In 2015, the internet has become an important factor in almost everyone’s daily life. Keeping in touch with Facebook, sharing pictures on Instagram, or making important career connections on LinkedIn. Even though the internet has the ability to shape what we do on a daily basis, people can use the internet for having multiple personas. This may not sound that bad, but internet aliases can be present in things like online dating and these aliases can do some harm.
One example of how multiple online identities can be malicious is the act of catfishing. This term, coined by MTV show, Catfish, describes the act of someone creating a new identity on the internet to lure someone into an online relationship without ever truly revealing themselves online. In an article about catfishing from the New Yorker, the article talks about one episode on the TV show where a man named Michael has been dating a woman online for 18 months, even though they live in the same city. It’s interesting to think to oneself why this man still maintains a relationship, but the article states from Michael’s perspective that ““Caroline is the perfect person for me. I feel like even though we haven’t met, the bond we built over this time is stronger than anything I’ve ever had with anyone else.” (Klein, New Yorker). This can still be mind-boggling but later on in the article petite and red-headed Caroline, who actually turns out to be a larger woman named Heather, goes on to describe that “the Internet gives Heather the opportunity to detach from the body she doesn’t like in order to connect Michael with what she does like about herself” (Klein, New Yorker). For Michael (and other people who have experienced this), he has clearly been treated unethically as he has expressed his emotions to someone who wasn’t who they said they were. Using another persona for acts like these highlights the negatives for having multiple identities on the internet as it plays with the ethical considerations of having multiple personas.
On the other hand, in that same article, Heather used her alter ego to hide the things she didn’t like about herself, which is her physique. By hiding the things about herself she didn’t like and using the things she liked about herself, which were her emotions and hobbies, she could really connect with Michael about who she really was. This in turn gave her much more confidence as she didn’t have to think about her body when she was dating Michael online. This also applies to people who have information they don’t want to share, like health conditions. By talking about it with another identity on the internet, the person doesn’t have to worry about having a friend or acquaintance find out about their health problems and face judgment from people these people.
Having an alter ego on the internet can be very beneficial if someone feels the need to hide personal information about themselves, like health or a feature about themselves they don’t like and therefore increasing self-esteem. But on the other hand, using an alter ego on the internet when dating is incredibly unethical and can be very damaging to people who experience this. In conclusion, I believe that the above evidence helps explain that the cons of having multiple online personas overshadows the pros of multiple identities as it crosses the boundaries of what is considered to be ethical and what isn’t.
Word Count: 568
Sources:
Jarvis, J. (2011) One Identity or More?. Accessed 21/10/15 from http://buzzmachine.com/2011/03/08/one-identity-or-more/
Klein, A.A. (2015) Consider the “Catfish”. Accessed 22/10/15 from http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/consider-the-catfish
Vronay, D. (2014) The Online Identity Crisis. Accessed 22/10/15 from http://www.wired.com/insights/2014/11/the-online-identity-crisis/
maxcordery 
Hello there Chris!
I really enjoyed the blog – like I enjoy the show Catfish! So it was good for me to see the comparison for this topic. I thought maybe you could have been more concise and stuck to the 400 word limit.
Also, I see how you said it is good for people to have a boost in self-esteem from pretending to be someone else? But I am not too sure on whether this is a pro for the ethical issue of multiple online identities. I don’t think it’s really an ethical issue.
Maybe you could include a clip from the show to assist your blog? But maybe as a pro you could have gone away from the pro’s of catfish to maybe the pro’s of online identities in the form of medical help websites and forums which make a good impact on peoples lives.
Or maybe the pro’s and con’s of online drug websites and the ‘Dark web’. Also for anonymous reporting on Crimestoppers for example. Using a shroud online to do good rather than bad.
But I did really enjoy your blog look forward to the next installment.
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Hi Todd. Thanks for your feedback! The reason I said pretending to be someone else can boost your self-esteem is because a person can hide the things about themselves that makes them insecure. I did also mention how using an alias online can help maintain privacy when talking about personal aspects that are at times best kept private. Thanks for reading!
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Hi Max, thanks for your blog post. I found your thoughts on the topic of catfishing and alter egos an interesting perspective on online identities. This technique should certainly be a concern for those making new connections online or people impersonating others online. However, I think the majority of people do have multiple online identities that they use for interacting amongst different communities. Some are directly linked to your real identity, like Facebook, some are built by your advertising footprint, and some can be kept as a completely anonymous alter ego. I would argue that this is not unethical to try and maintain a degree of privacy whilst online. Pew research has a really interesting article on this at http://www.pewinternet.org/2012/02/24/privacy-management-on-social-media-sites/ if you are interested in finding out more about this. Thank-you for your thoughts.
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Thanks for your feedback! I do agree with you that privacy is important on the internet but I was trying to keep the post concentrated to catfishing and the outcomes of that. Thanks again!
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Hi Max,
I’m not really sure you can call catfishing malicious, even in your own example the woman just wanted to connect with someone without being judged. It seems to me that she wasn’t trying to hurt the guy; she was just trying to make herself happy. It’s sad that people feel the need to do that but I don’t think it’s a malicious act.
Does catfishing happen on online dating sites as well as social media?
This was an interesting post, but I have to disagree with you. You have focused too much on the negatives of online dating without going into enough depth on the positive aspects of multiple online identities and I think if you did you may reconsider your position.
I answered the topic using authenticity and anonymity, my blog touches on a couple of points that you have talked about. You may find it an interesting read.
https://leahcowan.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/identity-or-identities-using-anonymity-and-authenticity/
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Hi Max!
You make a very good first point about how influential the internet is in today’s society, which smart phones and tablets etc people are never far from uploading something to the world wide web. Your point on catfishing was also very interesting. Personally, I feel as though ‘catfishing’ is never the right thing to do, even if the person feels vulnerable when they are themselves. You go on to say how Heather is using the internet to hide things she doesn’t like about herself but emphasising the things she does like. Although this may make herself feel better, she clearly hasn’t taken the emotions of Michael into consideration, which I believe is unethical and unfair on Michael – as you did mention at the end. Your piece made a good read and opened my eyes to the world of catfishing and how common it is today.
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