Online Identity And Privacy 12 Things You Need To Know
Lots of characteristics make up your identity Your likes dislikes personality and even your physical appearance make you unique Your online identity works the same way just online When you visit websites they learn a little bit about you These little bits are used to create your online identity Each website you visit will see your characteristics differently These characteristics are called partial identities Imagine you buy a pair of shoes online The website will remember your shoe size Your shoe size is a partial identity The website stores the information to create a partial identity for you Other websites may Your identity is made up of the things that make you unique WHAT IS AN ONLINE IDENTITY 1 4
collect the information and use it You might not know when a website creates a partial identity for you Your persona is a partial identity you create When you write on a blog or post a video to a social network you develop your persona online You decide what information is part of your persona It may not be the same as your personality offline 77 Percent of Internet users who read blogs Everyone who uses the Internet has a unique online identity Websites create partial identities for their users You do not decide how a website identifies you but you do decide what information is part of your persona What you post online helps make up your online identity THINK ABOUT IT What does your online identity say about the real you Make a list of the partial identities you think you have How are they similar to parts of your real identity How are they different 5
The way a person describes him or herself is different for everyone Some people describe themselves as shy Others say they are outgoing Both of these characteristics describe how people relate to others The interactions people have with parents teachers and friends help them decide how to describe themselves Imagine a boy describes himself as shy He bases his description on how he acts around others Now imagine he is chatting with an online friend The online friend probably wouldn’t know the boy is shy It’s important to always be yourself whether in real life or online But online you can choose how much Someone who is shy in real life may be outgoing online CAN MY ONLINE IDENTITY DIFFER FROM MY REAL ONE 2 6
of yourself you want to share Some people choose to show only certain aspects of their personalities online A person who is shy in real life may be more outgoing online Online people have the chance to be a little different than they are in real life But online social interactions are quite different from personal ones You cannot hear voices or see gestures or facial expressions It can be difficult to understand how another person is feeling GEORGE HERBERT MEAD George Herbert Mead was a scientist during the late 1800s and early 1900s He studied psychology and sociology His work says people’s personalities are shaped by the time they spend with others The way people think about themselves is a reflection of what others think of them 1 Number of young people out of three who say they feel more accepted online than in real life The interactions you have with others help determine the traits that contribute to your identity Today most people have two different identities a real-life identity and an online identity Having real-world interactions helps you better understand yourself Interpreting someone’s emotions online is more difficult than in real life 7
