Assignment 7: virtual self

Facebook, email, forums, myspace, Second Life - parts of you and your identity exist in the "virtual" realm of digital technology. Some say that this is just the beginning of an emergence of a "virtual self" where our sense of identity is inextricably intertwined with technology. What do you think: would you still be "you" if you had never had contact with a computer?  Is human experience really changing? If so, is it for better or worse? Write at least 200 words on these topics on your blog

It is hard to imagine what life would be like today without the technology i am so used to. My virtual self exists in the form of facebook, email, and this very blog. Where and who would I be without them?

I can only speculate that I would be the same me without these extensions of myself, just a little slower and out of touch. My facebook reflects me exactly as I am in person. You could ask me what type of music I like and would find the exact same answer to that question on my facebook page. The same goes for my interests, hobbies, favorite movies, birthday, and relationship status. Without this social networking site, I may not be as good of a friend. For example, facebook helps me keep track of my friends’ birthdays. Being awful at remembering dates, I would miss a lot of those birthdays and people would not be very happy with me.

 Human experience really is changing, and I can’t say that it’s either good or bad. So many people can benefit from this improvement and emergence of technology. Businesses can grow, you can keep in touch with friends who live thousands of miles away, and you can express yourself in so many different ways. One concern I have is the decrease in human interaction and safety of putting yourself in cyberspace. As long as you exist as yourself in reality more then you exist virtually, I believe that this ‘second life’ can be a great thing.