In chapter 7 of her Book, Life on the Screen, Turkle describes online identity as fragmented. This means people take on different identities and roles as they live different parts of their lives. She also believes we reconstruct ourselves online. Turkle states, “When we step through the screen into virtual communities, we reconstruct our identities on the other side of the looking glass” (PDF pg 1). This concept aligns closely with Baym’s description of identity which possesses aspects of flexibility, multiplicity and disembodied identities. Baym states, “Digital media seem to separate selves from bodies, leading to disembodied identities”.
When I think about Leandra Medine, the blogger I’m following, I do find Turkle’s observations on online identity to be reflected in how I understand the identity of the blogger I’m following. Turkle states, “The internet is another element of the computer culture that has contributed to thinking about identity as multiplicity”. Online, people are able to create themselves repeatedly by cycling through many selves” (PDF pg2/178). This holds true for Leandra. Throughout her blog she has expressed many sides of herself. It seems she is constantly changing to become a better version of herself. CMC context in Turkles work differs from the blog I am following in the respect that the people she listed in chapter 7 used the internet to escape reality and acquire a new cyberspace identity. In the blog I am following, Leandra is being herself and is not online to escape reality and get away from the person she is. She is online to embrace herself, or at the most enhance her identity. This context impacts the presentation of identity by allowing Leandra to be herself. She is confident in herself and enjoys doing what she does. She doesn’t have to escape online, she presents herself and you can like it or not. This differs from the examples Turkle gave because in all of the examples she listed the people were not sure of themselves and used their online profiles to escape their true selves.
I like the point you made that the blogger you are following is online to enhance her identity, not to escape reality or completely recreate herself to be something different than who is she offline. My feeling is that most of us will find that the bloggers we follow are who they say they are. In the reading that looked at teenage bloggers, it appears that most teenagers are forthcoming with their idendity and information they give about themselves. I’m not surprised. As more time goes by, and we adapt to CMC, we seem to be more comfortable with it. The novelty of lying about identity might be diminishing.
If she is using her online persona to embrace herself, then she may be using Turkle’s “work through” method. By accepting herself online, she may be working through some self-doubting issues she has offline.
I really like how you describe Leandra as being online in order to “embrace herself, or at the most enhance her identity.” I think that is what many people are doing online, and it seems you understand that this is not a form of lying. The online persona a person creates is a way for them to explore their own personalities in a way they may not be allowed to in their real life. identity is completely multifaceted, and we are all required to pick which part of ourselves fits the situation we are in. The professional side at work, the maternal side with our children, the wild side when we’re partying with our friends, and so on. The bloggers we are following are simply showing us one portion of a bigger personality. They aren’t hiding the other portions, those aspects are just simply unnecessary to their blogs.
I agree in that some bloggers in today’s society could very well be forging their online personalities. This is really common and can have a wide range of results, which vary from simple misunderstandings to possibly the end of someone’s life. These occurances have happened before and could easily happen again if left unresolved. This is why people have to be careful with who they trust on the internet as well as in other phases of life. Otherwise, they could very easily end up as the next set of targets for online stalkers, rapists, or just plain crazy people.