Digital Identity in America

Write a post illustrating and analysing the various digital identities available to Americans today. What can this tell us about the meaning of identity for American in the future?

Digital Identity is becoming the whole identity in America today, with sites such as Youtube, Facebook and Twitter to name a few, it is becoming all the more regarded as a way of expressing ones feelings and beliefs, without having to communicate with people face to face. 

With this, comes anonymity, and often people don't use real names or information. This becomes a problem when it is the younger generation whom are more versed in this way of life. Therefore it becomes increasingly difficult for adults to monitor what children are doing. Things like cyber-bullying now take place, and causes even more problems because of the anonymity, as there is no-one to take the blame.

Facebook is a digital identity that is used by people of all ages in America, and strengthens communication between people who live near or far from each other. Facebook shows you what people are doing and how they are feeling, but the public feel, combined with the fact that people's parents now have Facebook, means that a person's identity is often subdued or restrained.

Twitter, on the other hand, is far more anonymous, yet has the appeal of celebrity interaction, and has brought the typical American, into the same space as a Celebrity and what makes up their identity. Twitter allows you to 'retweet', or re-post a tweet that someone else has posted, meaning that this form of digital identity allows for Americans to imitate or copy the identity of others, or what they think is desirable in a person.

For the future, this means that America could become a place of less social interaction, and more social networking. Identity will become less individual, and thus more to with conformity and avoiding rejection. Proof of this is Apple branded products, in that even though they aren't always the cheapest or best choice, the desire to conform or to have what everyone else has, is stronger. Therefore, American identity is becoming conformity with help from new digital identities.