Online video games have complex character-building methods that provide the user the ability to customize their character’s hair, eyes, gender, race, and species (human or non-human), etc, making the creation of multiple digital identities relatively easy (Ecenbarger, 2014). Creating online identities is not fundamentally a negative thing as it can allow people to escape the real world and create their own safe space, which can have many benefits (Ecenbarger, 2014).
However, the other side to this is when a gamer, who has multiple digital identities, starts to exhibit multiple personas and varying behavioral patterns hiding under the veil of anonymity and a virtual environment which can be relatively free of consequences (Monjezizadeh, 2016). Because people are able to switch identities easily, this makes them feel less accountable for their behaviors and actions. What people do as one persona may not be tracked or connected with their other online personas.
Citations:
Ecenbarger, C. (2014). The impact of video games on identity construction. Pennsylvania Communication Annual, 70(3), 34-50.
Monjezizadeh, L., & Untoro, A. (2016). How the online disinhibition effect affects the online video game industry.
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