External Identity
Our perception of ourselves is strongly affected by our interactions with others. Once your ideas are available to others, they respond with their opinions. These opinions affect our self-perception - our external identification.
Hine (1998) studies the new identities formed by people based on the opinions of others in the Virtual Nation. Through language peculiarities (Harris, 1998) and content of communications, the citizens of the Virtual Nation judge the character of each member. That judgement, coupled with the resulting relationship formed within the community, creates a new identity for the individual (Parks, 1996, Tepper, 1997).