Analysation of Internet Presence and Online Identity

Source: prostockstudio, VectorStock

Questions:

How have dominant conceptualisations of gender, sexuality, and/or so-called ‘race’ influenced identity construction in online spaces? Have users at times subverted traditional expectations and in what ways?

What ‘digital divides’ are you aware of existing within Australia and beyond? Is this just a matter of access to technology or are there other forms? How might exposure to digital divides impact on one’s online identity?

In what ways have socially and politically marginalised individuals and groups pushed back against systemic power structures to create powerful online identities and communities? List as many examples as you can think of.

What considerations must be taken into account in relation to online dating and identity-building? How do dating sites impact on people’s self-presentation in their profiles? What role do algorithms play in the evaluation of user compatibility? What does this suggest about the relationship between identity and artificial intelligence?

Analysis:

    Dominant conceptualisations of gender, sexuality, and/or so-called 'race' are nor applicable in Online spaces. Online spaces have allowed people to be at the same level, regardless of their status in reality. Guta and Karolak (2015:117) stated, "The internet creates a space where women have an equal access and they are able to contribute to the public sphere in ways that are not possible outside of the virtual world where they are always regarded as women, beings subordinate to men". Users often subverted traditional expectations through sharing ideas and thoughts freely without any real identity presence or often called anonymously (Otterman 2007, cited in Guta and Karolak 2015:116).

    Australia's growth in overall digitisation is because of the increase in digital usage and digital labour. However, the digitisation is uneven across Australia, and there has been slow growth in digital infrastructure (Telstra 2017; Willis and Tranter 2006, cited in Reddy 2019). 'Digital divides' is just part of a more significant issue that is economic development. This issue doesn't only exist in Australia, preferably in most countries that have access to digital media. The use of the internet has increased over the years. People now often rely on their phones to keep up with any updates or to connect. This has become part of people's everyday needs as technology advances. There is also an issue that people still lack access to modern technology and the internet. According to Steele (2018), This problem distinguished both the developed and underdeveloped in Australia. The solution to decreasing the digital divide gap is that the country should focus on how to find a way to fix problems like low education levels, poverty and poor infrastructure.

     Lists of ways marginalised individuals and groups pushed back against systemic power structures to create powerful online identities and communities:

1. By creating empowered communities. According to Guta and Karolak (2015:117), there are blogs designed to empower women's status in Saudi society such as Saudi Eve, Saudiyat, Saudi woman's weblog and women2drive campaign.
2. Internet spaces allow information that may be obstructed by cultural and political and local barriers to be accessible to marginalised individuals and groups Guta and Karolak (2015:117).
3. Creating powerful online identities are now feasible to many people as "the cyberspace provides spaces of identity articulation and negotiation" (Guta and Karolak 2015:117).
4. By building new identities online. Online media enables people to "construct or reconstruct" their identity online (Turkle 1995:342, cited in Guta and Karolak 2015:118).
5. Despite maintaining relationships with family and friends, people can also share various content, express their interest and build a supportive community (Guta and Karolak 2015:119).

    Among Saudi Arabia women, it is popular to use the niqab (full-face cover) for their online profile. However, others that are not wearing hijab often use hijab for their profile pictures to maintain their family's name. Saudi society forbade women to befriend men. Hence they usually vent it through Facebook and online male friends. The negative impacts of social media on Saudi Arabia include, a proliferation of false accounts to take advantage of naive users, the perceived disadvantages relate to relaxed mores, especially among women, and the exposure of the body as a way to attract the attention of the opposite sex. "Given the protection of female images in Arabian Gulf societies, stealing online photos of women has become a new type of fraud where a thief asks the family for ransom in order not to divulge the photos publicly and thus, disgrace the family," (Alqudsi-ghabra et al. 2011:55 cited in Guta and Karolak 2015:123).

Reference lists:

Guta H and Karolak M (2 January 2015) ‘Veiling and Blogging: Social Media as Sites of Identity Negotiation and Expression among Saudi Women’, Journal of International Women’s Studies, 16(2):115-127, accessed 4 December 2020.

Reddy S (2019) Digital health and the divide, 4th edn, Elsevier.

Steele C (16 November 2018) Top Five Digital Solutions, Digital Divide Council, accessed: 4 December 2020.