Hiding Behind A Computer

5 Pages 1163 Words

Computers and the Internet are redefining human identity as people explore the boundaries of their personalities, adopt multiple selves, and form online relationships. Individuals use false identities to produce a life on the Internet, which can influence their identity in real life. Sherry Turkle explains: “it gives people the chance to express often unexplored aspects of the self”.
Gender swapping is one way which the Internet has the ability to change ones identity. There have been many cases where someone has logged onto the Internet, and they have presented their identity as the opposite sex from what they really are. There is no way of knowing what sex someone is when he or she is logged in. “In this way, people are swept up by experiences that enable them to explore previously unexamined aspects of their sexuality or that challenge their ideas about a unitary self”(Turkle). The net is made up of hundreds of thousands of separate communities, each with its own special character. It is difficult to eliminate a certain sex from a specific community when people have the power to disguise themselves. Communication in cyberspace lets people explore their personalities by creating new on-line personae. I think many would agree when Turkle states, “Perhaps I’d like to join some communities under a false name, if only to avoid the assumptions people will make when they hear my real one”.
A significant observation is the amount of men that will log on as women. Jodi O’Brien states, “Many men say that a common motivation for logging on as a female is because they are fascinated by the unusual amount of attention they receive from other men when they are perceived as women”
The one major concern that comes to mind is “cyber-rape.” It is apparent what kind of effect this has on people when Amy Bruckman, a doctoral student in the MIT Media Laboratory, states, “Unwanted attention and sexual advances...