Shifting Identities: Two sides of Web 2.0

By Ramonne van Wanrooij & Dionne van het Kaar

What is shifting identities?

You can explain the term “shifting identities” easily by saying: having different “you’s”. An identity is a collection of characteristics, preferences, goals and behavior patterns associated with an individual or group. In different social situations it is possible that a person adapts to a socially accepted identity. In our modern world, a fixed, lifelong identity is not necessarily a constant. A person has mutable roles in different circumstances. It is expected that the person adapts to a particular social situation. A person can have many different social roles to fullfil, such as; the woman/man, the professional, the mother/father, the wife/husband, the artist, the celebrity, the athlete etc. A person is (consciously or unconsciously) always trying to bring out the most positive presentation of themselves; this is because we want to be accepted by our desirable groups.

This so called shifting identity also happens on the Internet. Shifting an identity on the Internet is easier than shifting an identity in real life, as you can create the person you would like to be, by orchestrating the things that people see and read about you on the Internet. For example; the photos you post on Facebook. You select and filter the images, so that it only shows the pictures that represent you, in the way that you want to be seen (self-presentation),.

For every website we visit we have a different identity. You would act different on the forum for animal-lovers, than you would on a forum for Harley Davidson-lovers. The adolescents of today are the representatives of “Generation I”. They have grown up with the Internet and are using it to define themselves in a more globalized society. A decade ago, shifting identities on the Internet was very limited. With the coming of new technology and online communities, a person now has access to an ever-growing variety of choices for personal expression.

“Generation I will be able to conceive of the Internet’s possibilities far more profoundly than we can today… and will become agents of change as the limits of the Internet expand.” –Bill Gates. Online identities are becoming a part of embodied life.

The chart below captures the very interesting elements about online shifting identities. As you can see, the younger we are, the more we play with different identities and therefore the more identities we create online. As we get older, we get a more solid identity online. This is because our online world and activities relate to our real world and activities. For a young person it is easy to shift identities. The older we get the harder it is to shift identities. We deal with grown up problems such as; jobs, mortgages, debt and a family to raise. We have better things to do with our time than managing identities on the Internet . The chart is also very much a “now” chart, this is because the Internet generation grows older, these indicators that apply today, will change.

What are the dangers of shifting identities on the Internet?

Unfortunately, because it is very easy to shift identity and stay anonymous on the Internet, there are many people taking advantage of that situation. They will create an online person that is likeable, just to take advantage of another person. For example; to take someones money, or for sexual exploitation. It is no longer possible to know who is who. Are people really who they say they are, or claim to be? Unfortunately it is not possible to know who is behind a website or email address.  It could be anyone, and they could say anything. In fact, some con artists have copied the design of a genuine website, just so that they can steal credit card information (known as “phishing”) from unaware consumers.

When a person is talking to someone face-to-face, a lot of the communication is nonverbal. Think of tone of voice, facial expressions and body language. In fact, Anthropologist Ray Birdwhistell claims that 65% of the human communication is nonverbal; linguist Deborah Tannen estimates that up to 90% of meaning comes from nonverbal cues. In conclusion, 65% to 90% of the meaning is lost while communicating via e-mail or Internet. The lack of nonverbal cues in e-mail and Internet communication can lead to misunderstandings. When a person has false intentions, this critical lack of information can lead to disaster.

Two very common cyber crimes, concerning shifting identity, are Nigerian dating scams and sexual predators. I will highlight these two phenomenons:

Nigerian dating scams:

When you spend much time on dating sites and chat rooms, you probably already dealt with a Nigerian scammer trying to seduce you. You didn’t trust them, because before you know it, you have been scammed! Some of us are savvy enough to hit delete, but not everyone is equally aware. Numerous people have fallen for this scheme; they have lost thousands of dollars/euros and in some cases their lives, when trying to get their money back.

Many people will think that something like that would never happen to them. While it is very possible it already has, especially when they have a profile on a dating site. Many of these scammers are located in Nigeria, they have their focus on their prey. And once they have their claws in one of them, they will not let loose. These scammers spend hours chatting on dating sites and then wait for hundreds of replies each day. Many of the replies come from vulnerable and lonely people. The scammers offer the irresistible hope and belief that they have found their true love and soul mate. The victims are being offered everything they have dreamed of in their lives.

What happens often is that the scammer logs into a Christian dating site and poses as a handsome and beautiful American or Nigerian. They will shift their identity by setting up fake profiles using pictures they have found on the Internet. The profiles are full with false information. They spend days, weeks, months, even years chatting with their naïve preys. The victim believes that the person he/she is chatting with is indeed the person on the picture, that what they are experiencing is real, that this person will take care of them and love them.

So once the relationship is set and the victim has enough trust in the scammer, all of a sudden the scammer needs money. A wallet is stolen, someone needs an operation, hotel owners hold the unreal soul mate hostage, and hundreds of dollars are needed to get out of the trouble. Hundreds of millions of dollars are lost annually worldwide.

Sexual predators:

Because of the Internet it is possible for trusting young people to interact with strangers.
They make new friends and meet new people, and sometimes they are tempted to meet them outside the virtual space. Then the danger steps in. Because of lack of regulation on the Internet it is easy to shift your identity and become someone you are not. Pedophiles hide behind the protection of this anonymity, as they do not need to show proof for who they are when they are socializing online. They create, just as the Nigerian scammers, a fake profile that is likeable and ideal in the eyes of these youngsters, and sometimes pretend to be much younger than they actually are.

In the past you could find the predators in chat rooms, forums and MSN. Nowadays it is more likely to find them sourcing social network sites, such as Facebook and MySpace. This is because these sites have centralized much information of the child, including photos, personal interests, etc. The predator will look at the profile of the child and will fake the same interest; he will like the same bands, TV shows, video games or hobbies. The child will see the predator as his/her new best friend. Once the predator gained the child’s trust he will try to arrange a face-to-face meeting for sexual exploitation purposes. Online predators see rebellious teenagers as perfect targets.

Unfortunately, child exploitation has no boundaries; pedophiles exist in every socioeconomic, ethnic and religious community. 20% of children online are approached sexually online. 89% of those advances take place over instant messaging.

Shifting identities:  anonymity and privacy in today’s cyber world

In the first section of this article, we talked about what shifting identities entails and what it means. However, there is more to this side of the story. We concluded that shifting identities nowadays has opened up new ways of personal expression and one might claim that it is easy to manage different identities with the coming of new technologies over the Internet. However, a decade ago, when the Internet was only just around, it was relatively easier to remain anonymous.  Allow me to explain;

If you think about from a purely technical perspective, people used to be able to get away with any identity they claimed as theirs. You weren’t tracked with your IP-address, you had no social networking websites linked to other profile sites, news websites did not require you to login with your Facebook account to write comments and people used their own domain where they would present themselves in the best possible, by managing pictures and information without a third party service in place that provides the HTML and tools to put your pictures and content on that website. People created websites with PHP or used Geocities that allowed for basic HTML and JavaScript codes. Google maps was not around to pinpoint locations, or you did not tweet them on your Iphone or check in through foursquare. You could basically chat on IRC using a nickname for years, without really knowing who the other person is you are chatting with.

 Generation X, were better off during Web 1.0 to remain anonymous on the internet, than today’s generation. After 9/11, there was a shift worldwide and suddenly, governments all over the world needed to know who you were in any situation. We are now moving towards an era, where privacy on the Internet is almost non-existent and soon one might be unable to unlink or retrieve their name, birth date and other personal details from websites. To friends, family and work relatives, it might be easier to manage your identities, but to governments, security forces and hackers, it becomes gradually easier to pinpoint someone’s location and identity.

There is definitely a flip side to shifting your identities on the Internet. Having many different “You’s” can lead to other issues, such as having your pictures easily spread and posted on other sites you did not want them to end up, people knowing what you are up to at any given time by reading your tweets, many different websites storing your IP-address and tracking everything you do on the web.

Many people nowadays do not seem too worried about who has their details, but contemplate about how they want to globally present themselves. The online identity has become a more constant and stable one and some may feel there is less need to hide behind user names, due to social networking sites such as Facebook , that make it incredibly easy to show everyone that one general identity of who you are.  In fact, Facebook has made it fairly easy for companies to collect data about your interests, your hangouts and demographics. Then companies personalize their ad campaigns according to your interests, by showing you the ads (called network marketing) which they believe should appeal to you individually. Someone may feel tempted to note down all their interests, favourite bands, hangouts and so on, because they feel the need to present themselves in the most accurate manner, but anyone could benefit from knowing these types of details. 

 I would like to elaborate further on a topic that is controversial; the craving for online anonymity. Numerous people, who were there for Web 1.0 (distinguished from Web 2.0, the interactive social web), may have noticed the changes on the Internet over the years. Web 1.0 was less decentralized and not everyone had access to it. Most WebPages were read-only. Nowadays we write blogs and find it easier to use social networking sites to spread information and leave comments; an option that was previously not available. There is a lot of information out there and it is created faster than we are ever able to manage. There was not as much information published in the early years of the internet; due to limited bandwidth, fewer users, less frequent usage, slower connection speeds, etc. Today, it is hard to browse through all the noise in order to find reliable sources, as content can now be manipulated and used by individuals, which makes it easier to spread more noise.  

After Web 1.0, the decline of peer-to-peer file sharing also did not go unnoticed. Napster got sued out of business and hackers, crackers and thieves had to go underground, due to new file sharing restrictions. Now there are anonymous proxy servers, sub domains and torrents that have come forward as many people still believe that Internet content should be ‘free’.

Self-Censorship

Some found out that controlling information on the Web is feasible and the advances in technology do not necessarily guarantee greater freedom of speech. (Internet Censorship) On the contrary, some people may find that they censor themselves more on the internet as in reality. Every opinion expressed online disappears in the cloud. Everything you look at can be looked at by anyone. To give a specific example: one can filter or delete a post on Facebook, which they do not wish others to see. However, there is instant access to this ‘public’ information for those who seek it and these (hidden, filtered and deleted) posts can always be retrieved by anyone at any given time. This realization may create feelings of fear and intimidation, which causes some to try to remain anonymous in other ways, to be able to express themselves freely. Sexual predators on the internet that were discussed earlier in the article, who take advantage of a vulnerable young boy or girl’s naivety of sharing personal details and interests, also come to this realization. There are more sophisticated techniques that these people use to remain anonymous.

 Internet Censorship
 

Not do only individuals censor themselves, whole countries censor entire WebPages and content on the internet.  For example, content relating to’ holocaust denial’ and ‘Nazism’ is blocked in France and Germany, because the governments are sensitive about this type of information.  Sites that encourage theft of identity are blocked and taken down in many different parts of the world. 

“In a frightening example of how the state is tightening its grip around the free Internet, it has emerged that You Tube is complying with thousands of requests from governments to censor and remove videos that show protests and other examples of citizens simply asserting their rights, while also deleting search terms by government mandate.” (Watson, 2011)

And another example of regimes censoring the internet is China, which filters a lot of information in political, social and security areas. Although freedom of expression and freedom of speech applies to most democracies, a lot of information is filtered, especially if the public supports the censorship. If a government rule is repressive and intentionally blocks Web sites related to minority groups, their goal is to eliminate or shrink (political) opposition. This happens often when certain movements seem to represent a threat to the ruling regimes. (Internet Censorship)

Imagine you are someone who is in a minority group. There is a way for that minority to organize or find other followers on the Web. There are services in place, directed at remaining anonymous by making it hard to trace an IP address back to the user. It is known as an ‘onion layering technique’, which allows activists to explore an internet that runs parallel with the general ‘filtered’ internet.  One could say that the layering technique offers protection against being compromised. (Data Security in Layers: The Onion Model, 2011)

Many may have heard of Wikileaks and government actions taken towards the Web site. After the Collateral Murder video had leaked, which was aimed to ‘bring out the truth’; to explore that boundary of freedom of press through exposing the unethical behaviour of corporations and governments. It has operated through these types of servers, so that it could protect those who exposed the material. 

Now how does this relate the simple civilians who feel they have not done anything wrong and who do not identify nor seek to be involved with these types of ‘underground’ organisations? Well, you can see the world of the web is continuously changing and it’s becoming more restrictive. Anyone with a Facebook account has to be careful simply “joking around” on their wall about sensitive topics that are taboo in most societies. Police forces now use camera recognition and automatically take pictures of anyone’s face during a riot and can always track the crime back to the person. All of these points lead me to conclude that we are slowly moving towards an Orwellian society, where (online) privacy is nearly non-existent.  

As the saying goes: “it is better to be safe than sorry.” One should thoroughly consider the possible consequences of disclosing personal information on the Internet. Many personal details have already leaked on accident, ranging from important government sites being hacked, to an entire database of credit card details of the Sony Playstation Network becoming exposed. In the worst scenario, having personal sensitive information out there could not only harm your physical real identity, but it can cost you your money, study, or career.

 Lastly, it is healthy to be sceptical of information. Do not believe instantly that the stranger that seems so nice from the online chat rooms is the exact same person in reality.  Be aware of the idea that people present their best self-image. The best verification you can have of someone’s identity, without immediately requesting personal details is by using the recent technology of webcams. Self broadcasting, Skype-conferencing and webcam chatting, has become more popular over the past years and these are definitely tools that could be used to improve your credibility. However, be conscious that what you say could be recorded, and especially note that most videos can be stolen or copied, so they can be used against you.

The moral of this story is this: “Think before you publish, once it’s out there, it is not retrievable. It belongs to the public.”

References

Data Security in Layers: The Onion Model. (2011, May 9). Retrieved October 9, 2011, from Data education: http://dataeducation.com/data-security-in-layers-the-onion-model/

Internet Censorship. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2011, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship

Watson, P. J. (2011, May 20). Government Orders You Tube To Censor Protest Videos. Retrieved October 7, 2011, from www.infowars.com: http://www.infowars.com/government-orders-you-tube-to-censor-protest-videos/