I think it is interesting how you can create an identity on the Kongregate site. When you first sign up, you are asked to create a user name, enter in certain information and either upload or choose a picture to be your profile picture.
I chose to make my profile true to who I am in "real life". However it would be just as easy to create an identity out of thin air. You could create your persona completely from false information. I think this is interesting in realtion to the idea that this is true for all of the internet. There is no real pressure to protray yourself as you actually are.
However, the one thing that I think is unique to Kongregate is the one aspect of creating an identiy that you can't really fake: the games you play. While theoretically you could play games that you had no interest in playing in order to create a fake identity, in truth, that really wouldn't be any fun and would completely defeat the purpose of the site as a form of entertainment. The games that people play on this site do reveal things about them as an individual and thus help to create their identity.
I think that Kongregate is an interesting way of developing an identity online because there are both aspects that you can create from fiction and aspects that it would be of no benefit to fake. These aspects interact to create an online identity on Kongregate.
This is a good point. Have you seen the documentary called Catfish? It's about a woman who creates a completely false identity on Facebook and then develops a relationship with a guy who initially buys into her fake identity and ultimately realizes that she isn't who she says she is. It's interesting that most of us assume that people don't lie about their identities on these websites, but really, it's pretty easy to make anything up and create a completely different personality. It would be interesting to know what percentage of online profiles are not actually accurate.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Amanda. Seeing all of the stuff that Brooke has said about people creating these profiles, I would also be curious to know how many online profiles are created under false identities. Personally, I do not have any desire to participate in something like this. Although I feel this way, I definitely can see how something like Kongregate would appeal to people because you have the opportunity to be someone you're not, which is desirable to some people.
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