The performative construction of virtual identity and its impact on the self

Introduction

The emergence of the World Wide Web in the 1990s, whilst technologically and socially significant, was still initially a space for reading only with a limited amount of communication, collaboration, and participation, meaning it was not a place to establish social groups. Yet, Web 2.0 technologies have facilitated the establishment of a Cyberspace that has encouraged people to participate in communities through the creation of content, sharing, partnership and interaction on a major scale, leading to the formation of Virtual communities and Social Networking Sites (SNS) on various platforms with diverse benefits. As a result, users have been provided with the ability to construct their online identity such as presenting their real personality to pure anonymity, but most identities generally are designed to portray a deliberately performative image in the virtual space to establish social connections with online users. Constructing an online identity separate from your true self is something which, as will be illustrated, can encourage community participation and networking but can also lead to potentially destructive consequences on people’s self-consciousness (such as body insecurity due to beauty standards) and can enable people to commit immoral behaviour (such as Cyberbullying). In this paper, we will illustrate how identity that is presented in a virtual environment are performative constructs and how this reflects on your sense of self.

Performance of Identity in Social Networking Sites

The concept of Individuals performing an identity is not new as it is seen as a part of the flow of social interactions to fit with their environment. However, in the online environment, the construction of performance is amplified as SNS platforms provide intangibility, mediation, and control, enabling you to display an alternate performance to other users (Pearson, 2009). This is because Internet-based performances exist within the imagination of users through communicative codes that create the online identity, as well as the figurative stage and setting in which these selves exist. Additionally, the mediated nature of online environments blurs the lines between the front-stage performance from the back-stage act, containing a collection of attributes from both, leading to private information being opened up to outsiders through a filtered process (Pearson, 2009). The performer is aware of both other users as well as the wider online audience, and as a result, utilizes social codes and indicators that are developed via online enculturation in the network, demonstrating most information about the virtual self in this manner, linking it back to a sense of online self-consciousness.

Social connections, deception, and Virtual Socialization

The major benefit of constructing a performative identity within Social Networking Sites is due to its importance in creating strong and weak ties, which within the context of mediated networks, refers to the circulation of information, ideas, and social capital between online users (Pearson, 2009). Strong ties encompass high levels of emotional engagement, intimate relationships, and strong reciprocal bonds, which is facilitated by online performances as by blurring the public and the private, individuals might feel a sense of intimacy and emotional attachment with the performer. Online performances are also important in developing and maintaining diverse networks of weak ties we have with our associates and distant acquaintances. Particularly, the structure of performative stages and situations make each identity develop as part of a node within a social network, allowing each identity to be simultaneously performative while also being an audience for other performances, implying a choice in-depth for users in their engagement on an individual level (Pearson, 2009).

However, social connections can also be manipulated in virtual communities, as in the process of communication, it is essential to know the identity of others to evaluate and understand their interactions. Hence, due to the ambiguity of identity in the disembodied world of the virtual community, various basic cues around personality and social roles are absent or hidden, with the main focus being through assessing information. This, in turn, leads to the issue that virtual personas can be constructed in a manner that can deceive others around the individuals’ identity that can range from presenting a falsified image to scamming programs, damaging the level of cohesion in virtual communities as a result of deception (Kollock & Smith, 1999).

Yet, identity deception has been countered as virtual communities have established communicative signals and expressions that expose faux personas, helping to establish trust and security between users through socialization. This, in turn, leads us to the influence that social media platforms have in how online users construct their identity within their virtual communities, particularly with regards to the concept of visual socialization (Gündüz, 2017). Effective communication is regarded as an essential aspect to remain part of a group and within the framework of social media platforms, people fulfil their socialization functions by performing acts such as info confirmation, post-reception, comments and comment responses, and content upload (Gündüz, 2017). In virtual environments, particularly social media, there is an incentive for people to construct an identity that reflects trust and intimacy to ensure effective socialisation and in turn, establish a social presence in a community.

Multi-user domains, and the reconstruction of the self

“MUD” as a term encompasses various kinds of virtual worlds that provide social interaction, presenting yourself as created "character" wherein you can be anonymous and play a role that is representative or distant from your real identity (Turkle, 1994). MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) games such as World of Warcraft allow you to establish an identity through the interactions done in the game world in your created character that communicates with other peoples’ "avatars". Essentially, in this type of virtual environment, the individual engages with a projection of himself without the physical world’s limit, allowing the self that explores their imagination, playing a role and participating in worldbuilding (Turkle, 1994). The role-playing aspect of MUDs prompt individuals to focus on larger social-cultural themes within the context of an online gaming network, enabling people to work through issues of identity through a space that blurs the lines of reality, leading to the reconstruction of the self through their virtual experiences. In a sense, the routine of playing in this virtual environment eventually leads to your performance spilling into the players' real-life that makes your virtual reality a parallel life rather than an alternate world (Turkle, 1994).

Developing personality and morality in Virtual Cities for youths

We live in a society wherein the self, the community and “what is right or wrong” are conceptually changed which has made it challenging for youths to construct a sense of self and be able to identify their values (Bers, 2001). This has been fulfilled through the design of virtual cities contained in multi-user games that provide a constructive environment for youths in learning their identity, specifically with regards to personal and moral values. Likewise, the objects, spaces, characters, and storytelling in these virtual environments all represent aspects of the self in addition to eliciting a narrative for your identity (Bers, 2001). All these factors are beneficial for young people as through their virtual experiences in these environments that encourage creation and participation in an online community, they have developed a sense of self through exploring conflicting values between the players. Essentially, Virtual cities function as a part of participatory communities which through the opportunities provided to players in designing their character roles, explore social dynamics unique to their virtual identity which is then reflected upon their true personality and morality. The level of pseudonymity (or even pure anonymity) in online gaming communities provides freedom in roleplaying in a way that allows you to fully express your values without real repercussions through your interactions which helps construct social principles for your real identity.

The implications of Anonymity in Internet social interactions and SNS

As established, the internet has become the main hub for the establishment of complex communities and social networks which in turn, is where individuals express themselves through a performative identity. A major feature that defines the construction of identity is the level of anonymity that allows you to conceal attributes and characteristics around your identity. In the context of social networking sites, this refers to the removal of meaningful information which identifies you to others in materialistic exchanges or an individual perceiving him/herself as anonymous due to a lack of social cues (Christopherson, 2007).

As a result, this has unfortunately led to an increase in aggressive behaviour, threatening suicidal individuals, and other forms of anti-normative, potentially anti-social behaviour (Christopherson, 2007). As established, constructed identities are more likely to possess immoral attributes and demonstrating it in your behaviour towards others without reprimand since the environment functionally separates it from your real identity. Essentially, anonymity provides an individual with the ability to construct a virtual identity that is unhindered in expressing thoughts and feelings different from their traditional behaviour without fearing social costs due to being unidentifiable from their real selves.

However, anonymity can provide privacy for your identity which is useful for your psychological wellbeing as it allows you to control the amount of contact that others have with oneself (Christopherson, 2007). This provides a sense of rejuvenation when actively contemplating their situation in a virtual environment while also allowing people to express anti-normative positions and take a different perspective on life which can lead to potential behavioural changes for the betterment of their lives. For example, an individual from a discriminated minority might be able to discuss his social issues with other minorities through a constructed anonymous identity without fearing action from governmental authorities.

This leads into the second major aspect of anonymity that impacts identity which is how it influences individuals in constructing the behaviour they illustrate in a group, particularly important on the issue of social presence (Christopherson, 2007). Generally, the benefits of privacy from anonymity are also helpful for online groups in controlling verbal, visual and textual cues in group discussions, strengthening group identity. This is because individuals, due to the anonymity contained in their virtual identities, will only be able to identify or be identified by others through recognizing these social cues which can lead to establishing intimate personal connections between users in these social communication settings.

Crafting of social and political identities through online social networks

The effects of online social networking on how individuals construct their identity have, in turn, played a major role in the formation of socio-political identity on a collective level directly due to the performative nature of virtual identities. Over the last few years, issues relating to social groups have become increasingly tied into various socio-political debates within online social networks wherein individuals can explore and project their social identity in a public forum (Brinkman & Jacobi, 2020). This, in turn, leads to social media sub-cultures being established as seen with phenomena such as "black Twitter" wherein black identity is discussed through linguistic performance with vernacular expression to perform black identity. The projection of racial identity in social media platforms changes societal understanding as it lacks physical signifiers that instil perceptions, helping minorities shape social constructs around their identity and enabling racial issues to be global addressed (Brinkman & Jacobi, 2020).

In the larger political context, the construction of virtual communities has enabled individuals to have an identity that is politically involved which is demonstrated in their usernames, signifiers, political groupings, and online behaviour (Tian & Wu, 2007). This is in part due to the masking of identity in online social spheres, allowing greater freedom in political discourse and encouraging people in identifying with political positions which in turn, establishes a political space for virtual identities and communities. In Communist China, wherein the general public sphere is entirely constructed by the Communist party’s policy, there has developed an oppositional public sphere on internet bulletin boards via anonymous accounts to project their anti-establishment positions without fear of suppression (Tian & Wu, 2007).

Conclusion

In conclusion, individuals within a virtual environment will always try to construct their identity to be performative due to the level of intangibility, mediation, control provided in an online platform that enables individuals to display a parallel identity. An essential characteristic of identity performance is that it is designed to blur the boundaries of private and public space. Furthermore, Identity construction seen in an interactive multi-user environment illustrates how performing an identity can directly impact your sense of self as it can expose you to issues around socio-cultural identity in addition to testing your personal and moral values that blur the lines of reality. Finally, online social networks have allowed individuals to conceal aspects of their identity, providing privacy that can enable anti-normative positions to be freely expressed and a greater focus on communicative cues tied to group identity.

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Picture Link: Performance of the Self in the Digital Age