Internet affected people's identity

How and to what degree has the modern technology (e.g., Internet) affected people's identity?

Internet has made it possible for a person to play dual identity with split personality like the famous novel “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. In day time, a person might be quiet, shy, decent and behave in a very polite manner to everyone; but at night, he or she might be transformed to a new identity as a vulgar who can be talkative and flirt around in instant messenger with dirty jokes. Well, I think most of the people won’t have extreme difference like Dr. Jekyll which is serious to extend as personality disorder.

According to Yee (2003), computer games player tend to be close to what they actually are whether in real life or in the internet. Internet is actually bringing out the inner real self of a person as Internet allow people to feel less inhibited (Yee, 2003). We have to portrait ourselves accordingly as a positive identity in real life in order to fulfill society’s requirement. In contrast, internet is a virtual world that is remain anonymous and invisible. Thus, it allows us to reveal the other side of ourselves and release inner emotion and tension by building up own virtual social network.

Erik Erikson believed that adolescent and early adulthood is the period when they struggle to form their identities (Larrain et al., 2007; Larsen & Buss,2008). Adolescents might be beneficial from this virtual world by experimentally forming other identities and got to understand themselves better and build up their self-esteem. Adolescents work out conflicts, confess sexual identity online, and explore issues like depression and eating disorders through internet. They see themselves and their friendships as having unique online identities and codes of behavior (Bradley, 2005).

The negative effect of the internet is one couldn’t learn to understand people by direct communication with body language. This is important as a person needs to communicate and work well in daily life and their communication skill might be degraded. Besides that, this might cause isolation and less intimacy with people to form proper interaction especially those who are addicted to internet.

References:

Bradley, K. (2005). Internet lives: Social context and moral domain in adolescent development. New Directions for Youth Development, 108, 57-76.
Larsen, R. J., & Buss, D. M. (2008). Personality psychology: domains of knowledge about human nature. New York: McGraw-Hill.
M. Elena Larrain, M. E., Zegers, B., & Trapp, A. (2007). Do adolescents compromise their identity when chatting on the internet? International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 4(2), 91–109.
Yee, N. (2003). The Daedalus Project. Retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/000193.php