lf" in multi-user dimensions. Though his work is still in the pilot stage, he has found that it is common practice for individuals to assume several identities, which are used for different purposes throughout various virtual worlds. As a disembodied entity, a person may"appear" as whatever they wish (Chaskes, 1995). This phenomenon of adopting different character names and personas for use in various settings has also been documented by other researchers (Curtis, 1991; Bruckman, 1992; Dibbell, 1993; Reid, 1994; Rheingold, 1994).According to Dr. John Suler of Rider University, A single person's identity embodies multiplicity. Individuals contain many sectors within their personalities and can play numerous roles in their lives - such as child, parent, student, employee, neighbor, friend. These games offer a place where one can express each of these specific facets of selfhood. Some people even talk about how one can "deconstruct" themselves online. A person can break down their personality traits and present them as separate packets rather than offering a personality in its entirety as one does in real life. Compartmentalizing or dissociating one's various online identities like this can be an efficient, focused way to manage the multiplicities of selfhood. William James, one of the greatest of American psychologists, talked about how the normal mind operates in a "field" of consciousness in which one's awareness shifts among different hot spots of ideas, memories, and feelings. Role theory in social psychology speaks about how a successful life is an efficient juggling of the various tasks and positions we accumulate and develop from childhood through adulthood. Cyberspace living is yet another manifestation of this shifting, juggling maneuver. It gives people the opportunity to focus on and develop a particular aspect of who they are. It may even give people the chance to express and explore f...
