Comments on: Privacy in 3D

By: Dusan Writer

Dusan Writer — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 15:52:58 +0000

Oh – but I do need to chime in on Angela’s comment and disagree. I suppose you can get into a philosophical debate about how identity is formed – but I’m going to go with the idea that our identities are partly formed by the environments and artefacts with which we interact. If that’s true, then certainly we bring our past experiences to virtual worlds, but it doesn’t mean that our identities in those places aren’t informed by what and who we find there. Now, this leads to the odd problem of what Tom called “techne in techne” – being always once removed, I mean it’s virtual after all (as compared to what he calls actual, to make the distinction that it’s not unreal, it’s just that you’re never “quite there”). So, being virtual, it causes the problem of whether it can inform the actual – sort of like the line “what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas”.

Hamlet Au calls the benefits we gain from our virtual lives on our actual ones “mirrored flourishing”. But I propose that it’s not so simple.

I’ve written at length about what I call the “strange loop” – this is the idea that you either arrive in virtual worlds with no intention of porting your actual identity and assume a new “personality” or you arrive with your identity and then find that because you’re participating in a new sociality it becomes deconstructed.

The argument has been made that this is no different than other sites of sociality in the actual world – who I “am” in one social setting can be quite different from another. Likewise virtual worlds. But I think there’s a growing body of evidence to also suggest that virtual worlds provide new tools for identity explorations, tools that because they exist within techne are not always transferable, which creates odd moments of tension.

Read enough SL blogs and you see this experience repeated over and over again.

Now – having said all that, I also believe that the strange loop always returns you to yourself.

Subtle points maybe? I’m not so sure – especially as our avatars also take on the aspects of being agents, these are, in my opinion, some of the most profound questions of our times: there is peril and promise in the idea that our identities will be mediated by technologies. It’s too simple to say that “I am me wherever I go” because the range of our wanderings keeps increasing.

http://dusanwriter.com/?p=138

By: Dusan Writer

Dusan Writer — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 15:41:26 +0000

Wonderful post. One of the things that fascinates me is the idea that we don’t notice how much technology mediates our identities – I mean, there’s the obvious stuff, but it has subtle impacts on our behavior as well – for that, I can think of no better source than Tom Beollstorff and his book “Coming of Age in Second Life”.

In any case, rather than get into a lengthy reply, I’ve previously written on alts and virtual worlds and hope you don’t mind if I direct you there.

(The side bar includes links to key posts that cover related topics).

http://dusanwriter.com/?p=237

By: Sarah Stewart

Sarah Stewart — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 19:18:34 +0000

I think this whole identity issue is a fascinating one and would be in the top three themes of my own blog. I have chosen to take a professional stance to my online identity ie I disclose who I am in all areas. But that gives me little room to be some one completely different. In other words, I cannot be truly outrageous because it might affect my professional image as midwife & educator. I haven’t got the time or energy to develop an alter ego, although I do think it would be fun.

By: Angela

Angela — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:34:56 +0000

I remember hearing Alan Jukes talking about our students working online, how they select different facets of themselves to reveal depending upon the audience.

I believe that we as adults do the same thing. As our comfort level, trust and familiarity grow we choose or allow additional facets of ourselves to be revealed.

The important thing there for me is that we are looking at elements or facets of the genuine person. Just like in a real life face to face relationship, the real person is revealed at some stage. Who I am online is who I am in real life. The visual elements may not run in parallel, but the character, behaviours, speech, beliefs, knowledge and reactions are mine.

I believe the development of identity online mimics real life, and the use of additional avatars is just a mechanism in that process.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 10:52:18 +0000

Identity is such a complex issue for so many people out there. I have recently had my professional and personal lives cross paths and I found that employers and society generally are not that accepting yet. Hence why alternates sometimes offer people a valve or release in their work life. I would love more than ever to be unashamedly myself online all the time but I sometimes choose to hide because of professionalism.

That all being said I have recently started a blog under another name and although people who know me cold stitch the two together others couldnt and it gives me the freedom to vent etc.

It all is about perspective I was out last night and a fellow tweet thought he had offended me with a joke he DM’s to me because later on he saw I went home distressed. The two things were not related in the slightest but it is easy to take things out of context.

In regards to identities I have been in a condundum lately about twitter where I have two very distinct groups of followers. One group of education professional people and another group of melbourne tweets both have very different reasons for following me. I did think about being two people but then went stuff that and if I lost followers because I am me then well I do !