Convention or innovation: to what extent do chatroom users reconstruct their social identity?

Abstract

Much has been put forward in the media as well as current academic literature that the Internet will bring forth a revolution, not just in terms of information technology, but also with respect to the way we conceptualise identity. Perceptions of the Internet as decentralised, democratic, liberating and empowering abound. Combined with postmodern and cyberfeminist philosophies, the Internet has burgeoned into a virtual space where users can break free from their mundane lives and explore the scintillating opportunities to construct radically different identities including switching gender. Other research has concluded that, rather than altering conventional behaviour, the Internet reinforces the status quo, maintaining existing power relations within society such as disparities between men and women. The extent to which members of the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) community took advantage of the ability to reconstruct their social identity was investigated, via an eclectic methodological approach. An ethnographic study was conducted to gain familiarity with IRC and to consider the extent to which IRC could be considered a culture. In-depth qualitative interviews with experienced IRC users provided data to generate hypotheses for an on-line survey of channel operators, those who govern chatrooms. Based on cultural stereotypes of gender behaviour it was hypothesised that men would be more likely than women to take advantage of the virtual environment to explore their identity by (a) identifying with something different compared to how they were in real life, (b) engaging in multiple nicknames, (c) adopting a usual nickname inconsistent with their real life gender, (d) gender-switching, (e) age-switching and (f) desiring and gaining increased status. Men would take advantage of gender- and age-switching to explore being treated the opposite gender or a different age. In comparison women would gender- and age-switch for protection. Men would also be less likely to consider channel rules necessary. From a total of 423 operators surveyed, comprising 25% women, in general findings supported the underlying hypothesis that men would be more likely than women to take advantage of the virtual environment to explore their identity, which in turn reflected conformity to cultural stereotypes of gender behaviour. Paradoxically, results showed women were also taking advantage of the opportunities of the virtual environment to experiment with identity. This tension between convention and innovation reflected the epitome of a postmodern representation of identity. Gender as a powerful predictor of behaviour was discussed in addition to reflections on the research process and the benefits of an eclectic approach.