Lacan's conception of the mirror stage as the initial point of human identification provides a jumping off point for a variety of theories regarding identity in the contemporary world. These issues have become even more important in the digital era due to issues such as anonymity, switching genders, and association with animals. Virtual worlds like Second Life provide such a forum for the productive negotiation of identity online. Second Life allows users to be flexible in their identity, allowing different genders, animals, robots and vampires to be chosen. This variation of identity mixed with the essential anonymity of the world provides users to experiment with new identities, sexualities and personalities.
Turkle (1999) argues that the fragmentary identities constructed online stress a "decentered subject." An individual's body is no longer the central focus of identity. Instead, identity is stretched out across various media outlets and media objects. You are not just the identity constructed in your personal body, but also the identity of your Facebook page, Second Life avatar and Reddit account. Your identity is flexible and different depending on the medium in which those meeting your are going through.
Many do not know the other parts of your identity because it is hidden behind the anonymity of the internet. Anonymity provides avenues for free association with identities and sexualities but also provides forums for individuals to "troll" or "grief" other members of the virtual world or community. This is a sort of psychosis that can be evidenced online. Kunkle (1999) argues that the lack of a centered subject provides new avenues for psychosis to exposes themselves. I think this is evidenced by online trolls, who, in "real" life, are pleasant people, but in another, anonymous, identity are assholes. Take a notorious example from Reddit. Forum moderatore "violentacrez" was notorious for hosting multiple pornographic subreddits and being a consistent troll, hosting subs like "r/hitler," "r/creepshots" and "r/picsofdeadbabies." He was specifically famous for running "r/jailbait" which posted clothed pictures of underage girls. Gawker's Adrien Chen went out of his was to expose violentacrez as the military father and cat lover Michael Brutsch. Brutsch was consequently fired from his job. Although Brutsch was clearly investigating aspects of his identity behind his anonymous screen name, he also was negatively affecting others senses of respectability and experience on Reddit, and the reputation of the site in the real world community.
The violentacrez story is an example of the paradox of the Internet. Here is a forum available for self expression and identity construction, but it can also be abused. At what point to we stop people like Brutsch from posting indecent pictures of young girls? Can we without infringing on his rights as a digital citizen. He was technically not doing anything illegal, but at the same point it clearly made many uncomfortable. Do we trade decency for identity exploration? What if what we see reflected in the mirror is the worst in us? What if we hate our reflection?
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