You can be anyone in the digital world

   7 November 2023  2 Comments on You can be anyone in the digital world  Posted in 2. ‘Medium theory’ Or ‘Construction of Identity in a digital world’, Blog

“Construction of identity in a digital world”

Let’s look at two pictures before starting today’s topic. You can try to find out what the picture wants to express.As you can see, the size of the pictures posted by the same person on different social platforms can be completely different. This is also a special thing about the digital world.

In an age where our lives are increasingly intertwined with the digital realm, the construction of identity has taken on a complex, multifaceted nature. The internet, social media, and digital technologies have redefined how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us. This transformation, while fascinating, raises crucial questions about the authenticity of our online personas and the impact of the digital world on our sense of self.

Compared with real life, the digital world is a completely new world for any of us, where we can be completely opposite to ourselves in the real world. So it will appear that the content displayed by people on different platforms has different styles. This can be thought of as a new self living in a digital world, and this person can even be completely opposite to reality.

Example

This is a real case that happened in China. The woman in the photo used various methods to establish herself as a female anchor with a sweet appearance and a good voice, and attracted a large number of fans, thus gaining a lot of wealth. However, this false identity became known after an accident occurred during a live broadcast. This incident caused an uproar in China and made people question the authenticity of people on social platforms.

In the physical world, our identity is often shaped by our interactions, experiences, and relationships. However, in the digital sphere, the construction of identity is influenced by curated profiles, carefully chosen profile pictures, and status updates. Social media platforms serve as virtual mirrors, reflecting back a version of ourselves that we want the world to see. As we meticulously curate our online presence, we create a digital identity that may or may not align with our true selves.

When you use social platforms for a long time, you will find that people live very happy lives on social platforms. Girls and boys tend to be very attractive, and rich people are also keen to share their lives, as if the world Very beautiful. However, the authenticity of this is unknown. It can only be said that people will only show what they want others to see, rather than showing the truest side. This is very contradictory, because this is a virtual world and everyone has their own purpose.

Conclusion

In my opinion, everyone is a free individual. It is free to construct his or her own identity in the digital world, but it is unacceptable to seek benefits through deception.

Reference

chris.drew.98031506 (2023) Impression Management in Sociology (Erving Goffman), Helpful Professor. Available at: https://helpfulprofessor.com/impression-management-sociology/ (Accessed: 07 November 2023).

2 thoughts on “You can be anyone in the digital world”

  1. You did a good job discussing the topic with many vivid examples and I can still remember the one from China xD. A middle-aged women faked herself as a cute “loli” to gain attention on the Internet. She had two totally diff personas in real life and online. I think she did make a lot of money from it before she got revealed.

  2. I couldn’t agree with you more when you say “People only show the side they want others to see, not the truest side. “Take myself as an example: what I post on WeChat is completely different from what I post on Tiktok, because WeChat has more relatives.

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