Is it too good to be true?

A response to a vlog on online identity and the bridge between "online identity" and "social identity". My quest to understand my fellow vloggers views in todays identity crisis of ourselves on the screen and off. Also discovering my confusion on the matter. So many of us have our online profiles and although most of us use it as a continuation of ourselves for online, there is an on-going debate as to which one is MORE real and which one is BETTER.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Online
• identity
• social
• identitycrisis
• facebook
• blogging
• reality
• technology
• response
• good vs bad

[staticfuror]

[con't 3]

...in which case there's no reason to naysay. Use of technology is exactly what makes us human (sharpening a rock for hunting, say), so why does the fact that it's electronic matter?

Finally, about how I feel when my current identity may have outgrown my archived identity: I think people are starting to understand how this works. The employers and judges of tomorrow will be in the same archived boat, so know that a picture from college of you holding a beer is irrelevant to you today

[staticfuror]

[con't 2]

As far as why I vlog: I don't, actually. This is the only video I've ever produced for YouTube :)

I blog for a number of reasons, though: writing practice, testing ideas, an excuse to research things, and of course so people will say "good point" and I can feel all smart.

As far as people who naysay time spent online...eh. The ergonomics of computers haven't been so great (slouched over at a desk), but with iPhones and such we're moving closer to technology being much more natural

[staticfuror]

[con't]

A big point of the video that you picked up on was that I don't see any one facet--or set of facets--as more "valid" than another. Just because there's a computer between us doesn't mean we're not here, but of course we still have to be mindful of context collision. That mindfulness isn't new, though. The discrepancy you might see when you meet an online friend is akin to when the bad driver that cut you off on the highway turns out to be your doctor or something.

[staticfuror]

Haven't checked my messages in a while, sorry. I think your video might be related to a class assignment, so this response might no longer be relevant, but...

Ultimately, nothing will replace real, physical presence for social interactions. People still fly to Asia for business meetings when they could easily teleconference because physicality matters. But our identities are becoming more fragmented (more facets/possible social identities) as we add more and more social contexts via technology