Managing multiple identities to combat stigmatisation in the digital age

Tom Feltwell, Shaun Lawson, Ben Kirman, John Vines

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It has long been identified that people consciously curate, manage and maintain multiple online individual identities based on characteristics such as race, gender, and societal status; research has also established that people may choose to emphasise one such identity other another as a means to avoid stigmatisation, discrimination and stereotyping. The rise of online state, corporate, and peer surveillance however threatens to disrupt this process by modelling, categorising and restraining identity to that which has been surveilled. We posit that new anti-surveillance tactics may emerge that allow users the freedom to manage and switch their identities in ways that seek to maintain social justice and counteract discrimination.

Author: Mark Sleightholm