Online mediums such as Social Networking Sites (SNS) provide users with an opportunity to create a virtual counterpart of themselves which may or may not be an accurate representation of them in the real world.
"Online, users can claim to be whoever they wish. Like actors playing a role, they can deliberately choose to put forth identity cues or claims of self that can closely resemble or wildly differ from reality." (Pearson 2009)
This fact is part of the appeal of the online identity. If you have certain traits that may be considered to be embarrassing, they can easily be covered up or not even mentioned at all. It is also quite easy to make outlandish and untrue statements about yourself, after all, who are your online "friends" to question you?
"Other claims in the profile may be untrue, yet unquestioned by friends and colleagues, who may simply assume this is an aspect of their acquaintance about which they do not know." (Donath & Boyd 2004)
The online identity is quickly becoming a sizable branch of the human identity. Will it eventually take over? Will our online identities soon be the only identities we have?
References
Pearson, E. (2009). All the World Wide Web's a Stage: The Performance of Identity in Online Social Networks. First Monday, Volume 14, Number 3.
http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2162/2127 (Accessed March 14, 2011)
Donath, J., & Boyd, D. (2004). Public displays of connection. BT Technology Journal. Volume 22 (4): 75.
http://www.danah.org/papers/PublicDisplays.pdf. (Accessed March 14, 2011).
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