Sometimes I forget how easy it is to manipulate aspects of your identity online. By simply censoring and combing through the things you make public in your life, the friends you have online and the pictures you post, you could seem like an entirely different person. I completely understand how people can become addicted to social networking websites like second life because it give an otherwise shy and introverted person a chance to explore being social in a non threatening, non confrontational atmosphere. However, It is easy to see the dangers in social networking sites since a web identity can carry as much presence nowadays as our physical presence. Today there are more than 500 million active users on facebook, which is why it didn't surprise me when I received a friend request from my mother, cousin, aunt, uncle and many others who I thought were completely web illiterate. Although I didn't invite most of my family to snoop around my pictures, It makes me uneasy to think how virtually anyone can see my profile if they wanted to. My profile which I thought was as harmless as an email account now has become a window into my personal life for anyone who owns a computer. My profile is now on permanent lock-down via privacy settings.
I really enjoyed creating an entirely new web persona because it gave me a chance to explore aspects of my life simply by taking some pictures and setting up a profile. My identity was Austin De' Rosa, the flaming Macy's makeup counter super-star who moved to the big apple to explore life outside Redding California. Although I used certain aspects of my life to create Austin, I wanted to create an identity that represented parts of me that I might be afraid to show. Though me and Austin are both gay males, Austin never has to hide from his sexuality, where ever he goes people automatically know that he watches sex and the city with his "girl friends" and listens to Lady GaGa. I, on the other hand, am out but struggle with making my sexual preference apparent since most everyone assumes that I'm straight. This is why I thought it might be good for me to explore being able to live the stereotypical gay life style. Although it was fun to dress up and do a photo shoot as a different person, it was also astonishing to see how easily I could project this aspect of me in the Internet realm. Also, I was under the impression that for our final class with Liz we were supposed to dress up as our persona. It was apparent that I was the only one who had this impression when I showed up for class, however, making my way to school from Powell station in jean hot pants and a tray full of sprinkle cup-cakes was a experience in itself. I was surprised to find that people were much nicer to me than usual. Maybe it was because I seem much less threatening...or maybe because everyone wants a token gay friend in San Francisco. Either way, SF truly is the place to be whoever you want with minimal judgement. This assignment has thought me to explore parts of myself that I am still uncomfortable with and let my inner weirdo shine though.
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