En el ciberespacio no es posible desligarse totalmente de la identidad que se tiene en el mundo físico
One's identity in the physical world cannot be completely done away with in cyberspace
One expert presented research on how to predict Internet behavior at the ICS of the University of Navarra
"Even if a person presents an identity in cyberspace that is completely different from her identity in reality, a comprehensive identity break is impossible," or so claimed Monica Whitty, a researcher and professor at the University of Leicester (UK), at a meeting sponsored by the Institute for Culture and Society, the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Centre of the University of Navarra. The activity was organized by the Emotional Culture and Identity project, which is financed by Zurich Insurance, and the Center for Internet Studies and Digital Life within Navarra's School of Communication.
Professor Whitty presented findings from the project she participates in— called "SuperIdentity - Examining identity in the real and cyber world"— which is comprised of 15 American and English specialists in psychology, media, engineering, law and forensic anthropology.
While indicating that some experts argue that the Internet provides its users "a space where they can free themselves of physical limitations," Whitty highlighted that "the idea of Cartesian dualism does not work: our bodies do matter when we are in virtual worlds since we cannot completely divorce ourselves from ourselves."
Young people are likely to share their passwordsWhitty indicated that one of the objectives of the SuperIdentity project is to find out if behavior on the internet can be predicted for certain types of individuals. As she stressed, "The outcome of this initiative will be a fuller and more dynamic picture of who a person is."
Through interviews conducted with study volunteers, researchers analyze how respondents describe themselves in different spaces (such as social networks), what motivates them to create certain impressions through the avatars and images they choose, and who tends to choose more secure passwords and who is more likely to share theirs. For example, with regard to the latter, as Whitty explained, researchers have found that "young people and people that are not very steadfast are more likely to share their passwords."