Chapter 4 - Self and Identity in Cyberspace

Chapter Summary

Identity and self

• The development of one’s self-concept, including one’s thoughts and feelings about oneself.
• In the online world, the role of identity is where multiple aspects of self can be expressed, which include:
  • actual self – the characteristics that an individual does actually possess;
  • ideal self – the characteristics that an individual would like to possess;
  • ought self – the characteristics that an individual feels they should possess.
• In an identifiable environment, where a person’s identity is known, any deviance from established social norms may be punished or ridiculed.
• In a fully anonymous online world where responsibility is absent, the masks people wear offline are often discarded and their ‘true’ selves allowed to emerge.

Online behaviour theories

• Equalisation hypothesis.
• Removal of social cues due to anonymity of online communication.
• Reduction in stereotypes.
• Increase in social power online.
• Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE) Theory.
• The importance of situational explicit variables in a social situation.
• Complete anonymity will lead to greater group salience.
• Partial identification of group members will lead some members to identify more strongly with certain members than others.
• SIDE Theory proposes that in order to achieve goal-directed groups, each member strives for the group’s goal and not their personal goal.

Impression management

• Impression management is selectively self-presenting or editing messages to reveal socially desirable attitudes and dimensions of the self.
• Impression management may be affected by several factors, including the effect of anonymous versus identifiable environment, identity and self-development.
• The role of anonymity in the online world can have both positive and negative effects.
• Negative aspects of anonymity include increases in aggressive behaviour.
• Positive effect is the role of privacy and autonomy.
• Within the area of impression management, a person’s willingness to deceive is paramount.
• Broadcasting: one-to-many with the primary flow outwards from the one and communicating involves one-to-few with reciprocal exchanges.

Identifiable online environments

• Internet dating is where individuals have to find a balance between presenting ‘the best self’ on their profile and providing precise information.
• Identities produced on Internet dating sites differ from the identities produced in face-to-face situations, because people on Internet dating sites tend to ‘stretch the truth a bit’.
• Perceptions that others are lying may encourage reciprocal deception, because users will exaggerate to the extent that they feel others are exaggerating or deceiving.
• Facebook is another identifiable online environment.
• Facebook selves appear to be highly socially desirable identities that people desire to have in the real world but cannot achieve.