Fish Eye, Telephoto, Microscopic, and Infrared lenses all deliver perspectives. Each particular lens frames our vision, revealing differing views of reality. If we could only perceive the world through a single lens, that single perspective would be our only reality – the single frame of our perception, even if it were broken or malformed. This is the problem with reality. The perception of ones own reality may differ from that of another because the frame or lens is different. How then can anyone fully understand who they are, or who anyone else is to an absolute certainty? Identity is a combination of mind, body, and the lens they are perceived through. Identity itself exists as a floating signifier because the word “identity” is far more tangible than the concept it represents. For these reasons, it might be said that our online identities, whatever they may be, are no less real than your perception that you are a person reading Dual Coast Magazine.
Identity is a little more complicated because it is influenced by social construction. Concepts and ideologies manifested by society serve to frame the individual identity itself.
Social manifestations such as class, gender, and the associated roles help to label an individual identity within these social constructs. If you change the societal role of any social construct, it will change the perception of reality framed by this social construct, and ultimately change the identity of individuals within that society. If, for example, society revered and celebrated mediocrity, the roles of the mediocre and their status identity would change, even if the individual did nothing differently. Social construction is one aspect of identity, not fully "the real" but that part of our reality which we create for ourselves. It is one of the many frames which help people to anchor their identity to a more solid reference point, because “identity” is only as real as the validity of the lens it is perceived through. By using a lens which everyone can agree on, such as a societal lens, individuals find assurance that they understand themselves.
Identity encompasses far more than anchor-points of reference on a grid of socially constructed ideologies. Ones identity also consists of the flesh and of ones individual mind therein. Body and mind are related - they are biologically interconnected, but “identity” is squarely in the mind. This is because the mind itself determines the identity of the body and how significant the body is. The mind can choose to break free of the roles of society and identify separately. Each mind is different, and as such, the perception of self-identity is framed differently for each individual. The mind cannot currently exist without the body, which serves as a life support system. However, the time may come when an alternative life support system can be substituted and
the mind may exist independently. Such concepts of the mind-and-body-split are recurring concepts in cultural texts.
One example of how the mind exists separately from the body is identified in online personas. The mind is able to grasp the online social environment found in MUD’s, Chat Rooms, Facebook profiles, and other online social networks. Using ones own mind, an individual can place themselves at any tangent of online social construction and imagine a relational juxtaposition between their own persona and others. The online community cannot fully determine the validity of ones social role; it is forced to accept the role an individual plays and adapt by playing its own societal role. This is a form of identity – a societal anchor where groups of people all use the same lens to determine the social identity of an individual. If the mind chooses to exist in cyberspace as a rich debutante, it needs only to play the role and the online society will then play its accompanying role. The mind can assume a new identity and exist separately, breaking free of the constraints of the body. The online society is the playground of the mind, no less real than what you think you are experiencing now.