Negotiating identity in an online virtual environment.

dc.contributor.authorDube, Nompumelelo
dc.date.accessioned2016-10-14T13:14:15Z
dc.date.available2016-10-14T13:14:15Z
dc.date.issued2011
dc.description.abstractThis study investigates ways in which people in an online anonymous virtual environment use language to negotiate and manage their identities. The study is informed by the tenets of social constructionism, a theory that explores the problematic manner in which the self is taken for granted as unchanging (Burr, 1998). One point made by alternative theorists other than social constructionist theorists is the notion of the “essential self”; one tenet of social constructionist theory suggests that the “essential self” of a person remains fluid. The implication is that one ultimately changes as each day passes, for example at the core of one’s personality is an “essential self” that changes with experiences, conflicts and/or age (Tuffin, 2005). From a social constructionist perspective, the self is more fractured and contingent on life’s circumstances. This theory was found to be an appropriate paradigm from which to study anonymous online identities, where individuals were found to create and negotiate certain identities outside of those identities that people often find important to portray to outsiders in the general public. Sixty-seven (67) students from different races participated in this study and online discussions from a course discussion forum, “blackboard”, were monitored. This study found that one’s identity is negotiated in an anonymous virtual environment. Data was collected from these discussions and was analysed using Potter and Wetherell’s (1987) method of discourse analysis. Research findings ultimately found that people use discursive strategies in negotiating and maintaining their identity online, but that distinct racial characteristics were noticeable despite some attempts to mask one’s background.en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/638
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherUniversity of Fort Hareen_ZA
dc.titleNegotiating identity in an online virtual environment.en_ZA
dc.typeThesisen_ZA

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
NEGOTIATING IDENTITY IN AN ONLINE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT.pdf
Size:
308.81 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
NEGOTIATING IDENTITY IN AN ONLINE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: