Edentity

The way identity is constructed online is completely different. You are defined by how much you share. Who you are is what you post. And it's completely negotiable.

This is especially true of anonymous online communities.

When I was fourteen, I went through a period of low self-esteem and boredom, and ended up spending a hell of a lot of time online.¹ What made it addictive was the new identity I had created. Who I was online was broken down into three things: my avatar, my user profile, and the text I wrote. And these were all completely controllable.² My anonymous-online-self wrote with humour and indisputable grammar, meeting the qualifications for intelligence. She had a rare avatar with matching font, meeting the criteria for style. She had a custom designed profile with trophies displayed, showing blatant epicness. I loved it.

The internet gives us the possibility of changing who we are. And I think the reason why so many people get caught up in RPGs and the like is because they are captivated by their alternate identities. There is something powerful in being able to be someone and be anonymous at the same time. To redesign yourself away from the social pressures of RL.

And I think this also applies to online communities that aren't anonymous (ie. Facebook). On social networking sites, what we post still contributes to who we are, although it is connected to our dominant identity.

¹ Specifically on Neopets. Yeah, I was that sad.
² It was so much better than high school.