Selfhood In The Internet Age

Selfhood in the Internet Age

“What’s in a name?,” asks Shakespeare’s Juliet, going on to add, “that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell just as sweet.”

It is worth questioning whether names and identities were thought of in such simplistic terms at the time as the line seems to imply. Today, however, it is acknowledged that identities are deeply complex, with several facets and issues.

The Use of Pseudonyms

Pseudonyms are not a recent innovation; they have been around throughout history, and across cultures. The term is mostly associated with writers, particularly from those sections of society that have historically faced injustice and discrimination. Some of the most famous women writers of classical novels and texts initially published their work under masculine names. Black writers, too, have been known to do this.

It is commonly accepted that these were attempts to overcome the patriarchal tendencies and temperament of society at the time. However, it is also argued that in several cases, such as George Eliot’s, the masculine pseudonyms were adopted not just to overcome patriarchy but for reasons of anonymity as well: the pseudonym effectively complemented and even extended a person’s sense of identity, individuality, and selfhood. George Eliot chose her name first for anonymity, in order to distance herself from her work; she later continued with the name as her work grew in recognition. Queer writers also sometimes chose men’s names as a way of expressing their queer identity, as in the case of George Sand.

Several contemporary writers, too, choose to publish under pen names. In fact, in the thriller genre, the reverse appears to be happening–male writers are adopting more gender-neutral or feminine pseudonyms (this is done for anonymity as well as to boost sales, as women constitute a significant proportion of the genre’s readership).

Names and Identities in the Internet Age

It is quite clear that the reasons for adopting pseudonyms are not as simple or uniform as was previously believed. In the Internet Age, the ability to explore–and indeed, exploit–the complex, fluid relationship between one’s name and identity is now available not just to public figures but to the general public as well.

For instance, people can pick any name they like, or come up with an entirely new one. Usernames and handles could depict core characteristics of people, or be something completely different and divorced from who they are. The same goes for profile pictures. Registering on a website that allows interactions with other users offers people the opportunity to completely redefine their identities.

The anonymity that this scenario offers is exciting. For many, it opens up a world of opportunities. For some, it represents the “mask” that Oscar Wilde spoke of when he said, “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” For others, it runs in the exact opposite direction. For most people though, their online personas lie somewhere in the middle.

The Complexity of Online Identities

Online identities, though, are not confined to information voluntarily turned in by users. Some websites require factual personal information to be turned in before letting users access their services. Plenty of other information is also collected through numerous means and methods, many of them incomprehensible or unknown to users. This data is monetized, shared among websites, and used to attract advertising that pays—evident in the targeted advertising that users see online. Ads and recommendations on different websites are increasingly personalized based on users’ online behaviors and interactions.

As a result, online identities are far from straightforward entities. They are shaped by much more than the information users choose to reveal or conceal.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns have played a big part in shifting a significant chunk of people’s lives online. Though this phenomenon predates the pandemic, it has nonetheless been accelerated by the pandemic. In the process, it has pushed even those who might otherwise have preferred to remain largely offline into having some kind of an online presence. As a result, having constant, reliable access to the internet and being online are now considered essential to survive in the post-Covid world.

Given the complex ways in which digital identity is constituted, it is no surprise that the concept is now widely debated. For instance, contemporary sociology urges us to invoke such concepts as “free speech,” “privacy,” and “surveillance” while discussing online interactions. As a result, questions about the types of data collected from users and what is done with the collected data are being asked publicly.

Debates Around Online Identity

Digital identities are not restricted to the web. It filters into people’s lives, often shaping their opinions and outlook. In fact, in many cases, digital identity, whether one likes it or not, becomes a crucial aspect of one’s personality, and it affects one’s actions as well. Targeted advertising is proving to be exceptionally influential in this context, and is believed to have had profound implications in an environment where politics has increasingly leached into personal lives and choices. While personalization has numerous benefits for users, it can also take away the choice that they might otherwise have had in their consumption of content, thereby potentially narrowing their worldview.

At the same time, people have been attempting—in the real world and online—to break free of labels and the limitations and expectations they impose on human behavior. However, the impact of these efforts is diminished by the reach and scope of targeted advertising, which reduces people’s identities to a singular dimension: that of the consumer.

Compared with the complex ways in which the internet impacts the identity of its users, the use of pseudonyms in the publishing industry seems like a rather uncomplicated phenomenon. Identity has always been influenced by people’s interactions with the external world. However, the impact of the virtual world is on a scale that, to many, is unprecedented, unforeseen, and overwhelming.

Some people regard their digital identity as one of the most important aspects of their lives. Indeed, people are putting more and more of their information online, including that which others would consider deeply personal and liable to make them vulnerable in certain ways. The ways in which this information is handled by other users and internet companies are shaping and driving culture and identity today.