The Fear of False Identity

One aspect that I have noticed about society is the fear of false identity. In the 19th century, there existed a fear of false identity (I am taking a English course called 19th Century Crime Literature). This was due to the fact that there was not a way to identify a person unless you knew them. Identification cards and social security numbers did not exist. This also had economic issues. Checks were written on the basis of the notoriety of the person or the person’s name. Now, we have identification cards, social security numbers, passports, authorizations, background checks etc. to differentiate people from each other. We have secured many ways of our lives from locks on our doors to bank accounts. Identity theft is a crime that many have been prosecuted for. I find that people are uncomfortable for virtual world interactions because the identity of a person can be altered. I, Kristina Griffin, 22 year old female from San Diego, CA can easily become Jerry Mathias 64 year old male from Columbus, OH. As in the 19th Century, people are uncomfortable with the unknown identities of people. This is why I believe people are afraid of virtual tools like SecondLife but not afraid of Facebook. In SecondLife, profiles can be completely fabricated. Facebook profiles are supposed to an accurate representation of the users. In class discussions, many have assumed those participating in virtual worlds such as SecondLife are freaks. In some instances, I would agree but definitely not in all. I believe the root cause for this resistance is society’s fear of false identities.