The Representation of the True Self Online

What do you feel represents a truer version of your identity – the person you present physically, or the person you present online?

To some, the answer is obvious. The one they present in the physical world is the truer representation as this version is, well, real. But to others, the person that they present online is the more genuine version, as this version transcends the limitations of their environment and body, allowing them to create a more accurate representation of their identity. In some cases, people do not only create a precise identity online but find their identity. 

Since the start of the contemporary era, there has been a gradual shift in the acceptance of various identities within the West. From the conservative mindset of a post-1945 world to the swinging Sixties and the beginning of the Internet, we have seen significant progress toward an open-minded and liberalized culture. 

But despite this apparent change in acceptance, society still aligns itself with set social norms and values, and people who challenge them are sometimes met with hostility and anger, depending on their environment. For example, the transgender community is still discriminated against in our society today, even with the progress made toward acceptance in areas such as employment and healthcare (Williams Institute, 2021).  

Many individuals in the trans community conceal their identities to conform to their environment, be it family, workplace, or school (Poitras, 2019). As Erving Goffman theorized in his 1959 work ‘The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life’, a person will express themselves intentionally or unintentionally in a particular way depending on the group or social status that they are around (Goffman 1959). With this quote contextualized to an average person of the 1950s, one must imagine the difficulty of life for a modern marginalized individual, where their core identity can face hostility (Meyer, 2015). 

Having considered all of the above, it should be no surprise that many members of the trans community prefer to use social media to express themselves as it avoids the inherent risks of face-to-face interactions. Trans individuals still face discrimination online, but the interconnected system of social media allows trans people to avoid tackling this harassment alone and the customization of their privacy and settings gives them the tools to pick and choose who they let into their online lives (Burns, 2019).

The Internet can allow people to freely express themselves, but it also gives them the chance to explore their identity, and in doing so find themself in communities that accept and celebrate who they are. 

The Guardian published an article in 2021 interviewing a trans woman called Hannah (Faber, 2021). In this article, Hannah recounts that during her adolescence and early teenage years, the one place where she felt free to be openly female was in Roblox, a community-based gaming platform where people across the world connect and play games. Through her female Roblox avatar, Hannah connected with people in the trans community, giving her the confidence to exhibit her real-world identity and become her true self. 

For some, social media is just escapism from the mundane. Others use it as a way to express their interests and present themselves as an idealized version of their identity. But to the trans community, the digital world means so much more. The Internet is a place for them to be reminded that they are not isolated, peculiar, or wrong. Their identities are valid and true. While it is still plagued by hate and discrimination, online networks offer a crucial lifeline of support to trans individuals in a world that frequently marginalizes and excludes them. 

So yes, social media is not just a game of impression management, where you can fit in by managing how others see you. Sometimes, it is about managing how you see yourself, to fit in with who you truly are. 

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Reference list

Burns, K. (2019). The internet made trans people visible. It also left them more vulnerable. Vox. Available from https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/12/27/21028342/trans-visibility-backlash-internet-2010.

Faber, T. (2021). ‘In the game, I knew myself as Hannah’: the trans gamers finding freedom on Roblox. The Guardian. Available from https://www.theguardian.com/games/2021/apr/24/in-the-game-i-knew-myself-as-hannah-the-trans-gamers-finding-freedom-on-roblox.

Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Anchor Books.

Meyer, D. (2015). Violence against Queer people: race, class, gender, and the Persistence of anti-LGBT Discrimination. New Brunswick Rutgers University Press.

Poitras, C. (2019). The ‘Global Closet’ Is Huge—Vast Majority of World’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Population Hide Orientation, YSPH Study Finds. Yale School of Medicine. Available from https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/the-global-closet-is-hugevast-majority-of-worlds-lesbian-gay-bisexual-population-hide-orientation-ysph-study-finds/.

Williams Institute. (2021). LGBT People’s Experiences of Workplace Discrimination and Harassment. Williams Institute. Available from https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/lgbt-workplace-discrimination/.