Topic 2 – Reflective Summary

I found that throughout this topic, my interpretation of ‘online identity’ varied from other students. I perceived an online identity as a being online, and having more than one meant that an individual was pretending to be or hiding behind another identity as an individual assuming another identity would be in the real world.

Others perceived multiple online identities as different parts of their personalities portrayed on different social media platforms. Changing the way they portray themselves to seem more professional for potential employers, to keep up socially with their friends, to express a part of themselves, through blogging. I guess I would call this profiling, seeing as your profiles are what people come across online and they see you how you want to be portrayed on your profiles. In this instance, I would say that having multiple profiles is fine, after all I would be a hypocrite to say that it isn’t. I have profiles on both twitter and Facebook, but I use both of them socially, choosing not to portray myself or different parts of my personality, which is something that I maybe should reconsider seeing as potential employers will be looking at both of those profiles and wherever else they can find me on social platforms or online in general.

I would still persist with my interpretation of multiple online identities. Especially having experienced the negative side on anonymous identities – people hiding behind an avatar to bully or taunt others, is still something that occurs online, and something that still needs attention.
Through the comments I received on my blog, I realised that anonymity can be beneficial to individuals as it allows them to provide their opinions, thoughts, and beliefs without being ridicule personally. It also protects real identities, but where is the line drawn for anonymity? Where it comes to online activity, how do you define an individual protecting their identity or bullying or ridiculing others with their opinion?

Overall, throughout this topic, I’ve realised that the thoughts and opinions of others can be useful in possibly changing your initial opinion. The comments I received made me question my interpretation, but resulted in me sticking with it rather than changing in, simply because I had interpreted the term differently, I thought this was another view that could be interesting for others to read and consider.