Identity Production and the online World

Identity Production and the Online World

People analyze core symbols as messages in order to signify the central issues of identity. Labels, rituals and language all play an important role in identity production. Labels are the terms that we use to describe identities, where they can express relationships with specific cultures, for example in a western society, labeling a name as Mrs., implies marriage and Miss., as unmarried. Rituals play an important role in reflecting cultural identity through the way in which one performs activities in daily life. Some activities may be unrecognizable to some cultures, but completely recognizable to other cultures. Language is central to the expression of one’s identity. People speaking different languages, for example, immediately define a cultural identity as belonging to a specific country. In society, people negotiate and develop their identities for a variety of reasons. The dynamics of identity production play out visibly through the Internet, in particular Social Networking Sites, like Myspace and Facebook. The digital environment relies on people writing themselves into being, providing the perfect opportunity for an individual to craft and express their own identity profile online. The Internet provides a new medium where one can develop and reflect their desired identity. The Internet has altered the traditional conditions of identity production, for example consider the influence of the media on technology and its ever-growing market for technological products and influence of advertising about wealth and social status. This essay will concentrate on the specific ways in which identity production has changed due to the internet, thus allowing identity empowerment, negotiation of identity, media influence and consequence on identity and the ever-expanding facets of identity made possible by social networking sites.

Phinney’s (1993) General Model of Cultural Identity recognizes the three stages of identity development. The first stage begins with the unexamined cultural identity phase, basically, the stage before children begin to question their identity; they learn what they know from their parents and role models. As they continue to grow, they become curious and begin phase two, a search for their cultural identity. In this phase of their life, one is simply looking for acceptance and approval of their self and character. Even before the time of the Internet, people were basically negotiating their identities with others through communication. These interactions with others allowed them to reflect their identities onto others in order to create and re-create their desired identity and achieve phase three, cultural identity achievement, where, they fit into a social group. People want to achieve an identity that is secure, accepted and which can be easily connected with others. After all, we are social beings that seek love and affection.