The Effects of Cyberspace: Reflections and Transformations

Everyone knows how it feels to wish they could be some else. At some point almost everyone thinks about what it would be like to see things from a different perspective. The internet provides a safe and easy way for people to “try out new identities.” It gives people the opportunity to have lives that are completely unconnected to their real identity. Sherry Turkle theorizes in “Cyberspace and Identity” that those who make the most of their online lives approach it in spirit of self-reflection and those who are aware of their online personalities use the internet for personal and social transformations. Alex Pham’s “Boy, You Fight Like a Girl” confirms Turkle’s theory that cyberspace is used by many people as a means of self reflection as well as for personal and social transformations. Pham’s essay provides specific examples of these transformations and reflections. It is clear in her essay certain people discover things online and reflect back on themselves while others transform themselves online to let different sides of their personalities escape and act differently then they ever would in real life.

Many people use virtual communities as a means of self-reflection. As Turkle explains the people who make the most of their online lives see it as a means of self-reflection. This means they use it as a way to better understand themselves as well as improve they way they treat others. Taking on different identities allows a person to see things from different perspectives and understand the thoughts and actions of other people. An obvious example of this represented in Pham’s essay is men pretending to be women and women pretending to be men. In real life it is hard for the opposite sex to understand how the other is treated on a daily basis. The internet allows males and females to play roles of the opposite sex and explore a little of what the other experiences. One specific example from Pham’s essay is Ralph Koster, a 29 year old who plays a female, on playing a woman he says, “It makes you think more about what you’re saying and how you’re sending subtle messages without being aware of it” (286). Seeing from a female’s perspective how males treat females made Ralph question his own behaviors and specifically the way he treats women. Taking on a different identity and seeing how other people are treated makes people think about their own attitudes in real life and how they treat other people. It causes them to reflect within themselves and change some of their real life actions.

The online community can also be a way of experiencing certain personality traits they might not get to experience in real life. Since the internet is anonymous people can act however they want without feeling like they are being judged because no one knows who they truly are. It gives people the opportunity to experience personal transformations within themselves and bring out particular personality traits and moods they would hold back in real life. In Pham’s essay she talks about a 44-year-old woman from Sacramento, Louise, who says in her daily life she is shy but when she is online in her “role-playing mode” she is able to be aggressive without worrying about what other people think (287). It is comforting to Louise that no one knows who she truly is and she is able to act in ways she isn’t able to in real life. Having multiple identities provides users an opportunity to explore many personal transformations within different characters. It is not uncommon for players to have different characters for their certain moods. In fact many online gamers say they have multiple characters including one or two of the opposite sex. Each character allows them to transform themselves and act a different way exploring a different personality trait.

Cyberspace is also a great way to experience social transformations. Online people tend to be more outgoing and are more likely to have relationships that they would be too shy to initiate in real life. Pham states, “Online players are less accountable for their words