Sociology 3701: Social Psychology Worksheet: Online Identities

Option 1: If you don't participate regularly in an online setting, do some research about My Space or Facebook, and summarize it briefly to share with your group. Wikipedia might be a good place to begin. Summarize your results in the space below.

Option 2: Pick an online setting in which you participate regularly, for example: My Space, Facebook, an online game like Worlds of Warcraft, an online dating service, or.... Write out some reflections about how you present yourself (your identity) in that context, and the ways in which that identity is supported (or not) by other participants. Consider how your online world intersects with your everyday world. is this a space in which you also interact with your "regular" friends and acqaintances? Are there differences in the identity your present online? What about your friends? Do you see any of them presenting an online identity that's quite different than the way you see them based on your face-to-face relationship? Does your online experience in turn affect your everyday identity? Have your online experiences changed you as a person?

Sociology 3701: Groups--Online Identities

1. Briefly compare your impressions about the differences between the way you (and perhaps also your friends) present yourself (yourselves) in relationships in everyday life, compared with the way you present yourself in cyberspace.

2. How do you see the relative risks and rewards of online relationships?

3. In which arena do you think it's easier to really "be yourself?"

4. In which arena do you feel that other people are more ready to support your presentation of self?