Digital Identity: Virtual Place vs Space of Reality

How has a ‘sense of place’ developed in these virtual spaces that many of us subscribe to daily? “What begins as undifferentiated space becomes place as we get to know it better and endow it with value” (Tuan, 1977, p.6).

Tuan (1977) refers to ‘space’ as an abstract form, merging into a physical entity through our connectedness to ‘place’. If we accord a virtual space with value, is this less real than a physical location? Space and place on the internet is fluid. Stuart (2014) stated that social media and social networks are the preferred form of communication for internet users. In 1977, social networks on the internet did not exist, however Tuan’s ideology can be applied just as readily today, to the virtual reality of space and place we find ourselves in daily.

Living in the “Connected Age”, with social media and social networks integrated in our everyday life, Kryder (2013) states “the big three” social media networks are Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. I have a digital identity in all three social networks. Starting with a blank canvas, my virtual spaces are places of my own creation. Are they my true identity, a false identity or somewhere in the middle? 

“Online and offline are spaces: one real and one virtual.” (Van Luyn, 2014). However, can the two be interlaced? Can the lines become blurred between our real identities and the virtual identities we have created? Each social network profile offers me my own ‘sense of place’. I have three digital identities of my virtual self. Then there is me. I am a passive follower on Twitter, an active contributor on Facebook, with a profile dating back to 2007, and LinkedIn provides a space for my professional identity. Each identity is a part of my ‘true’ self. Van Luyn (2014) questions, “Is there a ‘true’ self?” Is there?

To learn more on how to manage digital identity and understand different social media technologies, click here.

References:

Kryder, C. (2013). Four social media predictions for 2014. American Medical Writers Association Journal, 28(4), 175. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA372251671&v=2.1&u=james_cook&it=r&p=HRCA&sw=w&asid=39a4b99bc71bd8623f996aee3d6292e7

Stuart, R. (2014). HBCUX network ready for its opening act. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 31(6), 10. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1524699311?accountid=16285
   
Tuan, Y. (1977). Space and place: The perspective of experience. London, England: Arnold
Van Luyn, A. (2014). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, Lecture 3: Genre and Identity. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au

Image Credits: 
Digital-Identity [Image]. (2012) Retrieved from http://youthadvisoryboard.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/social-networking-the-digital-identity/