Socijalni odnosi u kibernetičkom prostoru: identitet i samopredstavljanje u računalno posredovanoj komunikaciji

Komerički, Mirjana. (2011). Socijalni odnosi u kibernetičkom prostoru: identitet i samopredstavljanje u računalno posredovanoj komunikaciji. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Sociology. [mentor Nikodem, Krunoslav].

Preview

PDF (Croatian) Download (423kB) | Preview

Abstract

The paper addresses the issue of identity in cyberspace. The way people understand and build their identity is associated with the society which they live in and for that reason the paper presents a brief review of existing theories of contemporary society and the notion of identity in it. Alongside these theories, the paper presents the emergence of the Internet and cyberspace emphasizing their innovations in relation to previous media. These changes and innovations had a crucial role in the emergence and development of theories of identity in cyberspace. The first theories of identity, which described cyberspace identity as flexible and fragmented, appeared at the time when cyberspace was a text based media with no graphic support. However, cyberspace has seen many changes and probably the most important was the introduction of WWW and HTML language. HTML language and WWW led to the introduction of graphic support which ultimately paved the way for a new way of constructing identity in cyberspace. Further development enabled a clearer distinction between social roles in cyberspace and linked activities in cyberspace to actions in the real world. The convergence of these two worlds is also mitigated by the fact that virtual identity became closely tied to the real identity of the individual. Examples of this are social web sites, which allow individuals to present themselves and their social contacts to the cyberspace audience. Unlike MUDs, where multiple identities and identity play were common, interaction and audience on social web sites makes such identity experiments more difficult. Social web sites are not the only example of activity in cyberspace that has consequences in the real world. An increasing number of such cases suggest an association between the two worlds; a transmission of existing social relations to cyberspace. To sustain existing social relationships, besides adhering to social norms, it was necessary to transfer individuals and their existing identity to cyberspace. Therefore we cannot talk about cyberspace as a space separated from the real world, populated by individuals with fragmented and flexible identities.

Actions (login required)

View Item