Identity

Lately in our English class, we have been discussing Internet identity. Many people change themselves completely online or simply change certain parts of there personality to make them seem different than they actually are. Those people who change themselves completely, or even go as far as to create an imaginary person using a stranger’s pictures, tend to threaten us. We think of them as evil imposters trying to lure us into their trap, or creepy old men trying to prey on innocent children, using the computer screen as their shield. I have never thought of these people in a positive manner until recently, after having a conversation with one of my friends.
Like me, my friend Taylor had had a Xanga blog site in middle school. I was telling her that researching blogging in my English class had made me remember how much fun it had been.
“I still have one,” she said, “but it’s not really me.”
Surprised, I made her tell me more about it. Taylor had created an entirely new person online. She had named her Zoe and created a complete identity for her, even down to Zoe’s interests and hometown.
“Its not like I update it all the time or anything,” she explained, “Its just kind of fun when I’m bored.”
This changed my entire opinion on creating fake identities online. Something that I used to see as shady and strange I now realized could be used as a creative form of expression. I never realized that not all people who create false identities are doing it for negative reasons, and that they could be people I knew. Taylor is basically writing a book with Zoe as the main character. Although Zoe is a completely fictional character, reading this profile would tell us a lot about Taylor because she is expressing herself through Zoe. Some things that people may not be comfortable expressing as themselves can be expressed through a fictional Internet character without embarrassment or consequence. Before judging these online authors again, I’ll remember that not all of these people are creating these identities for the wrong reasons.