Our online identity is a complicated thing determined by several external factors, and when it is viewed and shaped through an online medium estranged from who we really are, it can become dangerously malleable and easily accessible. When I initially completed this assignment by Google searching my own name, reviewing my account on Amazon, and checking my credit score, I did not find anything that surprised me, but I was amazed by the ease with which others can find information about me and use it to characterize me in such a way it creates an artificial online identity for me.
For example, by simply Google searching my name, I found several websites which referenced me and also several websites which referenced other people with the same name as me. Assuming that some was searching for information about me, it would be difficult for that person to differentiate websites about me with those about others, which could create confusion and dilute my personal identity with that of another. Amazon serves as another example of identity formation based on incomplete information. The last book I searched on Amazon was an education book for one of my classes, and because of this previous search the website recommended several other education books, all of which I am not interested in. In this way, Amazon has created my identity as an education-aficionado when in actuality I am not; I only purchased the other book as part of my class. The final example was searching my credit score. One’s credit score, more than any other comparable index, represents a person’s trustworthiness and can affect a person’s life outcomes in terms of access to capital. Then, I found it appalling at how easy it was to access my information. If someone was to tamper with my credit score, I would be seriously disadvantaged and suffer serious costs.
Clearly, one’s online identity is important and can be shaped by a variety of factors. This was something I had never seriously thought of before, but I am glad that I did this assignment and am now more aware of it. From now on, I will definitely pay much closer attention to my online identity.
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