Seeing & Writing 2

"In the age of the Internet, people are able to construct themselves," said Sherry Turkle, sociologist and author of Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet (1997). "Virtual communities can be seen as a new genre of artistic endeavor, a new form of performance art or improvisational theater. What distinguishes the virtual are the new genres developed through computer-aided design." In chat rooms, MUDs, message boards, and instant messaging, computer users are free to assume screen names, personalities, and even virtual appearances that may bear little resemblance to their off-line identities.

At the same time, the issue of maintaining online privacy and protecting personal information is under increasing scrutiny. Although it is now easier than ever to become someone else in virtual space, it's less difficult for others to find critical personal information (e-mail address, credit card information) and track online habits. How do online environments help shape our sense of self? Explore how identity is constructed and contested in virtual space. As an alternative writing exercise, you might draft an argument in which you support or refute the assertion that technology, and especially the Internet, has made anonymity increasingly difficult to maintain.

Chapter 4. Embodying Identity
	Visual Exercises for Chapter 4

	Research Links for Chapter 4

	Re:Searching the Web

Use the boxes below to work both exercises and e–mail your response to yourself and/or your instructor.

"How do on-line environments shape our sense of self?" You might start by generating ideas on how virtual spaces are different from physical spaces or how virtual identities differ from physical identities. When people meet one another, they often evaluate the looks of others at the same time they are worrying about their own. Some people might feel limited by how friends and family expect them to behave. Explore the ways that virtual reality can offer opportunities for people to break out of their usual roles. Enter chat rooms, message boards, or visual chat environments under different identities, changing your user name and personality each time. Try not to treat the identity as a caricature, but rather explore different personalities of interest. Consider not only how you feel assuming different identities but how you experience the reactions of others.

You might also try entering a chat room or a visual chat environment as a member of the opposite sex. These chat sites offer users the ability to create a visual alter ego (referred to as an "avatar"). Explain how this experience has affected your views on interactions between the sexes. How do members of the same and opposite sex treat you after your virtual sex change? Include specific examples of your online experience.

To e–mail your work to yourself and/or your instructor, enter the e–mail addresses below. You can then print a copy from your e–mail program.
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