Internet Identity

Yesterday I was reading an article in the May 2008 issue of Esquire Magazine when I stumbled across an articled "MySpace.com/Doppelganger" by Chuck Klosterman. In this article, Mr. Klosterman discusses the creation of identities online, via MySpace or Facebook.
The most profound point that Mr. Klosterman made was "The self-portrait you upload on Facebook is what you look like...It does not matter if you've honestly enjoyed the movies you list as favorites or read the books you claim to love...Who is going to disagree?" (Klosterman 66). I feel that this statement blurs the line between what is reality and what isn't. Who is to say that a person's biography on their home page on a social networking site is not the actual person themselves? Internet link to article: http://www.esquire.com/features/chuck-klostermans-america/hannah-montana-0508.

The reason I find this so interesting is because it is individual people who create their Internet identity. People on social sites only see what other people want them to see. These social networking site pages are manifestations of different people's self-perceptions. They choose only the aspects of their personality or interests that may appeal to people or appeal to their own personal self-view. Mr. Klosterman takes this idea a step further by asking us not if people only project their best self-image, with the understanding that the image has a basis in reality. One cannot accurately try to conform to a specific group if they do not share the behavior of that group's members, i.e. (though I realize this is a stereotype) if one wants to be categorized as a metal music lover, there tends to be a series of bands to which most of the mainstream metal world listens (Metallica, Iron Maiden, etc.). Klosterman questions the validity of these online declarations of self, in essence saying that just because it's there, it's not true.

This leads into another topic. Why would people want to put false information about themselves on a social networking site. Personally, I believe that people will often try to self-categorize in order to fit into a specific group that they feel may be better than other groups. This sentiment of group egoism is ironic because, as Klosterman points out, some individuals may not belong to the groups to whom they claim allegiance.

Source: Klosterman, Chuck. "MySpace.com/Doppelganger." Esquire May 2008: 65-66

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