Virtual Communities and The Double Identity

Do you ever wonder how others perceive you? We all have this idea of ourselves and the type of person we are. We are categorized by many factors: the music we listen to, the movies we watch, the way we talk, and the people we hang out with. However, often times we wish to be someone else; another version of ourselves. But it's not like we get a do-over in this life when it comes to expressing ourselves. Maybe not in this life, but online, virtual communities give us that opportunity. Sherry Turkle addresses this very interesting and relevant topic in chapter eight of her book, "alone together." She says that "virtual communities were most compelling because they offered opportunities for a social life, for performing as the self you wanted to be" (158). Joining online communities where we create an avatar and engage with other avatars who are controlled by real people gives us the opportunity to become our ideal selves.

I had a friend who (for privacy concerns I will give her the fake name of Paige) joined one such online community called Maple Story. She was able to create an avatar and talk to other avatars that are also a part of this virtual reality. On Maple Story, she met a guy. I will call him Nick. Paige and Nick went on Maple Story increasingly to talk to each other and their acquaintanceship turned to friendship which turned into a relationship, an online relationship. "This can be a highly collaborative endeavor, a social life unto itself: you routinely e-mail, talk to, and message the people you game with" (158). Paige introduced my friends and I to Nick by adding us to a group online conversation. When Nick would talk to me about how much he likes Paige, he was describing someone I was not familiar with. In real life, Paige has a strong tendency to be impatient, inconsiderate, and selfish (although she has endearing qualities as well.) However, Nick described Paige as very patient, caring, and giving. Furthermore, I later found out that Paige sent Nick pictures of herself. I saw these pictures and they were clearly photo-shopped and taken from an angle that made her look significantly thinner than she was. I was in awe. Nick was in an online relationship with someone, but it was not the Paige I knew. Paige exemplifies the tendency for people to create an alter-self in virtual communities that Turkle addresses in her book. Paige relished in expressing her ideal self.

This opportunity can be positive in the sense that it gives people a second chance at being who they truly want to be as well as escaping from their reality. But people need to be careful when it comes to the virtual reality combining with reality itself, called the "life mix" in Turkle's book, because that is when one can lose sight of who they are and others may see that as well just as I did in Paige's case.