Finding your identity...

During class these last few days we have talked about Culture Jam and the Second Skin documentary. These have both discussed some of the same ideas and problems existing around us today. Technology is, in a way, the one to blame because of it’s impact in many ways. Where is this going to take us in the future?

I believe that the identities we occupy virtually have a really big significance, value, and meaning. For example in the documentary Second Skin, the gamers were able to pick how they looked in the games. To the gamers this is very valuable because for once, they could be the person they feel like inside. People no longer would judge them based on their looks because their real looks are unknown. Gamers get a sense of meaning from the identities they have in games because for once they feel important. This would especially involve people like desk assistants who just push paper all day. From playing these games, suddenly they are someone who has all this power and responsibility. This gives them a great feeling and makes them feel better about themselves. This is all significant because it explains why gamers get addicted to these types of games. Honestly, I don’t blame them for hiding from the real world and sticking with these virtual ones. To them, the real world is a harsh place where people judge you about everything you do or don’t do. 

I assume that to many, cyberspace is the “new frontier” because of all the benefits they feel they get from it. In a way they are hiding from who they really are in the real world. This is a problem because these gamers hide from the real world for so long that when they finally do return, it is too late. By this I mean that when they stop with their virtual world, they have destroyed the real world by, for example, losing their jobs, houses and friends. To me, I believe that cyberspace is a vast, endless wasteland. This is because at the end of the day, it is all fake and it doesn’t have a real value or importance. Though it may be fun, it is still in the virtual world.

At the end of the day though, I believe that as long as people are using their own hard earned money, they should be able to do whatever makes them happy. We talked about this in class about how other people sometimes don’t understand why we buy or do certain things.  People do what makes them satisfied, like the one girl in class said she would just go buy tennis shoes whenever, even though they were a lot of money. She did this of course because she liked them and to her, it was worth the money, even though others disagreed.