Wacko!

I've never been a big fan of internet anonymity. For quite a long time, well, until actually quite recently, I had all my privacy settings turned off on Facebook. What that means is that any random schmuck could come along, type in my name and see all the info, pictures and other random crap I provide there. In online games I have always been happy to provide my name, location, picture, that sort of thing. I've been told by a few people this means I am flirting with the ever present danger of identity theft... meh. I don't see it. It's not like I'm providing my social insurance number or any really important details about my life. I've had my phone number listed on my facebook for close to two years now (Yes, I was one of those very pretentious people who had a facebook account when you still needed a University e-mail to access it) and not even once have I ever received any sort of call from an advertiser. I only actually changed my privacy settings since I was alerted that a rather creepy ex-girlfriend of mine had been e-stalking me on it, following my moves and pictures. Considering how poorly some of my previous relationships have ended, I decided that it was time to move out from under my rock and erect some large fences around my personal property.

I don't really feel all the better for it.

The fact is, people are getting more shut off. We have an entire generation in first and second world countries who are fairly addicted to the concept of the Internet (Not that this is entirely a bad thing, mind you), but with that addiction comes the social graces that have evolved out of the online medium. The evolution of the language into something that is beginning to resemble Newspeak is a little bit scary to me, but it's the created walls around individuality that really freak me out. People are being taught to guard themselves at every angle. IF you're a young girl or guy, every second person on the Internet is a 45 year old fat man wearing a Pedobear outfit. Hide yourself! Once you're a teenager, especially for women, all they want are pictures of genitalia and number to stalk and harass you. It only goes downhill from there, once you get into the ideas of identity theft. All these perceived threats are accompanied by the teaching that one has to never release any information to anyone else on the internet. How long until this spills out into the real world though? Civilization is getting more shut off from each, more attached to technology. (Once again, not entirely a bad thing) I just worry that from the resulting rise of knowledge and education will lend itself to isolationism, both from other people, and the world at large.

This concept was explored in a movie I saw this summer, called "Surrogates". Now, I will not even attempt to say that Surrogates was a good movie. It was interesting, how the idea was explored, but unfortunate in it's execution. The main idea is that people are able to use surrogate androids to enter the world at large, instead of their own bodies. The main character has not even in reality interacted with his wife in a very long time, even through they live in the same house. All functions of society, from work, right down to war are enacted through these androids. To me, this is a very interesting idea, even if one almost entirely unexplored within the somewhat actiony confines of the movie. A surrogate can be whoever you want to be. The movie introduces a murder victim, a young blond girl, who in reality is an older, quite fat man in a dingy apartment. While it was a bit of a stereotype, internet anonymity is the beginning of this surrogate nature. Lead a boring, uninteresting life where no one knows you? Well, you can be a superstar in a MMO, just by putting the time into it to join a major guild. Thousands of people know those characters, the face they present to the virtual world.

Yet, at the same time, they don't know the person behind it. Our fake faces could one day entirely eclipse the real face. One has to wonder what the impact on society that would have.