Interdentity: Belonging, Behaviour and Identity Online

This paper examines the nature of identity online. It is concerned with identity as a projection of personhood rather than as a construct for authenticating exchanges. The paper draws from common experience and philosophers such as Plato and Mick Jagger to synthesise an ontology of given, acquired and adopted identities in the physical world and cyberspace. The model is then used to contrast social mechanisms for controlling behaviour, and to follow a didactic journey from good citizen to violent action. It concludes that the disaggregation of communication from its physical community and local context creates an exponential increase in its power to engage and influence the virtual villagers of our connected world.