The Role Played by Technology in Identity Construction
Introduction
This paper mainly focuses on analyzing the role that technology plays in construction of identity. This paper will start by defining the concept of identity from the various standpoints both theoretical and the role this concept plays in construction of identity. Identity construction is largely influenced by technology developments especially with new products like smart phones tablets and Google glass and social media like Facebook. The thesis statement governing this paper will argue that, with the rapid advancement in technology of this “brave new world”, technology plays a vital role in construction of identity
The Identity Concept
Hodkinson (625) states that online communication is a significant factor in the fragmented, individual fluid pattern identity development. The standing notion of eliminating the identity from the physical self brings up opportunities where individuals take up personas that are different as opposed to them using their actual identities in various online spaces (Acquisti & Gross, 38). New media technologies like social networks an example Facebook, authors feign their identities to one that fits their various objectives. Facebook began as a social network platform that was mainly for students. It however transformed from the major requirement of the users registering with their real identities such as names, email addresses to currently granting permission to their users to sign up this website using their preferred user names. Such a chance opens up a huge opportunity for individuals to sign up with preferred rather than real identities.
The Internet logic clearly suggests that definition of the self quality does not matter as much as being connected. The communication in the world has radically transformed as a result of the technology advancement especially with the social networks. The new social interactions forms that are allowed by the Internet necessitate people to reevaluate the meaning of concepts such as identity. The impact that the Internet has on the perceptions of social identities is relatively evident by the way it is distancing cultural spheres and the geographical boundaries allowing communications for people worldwide.
How Social Networking Websites Change People’s Interactions
Social media has definitely altered the way people interact. The major change in which social media seems to have done is in increasing the number of people that one can interact with (Castells, 32). Earlier in time, one was limited to the number of people one knew let alone communicated with but with the new advancements in technology and social media. One can have thousands of friends on social websites like Facebook but as an individual, such a number is impossible to achieve. Such opportunities present people with a chance to share their ideas and opinions with a wider range of people. People’s identity is the part that of one’s self that seem to be known by others (Acquisti and Gross, 40). People seem to craft an impossible identity if equated to their offline lives. Status messages, profile pictures, people’s opinions, likes and dislikes can be edited and controlled. The fundamental identity aspects can hence be malleable to alteration where people give false names, gender, occupation, marital status or even sexual orientation (Castells, 35).
The social media has changed the filtering on people’s communication. In the earlier times for one to communicate his or her information without it being controlled by another person, was by direct communication (Castells, 35). One could write a letter addressed to the newspaper or one could buy time on the television but still the information you would give would still be controlled by the television and the newspaper. This meant that if what one had to say was not likable; they had the means of preventing the information from being heard by the public. With the modern advancement in technology, via the social media one can easily get his or her uncensored message across the world to millions of people.
Although there are benefits of the social media usage in this “brave new world” (Hodkinson, 635), this social media also has a downside. People tend to only associate themselves with the groups and individuals that share similar opinions as themselves. This result in under exposure where one hardly has a variety of opinions. The social media has a major impact on the way people interact since people tend to have lost their social skills. Many have become incapable of holding normal conversations or having one on one interaction. This is a major concern since not all things can be done online. There is need of learning how to interact with people so as to build a correct identity. The social media has too much invasion in people’s private life. The fact that it is unfair to hold discussions about people without their consent defies a general code of ethics (Hodkinson, 639). This issue leads to impersonification of people. The image that people use as their identity in social media like Facebook is rather not known if it is their real image hence encouraging a false society. The social ties that on is linked to liker family become weakened since people spend most of their time connecting with new friends. The social media influence social behavior in that people have the zeal to communicate with others. Meeting like-minded people through groups and forums that are available online becomes a priority. People seem to want to share their ideas more so that they can gain recognition. The good thing about social media is that news and information that is useful, is readily available.
In conclusion, social media multi-multiplicity gives people the opportunity to give a representation of their “self” (Hodkinson, 639) online and by doing this, they project an identity. This therefore justifies the claim that advancement in technology of this “brave new world” (Hodkinson, 635) plays a vital role in construction of identity.
Works Cited
Acquisti, A, and R Gross. "Imagined Communities: Awareness, Information Sharing, and Privacy on the Facebook." Lecture Notes in Computer Science. (2006): 36-58. Print.
Carlsen, Roger, and Dee A. Willis. Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference Annual: March 26-30, San Antonio, Texas, Usa. Chesapeake, Va: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education, 2007. 12 Print.
Castells, Manuel. The Internet Galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, Business, and Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001: 32-35. Print.
Hodkinson, Paul. "Interactive Online Journals and Individualization." New Media & Society. 9.4 (2007): 625-650. Print.
