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| disembodied identity... |
| 10.05.03 (6:44 pm) [edit] |
"In the discourses on cyberspace and identity...things do not appear so problematic or bad. This is because the technological realm offers precisely a form of psychic protection against the defeating stimulus of reality..." (Robins, pg, 83, CCR)
Perhaps it is the lack of a physical presence in cyberspace that enables the user to exist free from normative forms of surveillance that act upon bodies and identities in physical space. In a physical reality the body and sight are often the first points of identification and interaction between peoples. While in the disembodied space, physical presence is no longer an issue (unless you count avatar description/characters) and so its contribution to an identity is no longer a dominant factor.
Though freedom from the body can simplify the construction of identity (or at least give the appearance of this) other forms of surveillance act upon identities in cyberspace
Whilst a user may feel the freedom of a disembodied identity - free from footprints - their every 'step' could be traced by any number of 'cyber-powers'. These could be in the form of market research databases, which may track a users website interests in order to form a target audience.
In this way rather than being responsible for their own identity - a users identity becomes constructed by another power. With the lack of a body, presence is determined by 'movement' across abstract space. So even though Cyberspace offers protection from bodies of physical reality - other forces act upon the user in the construction of disembodied identities.
(alice)
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