I want you to ask yourself, take a few seconds and ponder over this notion. Are we truly the same person online as we are offline? Or do we create this alternate personality? If your answer is no.. ask yourself a few more questions such as, Do you put filters on your pictures using instagram to make your online self look better? Do you post status updates on facebook that you know will get more likes? Or maybe do you share articles online that your not really a fan off but you know the people around you will feel your more interesting if you do?
All these questions make you wonder doesn’t it? I found myself asking these same question on if I had more than identity online. Personally I did, I had this personality of a person branded as “MR EBRA” who was my social name which were linked to more “happening” activities and it also made me realize that someone who had never met me in person who have a very different image in their head of who i was based on my cyber identity.
As a fact, There has been a number of occasions where people have had an initial contact with my cyber personality before they had contact with my offline personality and they have always told me that i am not what they expected. Maybe its because we are wired to feature a more likeable identity online? Or have we created a personality that fits the cyber world.
So now I ask myself, Who is MR EBRA and who is Ebrahim shakir? Which do you prefer and which is my true self?
Take a moment and watch this video,
I would like to link this video to an article by Vyacheslav Polonski as he quite rightly hit the point I am trying to drive through here I quote “who we are, who we think we are, who we might become, and who we think we might become. This implies that users can actively shape how they would like to be identified within the boundaries of a social network site, and this virtual identity may or may not be related to their real self.”
So what is your identity based on?
References :
Polonski, V., 2014. The evolution of social networking sites: the rise of content-centric platforms which favour the perpetual present. Available at: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/01/15/the-evolution-of-social-network-sites-in-2014/.
Warburton, S. (2010). Identity matters, London: King’s College London.
Krotoski, A., 2010. Online identity: is authenticity or anonymity more important? | Technology | The Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/apr/19/online-identity-authenticity-anonymity [Accessed December 1, 2014].
Anon, BBC News – Facebook “likes” predict personality. Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-21699305 [Accessed December 1, 2014].
Photo credit to : theboldsoul.lisataylorhuff.com
The thoughts of Mr Ebra 
Hi Ebrahim!
I enjoyed your post. It is so relatable. We are pretty much living in a social world where ‘likes’ boost ego and popularity right? To a certain extent, I guess most people want to put their best image in the online space?
Sometimes, I am met with the struggle whether to upload certain contents about myself a not and then I realised I just uploaded something decent. However, this does not mean the content is not true about me. But you led me to think of the people who to a certain extent update their online space with untrue contents. What if this trend keeps going on? Do you think there is still any real purpose in keeping online identity/identities because people will start doubting people right?
Cheers,
Evelina
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Hello Evelina!
I am really glad you found my post relatable! I wanted to post something that people could connect with!
I could not agree with you more! That as the digital world progresses I do believe that it will transcend into another world altogether where people live a different life online as compared to the physical world!
I might be a little bold to say but people might start the trend of having and only keeping an intimate relationship online! This is something I found very interesting when I was doing my research of having separate online identities for love!
Do watch a movie that came out this year tittle “HER”
Its a brilliant movie that might just give as a sneak peak into the future of how people might start having relationships with operating systems!
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Hi Ebrahim,
I absolutely agree with you on alternate online identities. Everyone wants to create a good impression of themselves and the easiest way to do so would be online. Of course, no one wants to upload an ugly picture of themselves on Instagram. They only pick out good pictures and use filters to make them look even better. I am definitely guilty of that! I would be lying if I said I didn’t care about the image of my online profile.
The video was interesting. Getting “likes” on Instagram can be important to some as they view it is as a form of popularity. There are even apps to get more “likes” on Instagram.
I think your identity online should be true to yourself. What you post should be a reflection of who you truly are. Ideally, your online identity is merely an extension of your real self. Mr EBRA shows a part of yourself that is true as well and I would prefer both!
Cheers!
Yvonne
Check out this app: http://android.wonderhowto.com/how-to/you-can-easily-hack-instagram-for-crazy-amount-likes-but-you-totally-shouldnt-0155070/
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Hello Yvonne!
I do believe we should stay true to yourselves and I do hope that as the years come and the digital world grows we remind ourselves that we are not defined by our Facebook or instagram likes but by our character and values!
The app is proof of a large number of people out there who steer in the direction of being “thirsty of likes” as a way of proving their self worth which is truly sad. I do hope this is not a physiological condition we have to battle in the future!
Thanks so much for reading my post! Cheers!
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Hey Mr Ebra!
Thanks for all the questions.It makes me question myself, now I have a clearer picture of the intentions why i post things on my social media platforms. I believe most of us would be able to relate to it.
Truly after reading your post, I think most of us should do a reflection are we all putting on a facade when it comes to our online identity or is it the real us that we are presenting.If we are going to choose to only share those happy moments, it is not realistic, because we all know that life is not a bed of roses:) Perhaps be like the guy in the video whereby he inversed the true situation into something untrue just to garner likes, it is meaningless and I believe this is a deviated phenomenon. Thanks for sharing:)
Cheers,
Amanda
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