Looking Toward Cyberspace: Beyond Grounded Sociology
By Sherry Turkle
This article is about how cyberspace has altered our relationships as well as our own personal identity. Turkle explains that we become learn to adapt to a virtual world, connecting with people in a whole new way. Some people integrate well into this new world with little to no effort, other feel anxiety and a sense of “fragmentation.” With technology it’s possible to live multiple lives, or play multiple roles, at the same time. When connected to the internet on your computer you can be connected to Facebook, MySpace, MSN messenger (as well as multiple other messengers), twitter, and a plethora of chat rooms all at the same time … playing a different role in each of these social networks. It’s not even unheard of for people to play the role of someone of the opposite gender, or a completely different age. With the help of cyberspace it seems that we have been able to redefine how we look at identity and our self images. We need to not look at ourselves so much as one person as our parent’s parents did but as multiple selves expressed through different means.
I find it to be very interesting how people take on multiple selves when online. I knew several gamers that would have multiple “players” on one game, each having its own personality. Many of the male gamers would have at least one female character, and often it was their main character. I also know how easy it is to portray a different self when you are around one group of people vs. another. How much easier is it then to portray a different self online? And to have the capability to play multiple roles or be multiple selves all at the same time is truly amazing. We really have come a long way with technology. I think you’ll find how common place this really is in today’s society. How many of you have experienced this first hand or know of someone that does?
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It might sound a bit geeky but the concept of multiple characters is not new, just ask any D&D gamer and you'll see. I know the situation is bit different since no one can see you online, but like you said it is easier for some people to take more than one different role not just of they are but in gender also.
ReplyDeleteI am part of a gaming community. There are 2 guys that are in the chat rooms quite often. One of them has a female character, "Chala", as his main character. After meeting and learning about "who" is behind the characters, I found that "Chala" is a man in real life. He said he gets around with so many women and feels so masculine all the time, he feels the need to unwind and play out the role of a female. This is his only way to do it without scaring all the women in his real life. I think that is a reason some people "gender-reverse" in the virtual world. They want to explore the world through the opposite sex's sense of community. They just don't want to be caught as the opposite gender. An online community is a perfect place to do this gender-switch. This is something we have touched on before in this class. I have a friend Trina that opens up several windows at a time (Facebook, MySpace, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.) on her computer. I don't know about the rest, but she has told me that she has a different persona or character (other than her own "real" meatspace personality on FB, Myspace, and a certain women's virtual community. I asked her why be a different person on each site? Very simply she stated that, on Facebook, she has certain friends that know her one way, and her (different) friends on MySpace know her another way, a more wild
ReplyDeleteTrina from nightclubs, and she acts like she is in her forties (she is now 28) in the women's community to fit in more. Most of the women in that community are in their late-thirties and forties and know much about cooking, cleaning tips, and raising children effectively. She uses a different "self" to fit in more. That is a very popular reason to be "someone different" in each community or group.