I have a MySpace page (MySpace/OregonMathGeek). I created it in response to the pestering of my older sons, who wanted a way to interact with me before they received cell phones with text messaging capability. It also allows me to read their private blog posts, with their permission, of course. They tend to write more than they talk to me on the phone, so I gain a tremendous amount of insight into their lives by reading their MySpace pages.
I've always been a fairly open person, and I see no point in hiding my true persona behind a pretend one online. After all, who wants to be friends with someone without flaws? Having a perfect friend would put all sorts of pressure on me to be perfect, and being perfect is just not in my nature. However, I see no point in exposing everything about myself online.
I do reveal a little about myself in my choice of user name. I grew up in Oregon, but I've only lived there one year out of the last 22, due to being married to two military husbands (not at the same time) and being military myself. There aren't any active duty bases in Oregon, and the only reason I went home for a year was because my ex-husband spent a year in Korea without me. Anyway, I'm incredibly homesick, so I used Oregon as part of my user name. I've been a technology geek since middle school, when I first discovered the existence of computers (around 1979--yes, I'm that old). Finally, before my second husband got transferred to Louisiana, I was a mathematics major at the University of Oklahoma. Put all of those aspects of me together, and you get OregonMathGeek. Original, yet generic. :)
My MySpace page has one picture of me on it, and in it, I'm holding one of my babies. That reveals a little about me, too, because being a mom has consumed over half of my life so far. My children are extremely important to me, and I almost never get photographed without at least one of them with me. I don't have a stunningly beautiful face that people will remember long after leaving my website, so my identity is still fairly safe.
I think today's society seems very transparent on the surface. Websites like MySpace and FaceBook allow people to express themselves online in any way that they want to. If I had the time and desire to do so, I could create an elaborate website that would highlight all of my favorite interests. If I did that, I'd probably attract other people who share those interests, thus giving me more people to chat with and share stories with. That would be a lot of fun, but would it be worth it? I don't know. I do have a life outside of the internet, and I think that finding even more friends online would take more time away from the things I really want to do in real life. For instance, spending an hour a day chatting online with other cyclists would keep me from getting my share of the housework done, thus keeping me from being able to ride my bicycle when my husband gets home from work. What's the point of sharing with other cyclists if I having nothing new to share?
According to Wood & Smith, people tend to form pseudonyms to describe themselves online. Nicknames, such as OregonMathGeek, are a quick way of identifying ourselves in the online world without revealing our real names. They also serve to compartmentalize our online interactions as separate from our face-to-face ones. This allows us to adopt different identities in different online situations. For instance, you know my MySpace identity, but what about the one I use for my quilting groups? Or the five or six other nicknames I've created to fit into different forums all over the internet? The point is that we can't truly describe ourselves online with only one pseudonym, since we are complex human beings with a vast array of interests and motivations.
This is OregonMathGeek, signing off. :)
3 comments:
Very interesting post Roxanne!
I really like the Myspace name OregonMathGeek because as you said it represents who you are without actually displaying your name. Why should you even display your name anyways? All of your MySpace friends already know you so why open yourself up to the others that don’t? OregonMathGeek does a great job of describing you without revealing anything. Lastly I can relate to your kids in the fact that I hate talking on the phone and yet I’m not a huge Facebook or Myspace fan so the majority of my conversations travel via email. It’s really amazing how Facbook, Myspace and email in general have transformed the way people communicate and are perceived.
Myspace and Facebook really have become one of the most popular and convenient ways of communicating with your friends and family these days, especially for those who travel a lot or are living away from home.
Since my mom has made a facebook account, we have communicated more often over the computer than over the phone. It lets us talk when we have time without disturbing each other.a
I also really like your Myspace name because it does represent a part of you but doesn't reveal everything. I also know all of my myspace friends too, and I like how you keep things private but are able to let some of your characteristics out.
I think it is a great idea that you are able to communicate with your kids through myspace and blogs. I know when I am a mother I think that it would be a great idea to do the same. My aunts have myspace/facebook and it makes things so much easier to talk to them and see how everything is going in their lives. I feel like that sort of communication is very positive.
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