Picture

The argument of having multiple online identities continues as there are several different advantages and disadvantages surrounding the agenda. When I wrote my original post, I was swaying towards the concept that having multiple identities was fine, but after discussions with other bloggers, it came to my attention that so many people on the internet abuse the ability of being able to completely change and hide who you are.

Sharon firstly mentioned Mark Zuckerberg on her blog who stated you should be the same person online and offline, disagreeing with the concept of multiple online identities. This made me question what could really be that serious about having several different identities? Once discussing the matter, I found that an astonishing amount of people pretend to be other people online, some of which had some crazy stories (see video here) (Alltime10s, 2016).

Image result for catfish online

This is exactly how the internet can be so hazardous. The video shows how easy it is to trick people online via a false online identity and you can never be sure whether you are talking to the real person or merely a mask. When asked about security and education from blogger Wei, it made me think why I wasn’t taught about this kind of stuff in school since moving into a digital based era. So many different precautions are essential for being safe online and as the implications of being a victim are so serious, I would like to see a change in the education syllabus so that less people get hurt.

“1 in 10 dating profiles are fake”

I leave you with the realisation that anyone is able to create a fake persona online in order to get whatever they desire. I’m not saying having multiple online identities is necessarily a bad thing, (check previous blog) I’m just making sure everyone is aware of how easy it is to set up a fake persona and portraying the sheer volume of people who set up fake identities, for the wrong reasons.

Link to comments:

https://caitipom.wordpress.com/2017/02/22/topic-2-online-identities/#comment-13

https://sharonbuergin.wordpress.com/2017/02/26/topic-2-discuss-the-arguments-for-and-against-having-more-than-one-online-identity/#comment-21

References:

Alltime10s (2016) 10 shocking catfish stories. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vSoxMMgx7c (Accessed: 5 March 2017).
Anderson, C. (2015) ‘These stats on how common “Catfishing” is just might blow your mind apart’, 16 November. Available at: http://brobible.com/life/article/catfishing-stats-facts-figures-how-common-it-is/ (Accessed: 5 March 2017).
DatingforStudents (2013) Catfish: Fake online profiles. Available at: http://www.datingforstudents.com/latest-news/catfish-fake-online-profiles/ (Accessed: 5 March 2017).
Henry, A. (2014) Online dating and Catfishing. Available at: http://angelhenry16.weebly.com/blog/online-dating-and-catfishing (Accessed: 5 March 2017).