Beyond anonymity, or future directions for internet identity research

Abstract

This article draws on empirical research into internet use by minority ethnic women to consider whether anonymity remains a useful focus for sociocultural studies of internet identities. The central argument of the article is that the time has come for internet identity research to reposition itself conceptually, to move away from a preoccupation with the generalized, enduring claim that internet identities are anonymous, multiple and fragmented-not only because, in some cases, online identities are continuous with offline selves, but also, more importantly, because common uses of the concept of anonymity are limited as starting points for carrying out analyses of internet experiences. In short, it argues that the terms of internet identity research are problematic, that contexts matter, and that studies of internet identities need to engage with and learn from ongoing debates within cultural studies which call into question the usefulness of the very concept of identity.

Media and identification processes: a ritual and dramatic construction

“…Los rituales pueden ser observados en los discursos de los medios de comunicación y, sobre todo, en los procesos cognitivos y afectivos, de identificación e interpretación, que realizan los individuos tanto en la recepción mediática como en la participación virtual. A este respecto, son muchos los autores que han focalizado en la construcción de identificaciones en los entornos virtuales (Aguilar y Said, 2010;Bargh, McKenna y Fitzsimons, 2002;Gandy, 2000;Kennedy, 2006;Markham, 1998;Papacharissi, 2002;Simpson, 2005;Sola-Morales, 2013c, 2013dTurkle, 1999Turkle, , 2011Valkenburg, 2005), lugar donde los sujetos realizan una puesta en escena ritualizada acerca de su propia definición, configuración y proyección.…”

Writing Identity: Gendered Values and User Content Creation in SNS Interaction among Estonian and Swedish Tweens

“…Identity is stated to be 'a very broad and ambiguous concept' (Buckingham 2008, p. 18). However, in the above-mentioned context we regard identity as a fluid and non-stable nomadic phenomenon (see Braidotti, 1994;Kennedy, 2006) that is prominent in a certain situation (Hall, 1996). This nomadic identity is thus part of a multidimensional and relational whole, and is an intentional response to the pervasive challenge of the contemporary society to interpret and create oneself (Holm Sørensen, 2001).…”

Beyond ‘pseudonymity’: The sociotechnical structure of online military forums

“…This latter issue not only points to the wider capitalist power relations inherent in technological mediations and online creation/consumption (see also Gillespie 2010, Gehl 2011. It also suggests that particular discourses are endemic to such sites and operate as powerful identifying features that have economic and political merit within a capitalist and consumerist framework 'FEELING' PSEUDONYMOUS Anonymity is an increasingly slippery term (Kennedy 2006) that today speaks more to the feelings and imaginings of the user than it does to information or data privacy (Quian & Scott 2007, Nissembaum 2011, Gerlitz & Helmond 2013. It is fraught with presumptions around what constitutes information/data and how it circulates as well as who controls, has access to, or shares it.…”

“…There is a long tradition of research into anonymity that associates disinhibition with misogyny (Suler, 2004, Kennedy, 2006, Turkle, 1996Cherny, 1994;Gladys We, 1994;Bernstein et al, 2000, Hutchens et al2014. There is also a corpus of work on trolling, flaming and deviancy online that routinely notes the long history of misogyny within these practices (Bishop 2014, Bartlett 2014, Bartlett et.…”