Seite - 150 - in Cyborg Mind - What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics

150 • Cyborg Mind the evenings, weekends and other leisure times. This blurring of identities through social and technological changes could have significant transforma- tive consequences for future individuals in society.208 Yet, while it may not always be easy for individuals to have multiple iden- tities all at the same time, it is possible that modern generations may develop coping mechanisms to address these challenges. Creating New Identities Online Cyberspace is part of the new culture and is developing at such a rapid rate that, in the same way that some may watch a TV series in order to experience a fictional world, others may now increasingly live in cyberspace. In the early years of Internet usage, there were concerns that it could diminish ‘real’ identity and reduce face-to-face human socialisation, with online identities being seen as very different from those in the offline ‘real’ world.209 But it was also noted that being online made it easier for people to explore new forms of identities, such as through the use of fantasy avatars, and to change or secure multiple identities with relative freedom. As individuals have become accustomed to switching seamlessly between the Internet and the physical world, they have also begun using social media to pursue friendships, continue conversations and make arrangements in ways that dissolve the divide between online and offline.210 In this manner, the Internet may not have produced new kinds of identities,211 but may instead have demonstrated that identities are more complex, culturally con- tingent and contextual than was previously thought.212 For example, if a person of a certain nationality and cultural identity in real life develops an avatar in cyberspace that has a completely different national and cultural identity, the whole notion of belonging to a certain national group may then be questioned. This undermining of nationality could even be seen as a posi- tive development, especially in places where violent conflicts exist between cultural groups in the real world. That cyberspace identities are increasingly important to individuals can also be reflected in the way in which persons brag about how many followers or ‘likes’ they have on the social media online service Facebook. Some indi- viduals in modern society seem to need to be connected and show that they are connected. There is a kind of existential requirement to be in relationships (‘I am connected therefore I am’). The British social commentators Ed Brooks and Pete Nicholas indicate that when being connected becomes a priority, ‘“connection” becomes all-important, “sharing” becomes essential, our life is reduced to our place in a global grid where “I am who I am connected to”’.213 However, the use of Facebook can also be seen as very positive in the manner in which it can open up new contacts with other persons or organisations. This open access edition has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license thanks to the support of Knowledge Unlatched. Not for resale.