Identity experiments in the internet laboratory
When we alter characteristics of ourselves on the Internet - even fundamental ones like age, race, or gender - we might not think of ourselves as liars or con artists. Like Silberman, we might feel more like researchers, or experimenters. We are playing with our own identities and trying out different hats to see how they feel and how others will react to them. Though deception is a key ingredient, it may not seem quite the same as lying for personal gain.
Experimenting with identities is an important part of lifespan development, and those identity crises we experience, particularly in our youth, are valuable to personal growth. If we don't try things out, we never know what fits best. That exploration is not confined to adolescence, as many people assume. Especially in fast-paced industrial countries where lifestyle and career options are abundant and change quickly, many of us return again and again to questioning our values and beliefs, and then re-establishing a firm commitment to a set of life goals. This alternating pattern is known as MAMA, an acronym that stands for moratorium / achievement / moratorium / achievement. During the moratorium part of the cycle, we feel that self-doubt and confusion about who we are and what we are doing with our lives. Once we sort things out again, we reach the state of identity achievement with a deeper sense of self.
On the Internet, the opportunities for cycling through MAMA, or for remaining permanently suspended in a moratorium status, are magnified many times. We can re-enter that moratorium status every night, experimenting with identities we never got around to while we were teens, or that were off limits for logistical reasons or the basic laws of physics. We can subscribe to a philosophy mailing list and discuss Descartes, pretending to be a professor or a hermit in a mountain cabin. We can join IRC chats to talk with gay men and women with far more ease than we could enter a gay bar. The newsgroups are awash with brittle political discussions, and we can leap into any acerbic debate, joining either side at whim. We can post fictional confessions about our abused childhood to support groups, or even send fake suicide notes to alt.sui-cide. The possibilities are endless, and for some, they are extremely enticing. The chance to experience some of those alternative identities, especially ones that would be nearly impossible to experiment with in real life, may be too attractive to ignore.
Besides the pace, a significant difference between the real-life MAMA pattern and MAMA on the Internet involves the consequences. If we experiment with a new identity on the net, we can simply disconnect if things get too hot and the consequences get out of hand. Unlike Silberman, most people who role play as a dramatically different person on the Internet probably do not confess. They simply vanish if they tire of the game or sense suspicion. There are thousands of other groups they can join that know nothing about those previous experiments. We are not able to withdraw from such exercises this easily in real life. If we join a gang or march in protests, we would not be able to disentangle so easily from those identity experiments. We might wind up with a tatoo, a criminal record, or a drug addiction. If a married man is seen at a gay bar, the rumors would be difficult to quell. The consequences limit our experiments in real life, but on the Internet, those consequences are much reduced.
The Internet is an identity laboratory, overflowing with props, audiences, and players for our personal experiments. Though many people stay close to their home self and just tinker with a few traits they wish they could improve, especially their extroversion, others jump over the line between impression management and deception. We may cling to the belief that our experiments are harmless diversions, but the dupes in our laboratory may not agree.