Jeffrey Blog 2

Identity is such an important factor in people’s everyday lives, which causes their personal identity to be in constant development. People that come in contact with new people, or culture, can complement to their identity by experiencing or learning from them. Identity construction, identity is something achieved in relationship with other people, it allows people to grow and discover different things and supplements their vast growing identities. There are websites that contribute to this phenomenon, for example take Pinterest, a website that allows users to go online and look at different activities, craft, fashion styles, etc. that they find interesting or fun. Their findings can then be added to their everyday life. Facebook, in addition, allows for the expanding of your identity by allowing you to see how people present themselves online and by looking at their profile. Facebook allows us to see what other people do in their spare time and what they find interesting. Some interests shared on Facebook are what sports others prefer to partake in, their favorite movies, and what their favorite books are. This allows the user to take in information that might not have been known before. This proves that one’s identity is not set in stone, and that if someone is comfortable enough to open up to others, new things can be included in their identity. Cyber space facilitates this by allowing so much information to be at the user’s fingertips. The cyber community is so vast and lets different cultures connect, allowing people to indulge in the different culture expanding their views and identity.

                While some people would prefer to disclose their identity, some prefer anonymity. Most online sites require you to provide some type of persona information, but some do not and this allows for identity disembodiment. Identity disembodiment, identity that is no longer dependent upon or constrained by your physical appearance, allows for this to be possible. Some cyber users use this to take advantage of others in the cyber community. Often times, users take advantage of others by lying, bullying or misinforming other users on important information. However, it is not always so drastic; for example, some people might use disembodiment to remain anonymous and preserve their privacy. Other might use it to express themselves freely without repercussions or judgment from other. The new trending anonymous website is called Yik Yak, it allows users to post, comment, like or dislike whatever they want while leaving everything completely anonymous and preserving the identity of the users. By using this websites, it allows people to express themselves however they want without any fear about what other people may portray about them. Although it is not the most reliable social media site, it does free one from the societal boundaries that are usually set in other highly used websites.

                Identity disembodiment allows users to express themselves without judgment or repercussions, while identity construction, allow you to develop your identity. These two seem important to me, because by allowing yourself to be free and have the ability to express how you feel, it gives you the opportunity to figure out stuff you did not know about yourself as well. Identity is a major concern in our society today due to extensive social media use and the changing culture.