Online identity is a viral phenomenon that has hit the
college generation and all the ones following. These younger generations who
are in middle and high school believe to put their Reflexive identity online,
which is what we think we are. However, many of them are, in reality, putting
their Ascribed identity online, which is what society believes them to be. This
is exhibited in the social media outlets like Facebook. Unfortunately, these
young generations do not understand how they impact their fellow peers through
their online aviators on social media.
These naïve actions are further explained in the article
On Facebook, Bullies ‘Like’ if You Hate by Emily Layden on the New York Times website.
This article explains how middle school students use their online identity to
bully other students by posting ‘hate’ likes. ‘Hate’ likes, in other words, are
posts that ask you to ‘like’ it if you agree to ‘hate’ it as well. Layden
explains, “For my brother’s half — the younger set, the one that did not grow
up in step with the Internet, but rather with it already established — there is
no wariness, no understanding, no concept of an Internet identity. There is no
such thing for them, for example, as “Internet famous.” There is only fame, and
the allure of instant gratification. This is how cyberbullying has reached a
fever pitch, and where I feel my half of this generation has failed the
younger.” This article starts to open
the eyes of the older generations that are selling this digital life idea to
the negative impact they may be having.
The article by Layden
further explains how these children’s online
identities not only give them too much power, but also shows a perfect example
of interactivity. Interactivity is briefly one judging people on the internet
that are not like us, basically being uncivil to one another. Therefore,
through these aviators these young generations are able to mask their true
identity and act out in cruel and unfair ways towards their innocent peers. If this
progresses further, which is inevitable, the concept of ‘bullying’ will no more
be as simple as It might have been back when the college and older generations
were back in their grade school days. Through these various identities,
cyberbullying will continue to grow and go viral through the internet. This will
leave a stamp on these young generations’ records to forever be known as being
bullies or forever be known as being bullied. Nevertheless, this concept of
online identity may have positive outlooks for some, but there can always be
pitfalls to good things.
