Blog 3 - The Identity of Place

Reality within a virtual network is an unrealistic concept, especially when users are given such freedom to present themselves however they like. Facebook is a prime example of people altering or creating new identities. As an addicted Facebook user I have spent many hours sitting idling in front of a screen stalking contacts and suggested friend requests. This experience has revealed that although many users retain their identity others have undergone a complete identity revolution. The spectrum in which users who have altered their identity is vast. Some have fabricated entire lives by using fake photos and false names. Other users are less extreme, a new identity has not been fabricated but the version of the person being projected is different from the identity projected in reality. Facebookers feel confident using virtual identities when logged on to the social network as the virtual space created feels like a place exempt from the formalities of reality.

Example of Fake Identity (WordPress, 2012)

The language employed by users of the network assist in the virtual space becoming a place. The terms upload, troll, hashtag, tag and like are only used in the virtual world of Facebook. Using a different language for the virtual and real worlds has allowed Facebook users to turn the site into an identifiable place. This theory of how users are able to create a place is supported by the definition of place given by Dr Ariel Van Luanname in the lecture, “Specific sites that are shaped by, and shape the lives of human beings” (Van Luanname, 2013). This definition is applicable as it is the users of Facebook that allow the space to become a place. In the journal article Language and the Making of Place: A narrative-Descriptive Approach Tuan explains how explorers and pioneers use the naming of a space to call it into being (Tuan, 1991, p.688). Facebook users use the same manipulation of language to mould the social network into a place. The blog Turning Space into Place analyses the unique ability of people to make this change occur. The ability to transform a space into a place is a power coveted by humans, which we use to identify ourselves and our community.

      Owen, B. (2012, August 3). Turning Spaces into Places. Retrieved from Luminality: http://jbarrettowen.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/turning-spaces-into-places.html

      Taun, Y. (1991). Language and the making of place: A narrative-descriptive approach. In Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 684-696.

      Van Luanname, A. (2013). BA1002 Narrative and Places.

      WordPress. (2012, September 20). Posts Tagged ‘Fake Profiles'. Retrieved from www.ripplelinks.com: http://ripplelinks.com/blog/tag/fake-profiles/