Identity Shift: Where Identity Meets Technology in the Networked-Community Age

Explore the intersection of technology and identity

Does technology cause a shift in how we perceive our relationships and ourselves?

To find the answer, global communications leader Alcatel-Lucent commissioned an extensive research study. Subjects crossed geographic, generational, socioeconomic, and cultural boundaries. Hundreds of hours of documented observation and interviews with real people led to the fascinating conclusions in these pages. While technology will never define us, this study reveals how profoundly it influences the way we define ourselves.

Coverage includes:

The 3-P Model of Identity

Presentation: The Mirror Image

Protection: Exposing the Blind Spots

Preference: The (Un)Conscious Filter of (In)Finite Choice

The Universal Laws

The Law of Learned Helplessness: Failure Is the Only Option

The Law of Illusion: Lie to Me

The Law of Recall: Taking It from the Top

Rationalization: Finding Harmony in the Discord

Identity through the Life Stages

Teenage Growing Pains

Emerging Adulthood: In Search of the Ideal

The "Meet" Market

The Parent Puzzle

The Midlife Rebirth

Who Are We Becoming?

Whether your interest lies in sociology, psychology, marketing or technology, Identity Shift examines the impact of living in an age where virtually all of our personal information and interactions with others can be available with the click of a mouse.