Identity Crisis- Anonymous vs Nonymous

Research into self-presentation online has in recent years focused around anonymous vs nonymous online environments and the way in which this impacts self-presentation and identity constructions. (Primarily) Being a digital media student this whole area really interests me and I find the way in which we interact in these two different environments to be quite interesting.

In a study by Zao, Grasmuck and Martin they found that:

“People acted differently in such environments (anonymous) than they did in other online settings (nonymous)” (2008)

Why would this be so? Think about it… How do you construct your identity on Facebook? Would this differ to an anonymous environment such as Chat Rooms, Online Forums or Online Games such as MMOG’s (Massively Multiplayer Online Games etc). Would you find yourself to be more likely to express your opinion, give feedback or engage in other activities that in a nonymous environment would be unlikely to do? It’s an interesting concept and really empathises the impact that anonymous and nonymous environments have on an individual.

One particular form of anonymous online communication ‘Chatroulette’ which rose to fame in 2010 allows users to video chat with random strangers whilst remaining anonymous 100%.. Right? WRONG! Recently a developer has launched a new website ‘Chatroulette Map’ in which utilises your broadcast location and IP address and exploits your location on a Google Map. Laters anonomity! Quite frankly I think I would prefer them to know my name rather than location coordinates.. At least there’s a chance of there being more than one Elise Boonstra in the world!

I will leave you with a question, followed by one of my favourite youtube sensations Steve Kardynal who rose to fame off Chatroulette (Yes his identity is now out there for everyone to know!), its slightly off topic but too good to leave out!

What do you think about anonymous vs nonymous online environments? Do you feel your identity and behaviours differ from one to the other?

Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe (Chatroulette Draco Edit) from DJ Draco on Vimeo.

References:

Zuras, M. 2010, “A Cat Mask Won't Save You: Chatroulette Map Exposes Your Location” Switched, March 11, accessed 22/09/2012,  http://www.switched.com/2010/03/11/a-cat-mask-wont-save-you-chatroulette-map-exposes-your-locatio/

Zhao S, Grasmuck S & Martin, J. 2008, ‘Identity construction on Facebook: Digital empowerment in anchored relationships’, Computers in Human Behavior, vol 24, issue 5, pp 1816-1836, accessed 22/09/2012, SciVerse Database.

Invisible Rules that Govern our Actions??

In everyday life we are guided by a set of ‘social norms’ which establish the idea of social standards on how we should engage and behave in social interactions. These unwritten rules guide and influence our actions on a day to day basis. This week Wieder’s reading Telling the code, closely examined the ‘convict code’ and how it is utilised in half-way houses to rationalise behaviour and activities in the half way house. Wieder discovered that individuals that were in breach of the code were met with negative sanctions which varied dependant on the severity of breach of the code and breaches could result in abuse and violence.

Like in Wieder’s examination of the ‘convict code’ everyday individuals such as you and I are exposed to a similar code on a day to day basis are which ‘stipulates’ the right and wrong actions of everyday life situations, which again can also result in consequences- (no not that of those that are prevalent in the halfway houses!). Social norms can vary depending on geographic location, socio-economic status and up-bringing to name a few.

When I think of social norms I also feel that they depend on who I am in the presence of…. At work I have a professional expectation of myself and my fellow employees, if I meet someone new, I am expected to introduce myself with a polite handshake. If I met someone new out with my friends I would be a ‘total loser’ if I was to shake their hand (and as my consequence-perhaps then avoided by my friends who don’t want to lose their ‘cool’ façade). While yes its polite, the social norms that are present vary and depending on the situations we face in life.

Sunstein, CR 2006, “Social Norms and Social Roles”, Columbia Law Review, vol 96, no 4, pp 903-968, accessed 14/09/2012, JSTOR Database.

You understand what I mean... Right?

I love reading other peoples blogs. Not only do they provide a more simplified overview of the weeks topic they (in some cases) refer to everyday situations which I can relate to and reminisce on. One particular blog that caught my eye this week was that of Nicole Michielin’s blog post “The Morality of Cognition”. (I also commented on her blog- See link)

‘The focus of this weeks’ reading surrounded Garfinkel and the “morality of cognition”, whereby amidst conversation there are unspoken mutual understandings referring to what we actually mean as opposed to saying directly what we mean- which I experience on a day to day basis. What I liked about Nicole’s blog was that it provided an overview of the weekly reading topic in a way in which I’m sure many of us can relate to - a conversation between Mother and Daughter whereby Nicole outlines the underlying meaning of the conversation as well as the spoken dialogue.

Nicole gives reasoning for the unspoken understandings between her mother and herself noting that due to their relationship “they don’t have to explicitly state the meaning behind every statements because they ‘just know’ what the other person means.” Like Nicole I also have these conversations with my family members and friends whereby we don’t need to directly state our intent, however they are conveyed through these mutual understandings as outlined and examined by Garfinkel. 

I also feel that this is conveyed not only through conversation but also through facial expressions- I often find myself raising my eyebrows whilst pulling a particular face at my mum with her understanding to be "Shut up- Dont talk about that", exampling the use of this mutual understanding through facial expressions.

Is there anyone who you have this underlying mutual understanding in conversations with? Why do you feel that they understand you in this manner in order to understand the underlying meaning of your conversation?

Which performance is which?

Originally dramaturgical sociology was derived from the greatest playwright in the English language: William Shakespeare but the term was first adapted into sociology by Goffman. Simply ‘dramaturgy’ can be defined as “A sociological perspective stemming from symbolic interactionism” but for Goffman sociological dramaturgy is the “creation, maintenance, and destruction of common understandings of reality by people working”. When looking at Dramaturgy this week subject matter examined actual self, performance of self, front stage, backstage and the audience. 

After reading this week’s reading and looking over the lecture slides and recording I was very confused and I struggled to understand and get my head around the whole idea. Through the in detail tutorial discussions and examples the concept soon began to sink in and I was able to adapt my own everyday examples to the idea. What this idea did for me was open up the assessment of my own everyday activities and how I ‘perform’ differently dependant on my surroundings, groups of friends and location eg: my workplace.

What I have found interesting is that we undoubtedly create a number of ‘personas’ or faces for ourselves with the idea of impressing the specific audience and these are dependent on our situations and ‘audience’- friends or family. I feel that for most of us we are aware that our performance at work would vary from our performance with our friends and again with our family and for me until now I have ‘performed’ in this manner without realisation. I have since analysed the idea of dramaturgy with friends and family and looked at the different ‘performances’ they have amongst their audiences. 

Do you feel that you vary your ‘performances’ depending on your audiences? Which performance do you deem as your true performance? Why do you feel that you do this?

A start to Sociology- Goffman

In the first 5 weeks of my first sociology subject boy have I learnt alot. I was so unaware of the ways in which we conduct ourselves on a day to day basis and how this relates to and conforms to ideas and research conducted by a variety of sociologists. I’m still taking to this whole idea of sociology and getting my head around the whole thing although I will do my best to decipher the ideas and topics.

One such sociologist whom I’d never even heard of until now Goffman, poses some interesting ideas in the form of written and unwritten rules which are commonly without realisation applied to our daily lives- “Rules of Conduct”. (Well obviously applied without realisation as I have not realised until now!). These ideas surround the idea of deference and demenour, symmetrical and asymmetrical and obligations and expectations just to name a few.

One particular idea that stood out to me was the idea of Deference and demeanor. Whereby Goffman defines deference as the way in which we interact and conduct ourselves in relation to others and demeanor as being the way in which a person acts or ‘presents’ ones self. Deference and demeanor are applied in almost every social setting – well I cant think of one in which it doesn’t where we act in certain ways (deference) because our demeanour ‘says’ we should act in that way. (Well atleast that’s how I think it works- I could be wrong, Its going to take some time to get used to this whole thing).

Whats your interpretation of deference and demeanour? Do you act in certain ways because you feel you should? I’m interested to hear your thoughts! J

The Connected Life

I don't know your opinion but to me the whole concept of the internet of things scares me! After watching the Sony Ericsson video in the lecture it has really got me thinking.. Is the internet of things the future.. or is it the present? and is this wired world really that necessary?

Really the internet of things is no new concept.. as much as you may have been unaware the internet of things is happening around us, and has been for quite some time now. According to the GSMA there are already 9 billion total connected devices worldwide that's more devices connected to the internet than people on earth! and that number is "going to explode to 24 billion devices by 2020" according to new statistics released by GSMA. 

What do you make of the:

Top 10 Internet of Things Products of 2009

Top 10 Internet of Things Developments of 2010

What about all of the avenues that it would open up for hackers. Pachube has developed a 24hour hackathon purely devoted to the internet of things apps and think about it if there were 24billion internet of things devices out there how easy it would be for hacking to take place. Already we are aware of the risks associated with hacking but being able to hack a door lock to open, a car to crash or an oven to burn is a great concern to me and it makes me wonder is it all that necessary why cant we just do it all ourselves? 

I have really enjoyed blogging this semester and may even continue to do so in the future I guess ill have to see. One thing that I do know is that prior to DIGC202 I swore I would never get a Twitter Account but I will admit I actually don't mind twitter at all and I WILL continue to tweet in days, weeks and months to come. I never thought I would be followed by people like Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd, Blackberry Australia or The McGrath Foundation. 

Goodbye Iraq War.. Hello Technology War

Hi I'm Elise and I'm not a massive apple fan and yep you heard me right.. I'm not a massive apple fan. You know when you look around class and you see that one token PC user.. Yep that's me! and it's not that I have my laptop from High School and it just needs upgrading.. I just bought a new laptop that wasnt a Mac. Ok so yes I know how to use a PC better than I do a Mac but I honestly have little interest in purchasing a Mac.

So you ask what about my phone...? I swore I would never get an iPhone but yes I do have an iPhone and the only reason that I have one is that I wasn't given an option... Why did I have no option you ask...? Long story short.. My phone company had to pay out my contract but the terms was that I couldn't change mobile companies and my only option for a phone (other than my old one that cause them to have to pay out the plan in the first place) was an iPhone. So I was definitely forced into this one.

Having said that I'm not a massive Mac user I do own an iPod touch (couldnt tell you the last time I used it as I now use my Phone) and I do use iTunes and without these the way in which we listen to music would be so different.. We may still even use our discmans (Haha in writing this my computer has not recognised the word 'discman' and thinks its spelled incorrectly) that are pushed up the back of our wardrobes somewhere.

But enough about my ranting... (and if you think I'm ranting this guy takes ranting to a whole new level... I just came across this when searching for info on Macs and PCs) {WARNING.. Explicit language used and may offend some of the Mac users out there..}

We all know about the "technology wars" between Google and Apple and even Microsoft where it is really a battle of the technologies and companies in order to be number one in the digital world.

.

Yes its great to have that healthy competition and to further company goals and objectives but  if they are all coming up with the technologies, selling the proposed number of products and making a profit does it matter so much? At the end of the day it comes down to our opinions and preferences as the users!

Are you more of a Mac or PC user? iPhone or Android user? Why do you have these preferences and what is your opinion on the technology wars?