Identity in the Networked World

Identity. It conveys who we are, to ourselves or perhaps to other people. What is identity? I have a name (Greg), an occupation (student), a place of residence (Murrysville, PA), and a whole slew of characteristics like height and hair and eye color. I have a family, a history, thoughts, dreams, desires, hopes, and memories. Do these things create my identity? Maybe the electrical impulses in my brain represent my identity, or perhaps my soul. Pinning down an identity presents quite a difficult task. Just think back to the last group icebreaker where you told everyone "a little about who you are." Did you hear answers like "Hi, my name is Greg, I'm from Pennsylvania and I go to Brown where I am majoring in biology and maybe also philosophy. I like reading, politics, and tennis." Surely this isn't identity?

If the quest for identity confounded the mind before, it probably becomes even more convoluted in the present day networked world. Or perhaps it becomes more concrete?

How would you like to procede? Choose from the list at the top-left.

This site was created by Gregory Halenda, Brown University class of '08. It is intended to fulfill the final project requirements for EL0065.08, The Cyborg Self, with Professor George Landow. Professor Landow maintains large sites on cyberspace, hypertext, and the networked world, see the link for his Cyberarts Web at left.

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