Anonymity, Identity & Avatars

Anonymity
Anonymity on the Internet has it's positive and negative effects (reviewed further on anonymity). With the increased use of social networking sites, anonymity is becoming more and more prominent. Often, anonymity is housed through a person's avatar.

Identity
The World Wide Web is growing exponentially daily. With this developed Web, individuals create virtual identities, often referred to as avatars. On the Internet today, there is almost no way to prove the person you're communicating with is really who they're saying they are. Identity on the web is different from identity in real life. There is an "expanding freedom" and individuals are able to express themselves in a way that may not be possible in person. [2]

Avatars
An avatar is generally a type of image that represents oneself in a virtual world. Avatars can range from simple drawings, like Mii characters on the, to three-dimensional representations of characters like in the computer game World of Warcraft [3]. Avatars can be used on dating and gaming sites, as well as a range of other pages on the web.