In an age where the Internet and computers are becoming commonplace, few people are asking how such interactions with machines and how relationships with others using these machines is changing the way we form and maintain our identities. Sherry Turkle, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and author, is one of the few who is studying this change. Computers and the Internet are redefining human identity, as people explore the boundaries of their personalities, adopt multiple selves, and form online relationships that can be more intense than real ones.

What we perceive to be our identity is unique, unified, and whole. However, this view has been challenged recently. It has long been known that personalities can fragment, but more recently the idea of “fragmented s

elves” has been portrayed as normal and psychologically healthy. Keep in mind that in extreme cases of “fragmented selves” the individual may come to a point where they can no longer function normally. In this article the author attempts to show how these fragmented selves can coexist as different screen names, complete with different personalities, of a single Internet user.

In the article, “Cyberspace and Identity”, the author focuses on the impact of online life on an individuals’ identity. One must represent himself on the Internet through textual descriptions. By presenting ourselves to the world in text, we can take time to ponder over and edit our personae. This has made it easier for the shy to be more outgoing through the anonymity of Internet use. It allows people to create several different versions of themse

Some topics in this essay:
Computers Internet, Cyberspace Identity, Institute Technology, core self, identity people, “cyberspace identity”, computer culture, “fragmented selves”, psychoanalytic culture, screen names,