Issues of online identity

Vaira Avota brings up some very interesting issues around online identity, both good and bad points.

These are all very good points and the cartoon is a classic in Internet culture. Another interesting area to consider regarding the online world that is still primarily text is what is called the lack of social context cues. In other words, it is hard to tell exactly what someone may be feeling simply by reading what they write. In face-to-face interaction, however, we can tell if someone is joking by the expression on their face, and so on. That is one reason emoticons have become so popular online, because they add social context cues to what we are writing. It is also interesting to consider that a lack of social context cues also helps weaken issues of prejudice or sexism, precisely because they don't know who you are (which, as you mention, has good and bad points to it). What will happen as we move to a more video-oriented online environment, when Internet users expect to see (and hear) the other people online, not only in text? It could bring back issues of racism or other forms of discrimination into what are now relatively democratic forums.