regarding his or her identity is not safe. We need to be careful and always question weather or not the truth is being said regarding the identity of the person whom we are interacting with. It is crucial to keep in mind that it is extremely easy to create a fake MySpace profile therefore it is not safe to hold a communication with strangers. It is not safe to believe what a person says if we have never met the person before.
Returning to the story presented at the beginning regarding the boys who created a fake Myspace profile pretending to be a girl, these two boys experienced with multiple identities by creating a whole new identity of a girl. MySpace provides access for its users to have control over their identity and the way they present their selves. A person can decide to have multiple identities on MySpace and use it to contact other users. Although in this case, creating a fake Myspace profile led to the capture of a man who had intended to have sex with a fifteen year old girl, in many cases the ones who play with identities and say to be someone who they are not are the ones who use the internet’s access to multiple identities as a way to get a hold of their victims.
I myself have had a similar experience with Myspace involving the issue of identity. I searched for some people I met in San Diego and got a hold of one of the guys’ page. I decided to send a message saying hi including some information regarding the day we met. Several days later I received a message from a different user replying to the message I had sent to the guy I met in San Diego. The reply contained details that I sent to the guy I met in San Diego. I replied to the stranger and asked him how he knew what I had sent to the other user. He replied by telling me that he works for him and has access to his page. He gets paid to reply to the messages the San Diego user receives and discards messages that are not important. He also told me not to trust users because a great number of times they are not who they say they are. I could not believe that who I thought read my message did not; it actually was read by a complete stranger. After this incident I became more aware about the aspect of identity and made sure to always keep it into consideration when interacting with other users through MySpace. “Goffman points out that one of the difficulties of interaction lies in establishing contact, because an offer to interact always leaves one open to rebuff. Conversely starting an interaction always involves a risk about what the interaction might lead to, and possible difficulty in ending it.” Goffman points out that online interaction can be risky and once the conversation has started it, and for some reason, such as being sexually assaulted, we want to end the conversations, it might be difficult to end it. Almost daily I receive friend request from complete strangers and if I do not recognize the person I do not accept them as a friend. This might seem rude but for safety reasons it is the best thing to do. By doing this I am avoiding being contacted by users with fake profiles, by users who might lie about their age and other aspects, and I am avoiding putting myself at risk. I know that creating a fake profile and presenting a fake identity in MySpace is one of the easiest things to do and because of this I make sure I am using MySpace with caution.
Besides the access in MySpace to create fake profiles and take on multiple identities it is also important to learn about the type of interaction that takes place in MySpace. Unlike in real life interactions, the interactions that take place in MySpace are text based. “In face to face interactions, people infer qualities of our identities based on our gender, race, clothing, and other nonverbal characteristics.” However the way online interactions work, are different from text based interaction. “Communication in cyberspace is primarily text-based and therefore does not provide visual and auditory cues that are available in face to face interaction.” Beginning from early history until today, scholars have presented a great number of arguments regarding the issue of text based interactions online. Among the many scholars who have analyzed and written about this topic, there is Martha Karge. Martha Karge is a scholar who wrote an essay on computer mediated communication titled, “The Digital Self in Cyberspace”. In her essay she presents the argument that text based interactions lacks reality, meaningfulness, and truthfulness. I agree with her argument and believe that this can also be a dangerous aspect that surrounds MySpace. In her essay she writes, “…electronic media…isolates people from society or turns them away from face-to-face interaction. Text-based CMC and VR (virtual reality) technologies do not allow the oral tradition of rhetoric, the oral delivery of speech in public discourse.” She argues that there is no oral speech and oral rhetoric involved in text based interactions that take place online. This makes online conversations less real. One is not able to hear or see the person whom one is talking to online. Therefore one is not able to make assumptions about their personality or feelings because the auditory and visual aspects of the conversation do not exist in online communities such as MySpace.
To further emphasize her argument she says that “Through interactive text, group members change roles and construct or negotiate their online identity.” She links identity to text based interaction. Text based interaction allows you to manipulate your identity, “You can be whoever you want to be. You can completely redefine yourself if you want. You can be the opposite sex….They don’t hear you accent and make assumptions. All they see is your words.” With this, I further argue that text based interaction can be risky if we do not know the person who we are talking to and that the conversation can lack truthfulness. Because we are not able to hear or see the user, it is easy for them to lie about their physical appearance through text based interaction. Like seen earlier in the example of the man who pretended to be a women by the name of Julie, text based interaction allows user to lie about their true identity. Because we can not see the person we can not have a feel for the feelings or emotions of the user therefore text based interaction lack of reality. She also brings in the criticism of writing by Socrates. She mentions that Socrates criticizes writing because “Writing disrupts the human memory of public discourse and the social interaction, routines and communal intimacy of oral society and culture. It alienates the individual from the oral community in which cultural tradition and identity are expressed and shared.” She uses Socrates and Plato’s criticism on writing to support her argument that text based interaction alienates people from the oral community where the true identity exists. Online interaction lack truthfulness and reality where the identities presented are not always the real identities. Online identity lacks truthfulness because it is created by a text based description.
Martha Karge is not the only one who argues that text based interactions lack truthfulness. In her essay she says that this argument started in early history with Plato and Socrates who criticized writing, which was the new technology in their time. When writing came along Socrates and Plato completely opposed it. In “Phaedrus”, which is not really an essay but rather a record that presents the argument of two people speaking, Plato and Socrates, the criticism against writing is presented. Plato argues that writing makes people less human. He says that writing “…will create forgetfulness in the learners souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves” (29). Though I do not believe that all writing is negative I do believe that text based online interaction lack reality. Just like Using Plato’s criticism on writing I can argue that text based interaction can make people “trust …the written characters” which can be risky if these written characters are not true. It can be risky to trust what other user whom we have never meet before say through the internet. Because it is extremely easy to lie on MySpace, to enjoy MySpace risk free, we should not trust everything people say. Keep in mind that text allows MySpace users to manipulate their identity. A user can send u a message claiming to be young women, and accompanied by this lie a fake profile of young women, when the reality is that the user is a man. We should use the arguments of Martha Karge, Socrates, and Plato to be safe when interacting on MySpace or other online communities.
However, there are scholars who argue against views from scholars like Martha Karge or even Plato and Socrates. One of the best known scholars who argues against the belief that multiple identities online is something negative that can put at risk the life of people is Sherry Turkle. Sherry Turkle earned a doctorate in sociology and personality psychology from Harvard in 1976. She is well known for her contribution on technology, specifically the internet. She has written several articles and books on computer technologies and virtual communities. There are several things that she says in which I agree with, but when it comes to drawing conclusions from what she says, our views oppose. For example one of the things she says is that “One’s body can be represented by one’s textual description.” I agree, on the internet the body is not judged by sight but it is rather represented by words, by the way we describe ourselves. I what I do not agree with is with her argument regarding this issue. She believes that being able to present the body through words is something positive and wonderful. She argues that being able to have control over your physical appearance in the internet is a good thing. I completely disagree. Being able to describe yourself however you want is something risky. Because of this it is not safe to trust users describing their selves. How can we be sure that they are not lying? What is even more interesting about Turkle’s argument is that she believes that the lying part is what makes this a positive experience. Being able to lie about your looks and pretend to look a complete different way, or even change your age and gender, is healthy and wonderful. Since when is lying consider something healthy and wonderful? Do not parents daily teach their kids to tell the truth and to not lie? Lying is what makes this a negative action. The internet allows users to become deviants and lie about their true identity.
Allowing lying to be considered healthy is ridiculous. She also says that “Health is when you are multiple but feel unity.” I do not see how there can be a unifying relationship between being multiple and feeling as one. One can not be multiple and yet feel as one or unity. She continues on the topic of multiple identities on the internet by saying that “On the internet one can be many, and one usually is.” She clearly states that the possibility that people take on multiple identities is high. People know that they can experience multiple identities when interacting through the internet and according to Turkle most of the time they do. Turkle sees this as a positive thing and fails to take into consideration the thousand of cases that daily come out regarding people who present fake online identities to find their victims. To counter her argument there is the example of the fourteen year old girl who was assaulted by the twenty seven year old man, John Wentworth. John lied about his age to have the opportunity to meet the girl and eventually have sex with her, regardless the fact that she was a minor. There are also cases that do not involve sexual predators who use the internet to get a hold of their victims. The story of the man, who pretended to be a woman by the name of Julie who ended up hurting emotionally the woman who wanted to offer Julie her support, is an example of a case that involves regular people with no intentions of committing a crime. Having the ability to be many is negative and the ones who take advantage of this opportunity ranges from those who plan to commit crimes, to those who do it for fun, but eventually end up hurting someone.
On the concept of identity and the self, Turkle argues that “…the ability to move from one aspect, or self, to another and to do so with an understanding of the process is a more healthy conception of who we are.” There is only one true self, the one that is represented by your true personality, physical characteristics and other concepts that make you unique. Being able to switch from one self to another when using the internet does not define who we are. The identity people often present online is not the “real” and true identity of the person. Taking on multiple identities is not healthy and does not better define who we are. If anything taking on multiple identities causes confusion in our true identity and makes people have doubts about our uniqueness. Rather than being healthy it can be frustrating.
Sherry Turkle provides a great deal of example of cases she has studied regarding the issue of identity on the internet in her essay, “Who Am We?” The cases she presents, rather than supporting her argument, they go against it. She introduces the concept of psychosocial moratorium, which are actions taken that have no consequence. She arguer that taking on multiple identities on the internet is healthy and what is even more wonderful about it is that it does not have consequences. An online user who believes everything the person at the other end of the computer says, and later is persuaded into meeting the person and accepts to do so, and is forced into sex, is not a consequence regarding the issue of identity? Being lied to and emotionally hurt after discovering that the person with whom we opened up with and shared personal details of our life with is not really who they said they were, is not a convincing consequence? In fact all of these are significant consequences. Her argument fails to be true and what further proves this is the comparison she makes. She compares the concept of psychosocial moratorium to the college life. She says the college years are a time in life for experience and that the actions we make during this time have no consequences. She says that college students in college live a life with no worries or consequences. As a college student I know that this is not true. College is not a time in life where you get to experience what it is to live a life with no worries, troubles, or consequences, it is rather the time your life where you are faced to be responsible on your own. The time in life in which worries seem to burry you and it is from these worries and troubles that you learn about responsibility. I would say that it is the time in life in which you face the most consequences. If you know that you have a final tomorrow and yet decide to go to a party and drink you will probably face the consequence of getting a bad grade on your final. Because during this time, we are experiencing with a great number of things, there are and immense number of consequences that we encounter during our college years. Saying that interacting in communities in which people can take on multiple identities has no consequences is not a valid assertion to make. There are obviously an infinite number of consequences linked to this issue that are seen daily on the news.
Sherry Turkle follows by providing examples regarding issues of cybersex and identity on the Internet. She argues that because on the Internet one can be many, one can experience with cybersex without having to face consequences. To support her argument she provides an example of a married couple, Martin and Beth, who have been married for 19 year. Martin uses MUD to have sexual experiences with other users over the internet. He decides to tell his wife, Beth, about this and Beth responses by approving of his actions. She says that to her it is like Martin is reading erotic novel. With this example Sherry talk about the wonderful things that people can experience when taking on multiple identities. She glorifies this example of Martin and Beth and agrees that sex over the internet is a great experience and involves no harm. Later she provides a second example regarding this issue of a Janet and Tim who are also a married couple. Unlike the case before, when Tim confessed to Janet that he was using the internet to have sex, she completely disapproved of his behaviors and asked him to stop. Janet says that she is not sure of whether or not Tim has actually stopped using the internet as a mean to experience sexual activities. She says that every time she sees Tim on the computer she feel paranoid because she is not sure if he has stopped this behavior. She fails to support her argument because this example clearly shows the opposite of her argument. Having sex over the internet is not a wonderful experience that does not have consequences, but it is rather an issue that can hurt people and have negative impacts on the family. This issue can be as strong as leaving a person paranoid. When dealing with this Janet asks what if the “cyberspace mistress turns out to be a 19-year old male college freshman? What if she is an infirm 80-year old man in a nursing home? And even more disturbing, what if she is a 12-year old girl? Or a 12-year old boy?” These are all questions that bring into consideration the aspect of identity when discussing the negative effects of cybersex. It is not safe to assume that the person who we are talking to is really the person who he or she claims he or she is. Like mentioned before the hot and sexy “she” can be a college man, an old man or even a kid of twelve years of age. Sherry Turkle fails to prove that taking on multiple identities to have online sex is a positive and risk free experience. Examples of cases she, herself, provides prove that this behavior can have negative affects on a marriage and family.
The internet has changed the aspect of identity. It has allowed for identity to be multiple. The internet as a form of interaction gives people the opportunity to experience with different identities. This aspect of the internet can be a risky behavior putting at risk the life of people. MySpace is one of the most used online communities as a mean of interaction and communication. Because of the issue involving multiple identities online we should be aware of the dangers associated with this issue. We should not assume that the person who we are talking to is saying the truth. Lying on the internet is one of the easiest things to do. It is best to avoid having interactions with strangers who we have never seen or met before. Doing this will provide a safe experience when using MySpace. I myself enjoy using MySpace and believe that it is one of the best ways to keep in touch with friends from high school who I no longer see, but I also believe that if it is not used with caution it can cause negative effects in the life of a user. Thousands of stories have been published regarding the dangers associated on MySpace it is up to the user to learn from these stories. This is not a MySpace issue, it is not MySpace the problem, this is rather an internet issue, but by learning how to have a safe experience on the second most popular website will serve us to have a safe experience on other online communities. Will you use this knowledge to have a safe and enjoyable experience when using MySpace?
You hear all these stories and experiences with fake profiles and suspicious people behind them.
Has there been any discussion as to why a girl/woman or guy/man would create a fake profile to begin with? More than just to “kill time” or “to see what kind of responses I’d get” there’s more depth to it. There has to be. Is it because they are seeking attention or approval? Are they acting out of lonliness or have a low self esteem? Any information on that?
Evelyn Balderas-Castro
July 26, 2006
Rough Draft
Identity in MySpace
A group of five boys created a profile on Myspace.com pretending to be a girl in order to cheer up one of their friends who had broken up with his girlfriend. A couple days went by and they started receiving messages from a man. The man continued sending sexual messages to the “girl” and also sent the “girl” pictures of him and arranged a date and location for them to meet. He told the “girl” to meet him in a public park in Fontana. The group of boys went to the park that day and as soon as they saw the man they called the police. Michael Ramos, age forty-eight, admitted that his plans were to meet the fifteen year old girl and have sex with her
Identity is an important and delicate subject for almost everyone. Who we say we are, how others see us, and how we present ourselves, all have much to do with identity. Identity can change depending on whether or not you can see the person. In a face-to-face interaction, identity is mostly judged by what is seen, and gender, race, class, looks, among other characteristics, greatly matter; allowing identity to be manipulated by how others perceive us. However, in the virtual world, in which, we are not able to see the physical appearance of a person or other preliminary characteristics of the self, the perception of identity changes. By hiding behind the computer screen and with the ability to describe ourselves as however we want, we are able to explore multiple identities. Unlike in the “real world” where we have one identity, in the virtual world we are able to be who we desire. We are able to create multiple identities and be a completely different person. The internet as a form of interaction and communication allows us to have access to multiple identities and have control over how we present our selves. As the cartoonist Peter Steiner says, “On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.”
Knowing that presenting a fake identity is extremely easy over the internet, we can never be sure if a person is who he/she says he/she is. We should no longer feel secure when interacting with people whom we have never met before. Self presentation over the internet can be harmful and affect the lives of innocent people if we do not use the methods of communication that the internet offers with caution. Myspace is one of many online communities where interaction can put at risk the lives of many if not used with caution. Because of the access the internet gives people to have control over the self presentation and take on multiple identities, it is no longer secure to use Myspace without learning about the dangers associated with it, such as receiving messages from people who we have never meet before, who have a great chance of not being who they say they are, or even being sexually assaulted by other users. It is important to be aware of identity issues on the internet in order to have a safe and enjoyable experience when using Myspace as a form of interaction and communication with other people.
The internet as a form of interaction and communication has greatly shaped the aspect of identity. With the introduction of the internet into our world the way society views identity and self presentation has changed. “Traditional definitions regard the self as unique, individual, autonomous ego, a dichotomy of mind and body, and the authorial voice of texts. In virtual reality, the self becomes a “virtual eye” that encounters various perspectives through sense perception. The virtual self denies its identity because the virtual self sees and experiences the virtual world as other virtual selves do and learns by identification and empathy.” The true identity that exists in the real world is denied and changes in the virtual world. “CMC contexts, offer communicators the ability to manipulate their personal identities…” The internet allows its users to have control over the way they present their selves and take on multiple identities if they desire. The way we present ourselves is strongly based on how we want others to perceive us as well as who we would like to be. The internet gives people the opportunity “to present themselves in a variety of different ways. You can alter your style of being just slightly or indulge in wild experiment with your identity by changing your age, history, personality, physical appearance, even your gender.” There is a great amount of freedom in cyberspace to change your gender, age, history, personality and many other things. For this great freedom that the internet gives to its users to control their identity, it is crucial to use the internet with caution and to have knowledge of the dangers associated with it.
The book, Online Communication, Linking Technology, Identity, and Culture, provides great examples of how internet users manipulate their identities and how this can affect the lives of others. The authors give an example of a woman who has been using the internet as a way of interaction for about three years. She became extremely close to a women known as Julie Graham who shared details of her personal life with the women. She told the women that she was a “mute, paraplegic, victim of a car crash who had wrestled with suicidal depression.” The woman was moved by her story and decided to find Julie to offer her face to face support. She wanted to help Julia so she did everything possible to find Julie. When the women got a hold of her, she was surprised to find out that Julie was neither a paraplegic mute, nor a stay home house woman, but a fulltime professional psychologist and what was worse is that Julie was not a she but a man who had crated a fake profile. The women as well as other users were very mad at “Julie” for what he had done. The woman says that she became extremely close to Julie and she felt that she was a significant part of her life and that finding out that Julie was not who she said she was affected her emotionally. In this case the man who played as Julie had complete control over the way he presented himself over the internet. He wanted to experience being a woman with disabilities to make others feel sorry for “her”. Self presentation on the internet is strongly influenced by what who we wish to be and how we want others to see us and feel for us. The man clearly wanted others to have compassion for his character as Julie therefore he manipulated his online identity and played to be Julie. Stories similar to this, having to do with multiple identities on the internet occur daily. This woman is one of many who are affected by users who create fake identities pretending to be someone who they are not. “When we step through the screen into virtual communities we reconstruct our identities on the other side of the looking glass.” The risks associated with it can range from emotional ones, like the one just described, to physical ones, like the one that could have occurred by the man who was arrested for attempting to have sex with a fifteen year old girl.
On the internet there are places used for interaction and communication known as online communities. It is in these online communities where people manipulate their identities and interact with other users. “Virtual communities ranging form MUDs to computer bulletin boards allow people to generate experiences, relationships, identities and living spaces that arise only through interaction with technology.” MySpace is one of these many online communities used as a method of interaction. According to CBS News technology analyst, Larry Magid, Myspace is the second most popular website on the internet, following the first which is EBay. “Since appearing in January 2004, the site currently has 87 million accounts, and it’s adding around 270,000 new users a day. Of those 87 million, about one-fourth are minors. In fact, the site grew 752% in one year, one of the largest – if not the largest – expansions on the Web in history.” By having a MySpace account you are able to create a home page where you can input a range of things having to do with your looks, personality, and personal information about yourself. By what the page contains one can assume many characteristics regarding the identity of the user. MySpace is free and opening an account is very easy. The age limit is of fourteen years of age but then there is no actual way to prove that the information provided is true. There is no actual way to verify the age of users who create a MySpace profile. Therefore anyone, including young kids, can access Myspace just by lying about their age. Lying on the internet is something extremely easy and uncontrollable given the fact that one is hiding behind the computer screen. On a user’s page one can find pictures of the user, information ranging from the real name of the user, the place where he or she was born, the school the user attends, the users favorite food place, the number of drugs the user has done, the number of tattoos and piercing the user has, and many other very informative things. With pictures and concrete details such as the ones just described it is unbelievably easy for a user with a fake profile who is not who he or she says he or she is, to get a hold of another user. It is very easy for a pervert to find his or her victim by creating a fake profile and using Myspace to find the victim. Myspace allows users to be who ever they want so we should never assume that the person who we are meeting through Myspace is who the person says he or she is.
A good example about identity in MySpace and the dangers associated with it is the story of 14 year old girl. The girl was sexually assaulted through MySpace and could have even been raped if police would not have arrested John Wentworth of age twenty seven before the prosecutor met the girl face to face. He contacted the young girl pretending to be a young boy. The man planed to meet the girl and have sex with her regardless of the fact that she was a minor. Lying about your age on MySpace is extremely easy. This man could have abused of this young girl who he interacted with through MySpace. The girl would have gone through a terrible experience because she did not question the identity of the man; she believed what the man said regarding his identity and age. Assuming that the person at the other end of the computer screen is saying the truth regarding his or her identity is not safe. We need to be careful and always question weather or not the truth is being said regarding the identity of the person whom we are interacting with. It is crucial to keep in mind that it is extremely easy to create a fake MySpace profile therefore it is not safe to hold a communication with strangers. It is not safe to believe what a person says if we have never met the person before.
Returning to the story presented at the beginning regarding the boys who created a fake Myspace profile pretending to be a girl, these two boys experienced with multiple identities by creating a whole new identity of a girl. MySpace provides access for its users to have control over their identity and the way they present their selves. A person can decide to have multiple identities on MySpace and use it to contact other users. Although in this case, creating a fake Myspace profile led to the capture of a man who had intended to have sex with a fifteen year old girl, in many cases the ones who play with identities and say to be someone who they are not are the ones who use the internet’s access to multiple identities as a way to get a hold of their victims.
I myself have had a similar experience with Myspace involving the issue of identity. I searched for some people I met in San Diego and got a hold of one of the guys’ page. I decided to send a message saying hi including some information regarding the day we met. Several days later I received a message from a different user replying to the message I had sent to the guy I met in San Diego. The reply contained details that I sent to the guy I met in San Diego. I replied to the stranger and asked him how he knew what I had sent to the other user. He replied by telling me that he works for him and has access to his page. He gets paid to reply to the messages the San Diego user receives and discards messages that are not important. He also told me not to trust users because a great number of times they are not who they say they are. I could not believe that who I thought read my message did not; it actually was read by a complete stranger. After this incident I became more aware about the aspect of identity and made sure to always keep it into consideration when interacting with other users through MySpace. “Goffman points out that one of the difficulties of interaction lies in establishing contact, because an offer to interact always leaves one open to rebuff. Conversely starting an interaction always involves a risk about what the interaction might lead to, and possible difficulty in ending it.” Goffman points out that online interaction can be risky and once the conversation has started it, and for some reason, such as being sexually assaulted, we want to end the conversations, it might be difficult to end it. Almost daily I receive friend request from complete strangers and if I do not recognize the person I do not accept them as a friend. This might seem rude but for safety reasons it is the best thing to do. By doing this I am avoiding being contacted by users with fake profiles, by users who might lie about their age and other aspects, and I am avoiding putting myself at risk. I know that creating a fake profile and presenting a fake identity in MySpace is one of the easiest things to do and because of this I make sure I am using MySpace with caution.
Besides the access in MySpace to create fake profiles and take on multiple identities it is also important to learn about the type of interaction that takes place in MySpace. Unlike in real life interactions, the interactions that take place in MySpace are text based. “In face to face interactions, people infer qualities of our identities based on our gender, race, clothing, and other nonverbal characteristics.” However the way online interactions work, are different from text based interaction. “Communication in cyberspace is primarily text-based and therefore does not provide visual and auditory cues that are available in face to face interaction.” Beginning from early history until today, scholars have presented a great number of arguments regarding the issue of text based interactions online. Among the many scholars who have analyzed and written about this topic, there is Martha Karge. Martha Karge is a scholar who wrote an essay on computer mediated communication titled, “The Digital Self in Cyberspace”. In her essay she presents the argument that text based interactions lacks reality, meaningfulness, and truthfulness. I agree with her argument and believe that this can also be a dangerous aspect that surrounds MySpace. In her essay she writes, “…electronic media…isolates people from society or turns them away from face-to-face interaction. Text-based CMC and VR (virtual reality) technologies do not allow the oral tradition of rhetoric, the oral delivery of speech in public discourse.” She argues that there is no oral speech and oral rhetoric involved in text based interactions that take place online. This makes online conversations less real. One is not able to hear or see the person whom one is talking to online. Therefore one is not able to make assumptions about their personality or feelings because the auditory and visual aspects of the conversation do not exist in online communities such as MySpace.
To further emphasize her argument she says that “Through interactive text, group members change roles and construct or negotiate their online identity.” She links identity to text based interaction. Text based interaction allows you to manipulate your identity, “You can be whoever you want to be. You can completely redefine yourself if you want. You can be the opposite sex….They don’t hear you accent and make assumptions. All they see is your words.” With this, I further argue that text based interaction can be risky if we do not know the person who we are talking to and that the conversation can lack truthfulness. Because we are not able to hear or see the user, it is easy for them to lie about their physical appearance through text based interaction. Like seen earlier in the example of the man who pretended to be a women by the name of Julie, text based interaction allows user to lie about their true identity. Because we can not see the person we can not have a feel for the feelings or emotions of the user therefore text based interaction lack of reality. She also brings in the criticism of writing by Socrates. She mentions that Socrates criticizes writing because “Writing disrupts the human memory of public discourse and the social interaction, routines and communal intimacy of oral society and culture. It alienates the individual from the oral community in which cultural tradition and identity are expressed and shared.” She uses Socrates and Plato’s criticism on writing to support her argument that text based interaction alienates people from the oral community where the true identity exists. Online interaction lack truthfulness and reality where the identities presented are not always the real identities. Online identity lacks truthfulness because it is created by a text based description.
Martha Karge is not the only one who argues that text based interactions lack truthfulness. In her essay she says that this argument started in early history with Plato and Socrates who criticized writing, which was the new technology in their time. When writing came along Socrates and Plato completely opposed it. In “Phaedrus”, which is not really an essay but rather a record that presents the argument of two people speaking, Plato and Socrates, the criticism against writing is presented. Plato argues that writing makes people less human. He says that writing “…will create forgetfulness in the learners souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves” (29). Though I do not believe that all writing is negative I do believe that text based online interaction lack reality. Just like Using Plato’s criticism on writing I can argue that text based interaction can make people “trust …the written characters” which can be risky if these written characters are not true. It can be risky to trust what other user whom we have never meet before say through the internet. Because it is extremely easy to lie on MySpace, to enjoy MySpace risk free, we should not trust everything people say. Keep in mind that text allows MySpace users to manipulate their identity. A user can send u a message claiming to be young women, and accompanied by this lie a fake profile of young women, when the reality is that the user is a man. We should use the arguments of Martha Karge, Socrates, and Plato to be safe when interacting on MySpace or other online communities.
However, there are scholars who argue against views from scholars like Martha Karge or even Plato and Socrates. One of the best known scholars who argues against the belief that multiple identities online is something negative that can put at risk the life of people is Sherry Turkle. Sherry Turkle earned a doctorate in sociology and personality psychology from Harvard in 1976. She is well known for her contribution on technology, specifically the internet. She has written several articles and books on computer technologies and virtual communities. There are several things that she says in which I agree with, but when it comes to drawing conclusions from what she says, our views oppose. For example one of the things she says is that “One’s body can be represented by one’s textual description.” I agree, on the internet the body is not judged by sight but it is rather represented by words, by the way we describe ourselves. I what I do not agree with is with her argument regarding this issue. She believes that being able to present the body through words is something positive and wonderful. She argues that being able to have control over your physical appearance in the internet is a good thing. I completely disagree. Being able to describe yourself however you want is something risky. Because of this it is not safe to trust users describing their selves. How can we be sure that they are not lying? What is even more interesting about Turkle’s argument is that she believes that the lying part is what makes this a positive experience. Being able to lie about your looks and pretend to look a complete different way, or even change your age and gender, is healthy and wonderful. Since when is lying consider something healthy and wonderful? Do not parents daily teach their kids to tell the truth and to not lie? Lying is what makes this a negative action. The internet allows users to become deviants and lie about their true identity.
Allowing lying to be considered healthy is ridiculous. She also says that “Health is when you are multiple but feel unity.” I do not see how there can be a unifying relationship between being multiple and feeling as one. One can not be multiple and yet feel as one or unity. She continues on the topic of multiple identities on the internet by saying that “On the internet one can be many, and one usually is.” She clearly states that the possibility that people take on multiple identities is high. People know that they can experience multiple identities when interacting through the internet and according to Turkle most of the time they do. Turkle sees this as a positive thing and fails to take into consideration the thousand of cases that daily come out regarding people who present fake online identities to find their victims. To counter her argument there is the example of the fourteen year old girl who was assaulted by the twenty seven year old man, John Wentworth. John lied about his age to have the opportunity to meet the girl and eventually have sex with her, regardless the fact that she was a minor. There are also cases that do not involve sexual predators who use the internet to get a hold of their victims. The story of the man, who pretended to be a woman by the name of Julie who ended up hurting emotionally the woman who wanted to offer Julie her support, is an example of a case that involves regular people with no intentions of committing a crime. Having the ability to be many is negative and the ones who take advantage of this opportunity ranges from those who plan to commit crimes, to those who do it for fun, but eventually end up hurting someone.
On the concept of identity and the self, Turkle argues that “…the ability to move from one aspect, or self, to another and to do so with an understanding of the process is a more healthy conception of who we are.” There is only one true self, the one that is represented by your true personality, physical characteristics and other concepts that make you unique. Being able to switch from one self to another when using the internet does not define who we are. The identity people often present online is not the “real” and true identity of the person. Taking on multiple identities is not healthy and does not better define who we are. If anything taking on multiple identities causes confusion in our true identity and makes people have doubts about our uniqueness. Rather than being healthy it can be frustrating.
Sherry Turkle provides a great deal of example of cases she has studied regarding the issue of identity on the internet in her essay, “Who Am We?” The cases she presents, rather than supporting her argument, they go against it. She introduces the concept of psychosocial moratorium, which are actions taken that have no consequence. She arguer that taking on multiple identities on the internet is healthy and what is even more wonderful about it is that it does not have consequences. An online user who believes everything the person at the other end of the computer says, and later is persuaded into meeting the person and accepts to do so, and is forced into sex, is not a consequence regarding the issue of identity? Being lied to and emotionally hurt after discovering that the person with whom we opened up with and shared personal details of our life with is not really who they said they were, is not a convincing consequence? In fact all of these are significant consequences. Her argument fails to be true and what further proves this is the comparison she makes. She compares the concept of psychosocial moratorium to the college life. She says the college years are a time in life for experience and that the actions we make during this time have no consequences. She says that college students in college live a life with no worries or consequences. As a college student I know that this is not true. College is not a time in life where you get to experience what it is to live a life with no worries, troubles, or consequences, it is rather the time your life where you are faced to be responsible on your own. The time in life in which worries seem to burry you and it is from these worries and troubles that you learn about responsibility. I would say that it is the time in life in which you face the most consequences. If you know that you have a final tomorrow and yet decide to go to a party and drink you will probably face the consequence of getting a bad grade on your final. Because during this time, we are experiencing with a great number of things, there are and immense number of consequences that we encounter during our college years. Saying that interacting in communities in which people can take on multiple identities has no consequences is not a valid assertion to make. There are obviously an infinite number of consequences linked to this issue that are seen daily on the news.
Sherry Turkle follows by providing examples regarding issues of cybersex and identity on the Internet. She argues that because on the Internet one can be many, one can experience with cybersex without having to face consequences. To support her argument she provides an example of a married couple, Martin and Beth, who have been married for 19 year. Martin uses MUD to have sexual experiences with other users over the internet. He decides to tell his wife, Beth, about this and Beth responses by approving of his actions. She says that to her it is like Martin is reading erotic novel. With this example Sherry talk about the wonderful things that people can experience when taking on multiple identities. She glorifies this example of Martin and Beth and agrees that sex over the internet is a great experience and involves no harm. Later she provides a second example regarding this issue of a Janet and Tim who are also a married couple. Unlike the case before, when Tim confessed to Janet that he was using the internet to have sex, she completely disapproved of his behaviors and asked him to stop. Janet says that she is not sure of whether or not Tim has actually stopped using the internet as a mean to experience sexual activities. She says that every time she sees Tim on the computer she feel paranoid because she is not sure if he has stopped this behavior. She fails to support her argument because this example clearly shows the opposite of her argument. Having sex over the internet is not a wonderful experience that does not have consequences, but it is rather an issue that can hurt people and have negative impacts on the family. This issue can be as strong as leaving a person paranoid. When dealing with this Janet asks what if the “cyberspace mistress turns out to be a 19-year old male college freshman? What if she is an infirm 80-year old man in a nursing home? And even more disturbing, what if she is a 12-year old girl? Or a 12-year old boy?” These are all questions that bring into consideration the aspect of identity when discussing the negative effects of cybersex. It is not safe to assume that the person who we are talking to is really the person who he or she claims he or she is. Like mentioned before the hot and sexy “she” can be a college man, an old man or even a kid of twelve years of age. Sherry Turkle fails to prove that taking on multiple identities to have online sex is a positive and risk free experience. Examples of cases she, herself, provides prove that this behavior can have negative affects on a marriage and family.
The internet has changed the aspect of identity. It has allowed for identity to be multiple. The internet as a form of interaction gives people the opportunity to experience with different identities. This aspect of the internet can be a risky behavior putting at risk the life of people. MySpace is one of the most used online communities as a mean of interaction and communication. Because of the issue involving multiple identities online we should be aware of the dangers associated with this issue. We should not assume that the person who we are talking to is saying the truth. Lying on the internet is one of the easiest things to do. It is best to avoid having interactions with strangers who we have never seen or met before. Doing this will provide a safe experience when using MySpace. I myself enjoy using MySpace and believe that it is one of the best ways to keep in touch with friends from high school who I no longer see, but I also believe that if it is not used with caution it can cause negative effects in the life of a user. Thousands of stories have been published regarding the dangers associated on MySpace it is up to the user to learn from these stories. This is not a MySpace issue, it is not MySpace the problem, this is rather an internet issue, but by learning how to have a safe experience on the second most popular website will serve us to have a safe experience on other online communities. Will you use this knowledge to have a safe and enjoyable experience when using MySpace?
[...] Evelyn Balderas-Castro- Identity in MySpace July 26, 2006, http://writing50.wordpress.com/2006/07/27/rough-drafts/ [...]
You hear all these stories and experiences with fake profiles and suspicious people behind them.
Has there been any discussion as to why a girl/woman or guy/man would create a fake profile to begin with? More than just to “kill time” or “to see what kind of responses I’d get” there’s more depth to it. There has to be. Is it because they are seeking attention or approval? Are they acting out of lonliness or have a low self esteem? Any information on that?
hi my names tim