"Oh noez, it's da Predator!1"

People always told me that when I go to college, I can be anyone I want to be because no one knows who I am. One can argue that this statement is true, but I can update this phrase to an even truer statement. “People always told me that when I log onto the internet, I can be anyone I want to be over and over and over again.” There are many reasons for this but perhaps the best reason is because no can physically see who I am. Judith Donath sums it up perfectly by stating, “The virtual world is different. It is composed of information rather than matter” (1996). When I am on the internet I am protected by a barrier (in this case a screen) that simply displays infinite amounts of information. It can often be a difficult task to sort out what, or who, is real and fake.

Everyone who uses the internet has an online identity. According to John Suler, the internet allows:

“people to present themselves in a variety of different ways. You can alter your style of being just slightly or indulge in wild experiments with your identity by changing your age, history, personality, physical appearance, even your gender. The username you choose, the details you do or don't indicate about yourself, the information presented on your personal web page, the persona or avatar you assume in an online community - all are important aspects of how people manage their identity in cyberspace” (Suler, 2002).

Like Suler suggests, the identities I use vary depending on which online community I participate in. I generally use two identities online. I use one for online gaming and one for more formal online communities such as e-mail, blogs and instant messaging. When I play games online I like to use an alias such as “ThePredator” This originates from the Predator movies. Ever since I saw those movies I fell in love with that creature…it was the coolest looking killer alien I had ever seen. He was ruthless, stealthy and cunning, all attributes that an online gamer should have. Not to mention it’s a cool name to have people recognize you as. It’s simple and secretive as well. People simply know me as “ThePredator” and that creates a mysterious vibe. There is no need to reveal any personal information about myself in online games because I am only there to play and have a fun time. I have noticed that almost no one who plays online games talk to each as if they would in real life. This is most likely due to the freedom and ambiguity present. Online games have their own language, such as ‘noob’ and ‘pwned’ which further separate reality and virtual reality, and they don’t encourage people to interact on a personal level either.

When it comes to communities where I know I have to interact with ‘supposedly’ real people or friends and family I use an identity that they can relate to. In these cases I use a simple ID such as “JaredK511.” This too is simple and easy to call me as, but it is much more personal. I am revealing my true first name and last initial, as well as my birth date. I believe it shows that I am not trying to pull any ‘funny business’. I usually include a profile with this ID in order to explain a little more about who I truly am as well. I do this so I can establish a better reputation to those whom it may concern.

Just like with everything else in the world, devious activity can be found with even online identity. Perhaps someone wanted the name “ThePredator” but could not have it because I already own it. Well there are ways that that person could hack into my account, change the password and steal my ‘name’. I am not that tech savvy so I have found an example that explains how people could hack into your account. According to the TWL (TeamWarefare League) forums, “The primary way these [accounts] are being stolen is by someone contacting the person on MSN (easily found on a high honor account by looking at their AAO Tracker profile) and impersonating a female. "She" then sends a picture of "herself" and offers to send you more. When you say yes "she" sends a file called "Christina's_Gallery_2003" that contains the "MultiDropper-FD" Trojan in it” (2004). Something as simple as that could really ruin a gamers’ experience. A lot of times though people are gullible and fall for certain traps like the one mentioned above. That is why it is always important to read things carefully and think critically about what it is you’re being prompted to do. There is clearly no way to prevent people from changing who they are online, but with some caution and knowledge, people can navigate the digital world safely and problem free.

References

Donath, J. (1996). Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community. Retrieved February 20, 2007, from http://smg.media.mit.edu/people/Judith/Identity/IdentityDeception.html

Suler, J. (2002). Identity Management in Cyberspace. Retrieved February 20, 2007, from http://www.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/identitymanage.html

TWL Forums. (2004). TWL community based gaming. Retrieved February 20, 2007, from http://www.teamwarfare.com/forums/showthread.asp?forumid=25&threadid=189387