Abstract
This paper supports the idea that online gaming communities foster the creation of a second social identity that differs from their offline social identity, and how this second identity is not expressing yourself, but acting like someone else. This paper addresses this through Roblox, an online game and Discord, a social network commonly used by gamers. Much like presenting yourself in a more positive light on social media, those involved in online games like to present themselves in a certain way. The way that users can create this second social identity on Roblox is the avatar customisation feature, which allows them to present themselves to look a certain way, and the in-game chat which allows users to act and behave a certain way. Usually when players present themselves in a certain way, they keep up this act in online gaming communities on Discord in which they are a part of.
Introduction
The online gaming community fosters the creation of a second social identity, but is this second social identity expressing yourself, or acting like someone else? The way in which a second identity is allowed to form is through self-presentation. Self-presentation can be defined as the act of constructing and modifying the way in which one presents themselves, to appeal to a certain audience (Yenilmez Kacar, 2023). Social networks mainly Instagram allow users to present themselves in a certain way online, by showing what they want to show. This is relevant to a second social identity due to the online gaming communities, as users may present themselves in a certain way on games such as Roblox, and Discord communities attached. This paper addresses how the online gaming community allows for the creation of a second social identity through defining what a second social identity is, discussing online personas and their impact, how Roblox and Discord personify a second identity, and the advantages and disadvantages of a second social identity. While members of online gaming communities do not always have an online identity, differing from their offline identity, there is a large amount of people who do. Majority of people in online gaming communities like to keep their real identity private, or want to present themselves in a different way, which forms the creation of a second social identity.
Online Gaming Communities Allow for the Creation of a Second Social Identity
The online gaming communities foster the creation of a second social identity. Roblox is an online game which allows for this creation of a second social identity. Roblox allows users to have fully customisable avatars, meaning they can express themselves to look however they may desire. While sometimes users may try and make their avatars look like them and dress like them, users may also make their users look how they want themselves to look. To understand what a second social identity means, we must first understand social identity. Social identity refers specifically to those aspects of a person that are defined in terms of his or her group memberships (Deaux, 2001). Using this definition of social identity, someone’s social identity is not just the way in which they are presenting themselves online, but also to do with their interactions, and groups they may be a part of. The online gaming community on Roblox allows for this creation of a second social identity as it allows users to change the way they are perceived in both how they make their avatar look, and groups they are a part of and users that they interact with. Roblox has a feature allowing its users to join and create a large variety of groups. The communities page on Roblox states that users may connect with people of shared interests through joining a Roblox community (Roblox, 2025). You could probably find a group for just about everything and anything on the Roblox communities’ page. Having such a large variety in groups, every user is bound to find something that is interesting to them. Using the previous defined definition of social identity, one’s social identity is defined by groups one is a member of. In order to fabricate one’s own second social identity to fit the type of person a user is trying to be, they could join groups of certain clothing groups, and those with certain interests on Roblox to further represent themselves the way they would like to be perceived. The ability to join these different groups on Roblox, in combination with the ability to customise an avatar supports the idea that users can present themselves in a different way online, which is not true to their offline selves.
How Online Personas are Allowed to Thrive on Roblox
The online gaming community, and specifically Roblox allows for the creation of online personas to thrive. The ability to change the appearance of your Roblox avatar, join different groups, and act in a certain way are all aspects of an online persona. You can hide behind a screen and present yourself in any type of way you would like even if it were not accurate to your real-life identity. An environment where an online persona can be customised, allows for it to thrive. An online persona is an expansion of your real-life identity. It is based on what you publish online, and it can shape other people’s perceptions of you (Balula & Vasconcelos, 2021). An online persona may be very different from one’s real persona, and how they represent themselves online. When creating an online persona, you are starting off with a blank slate and have the ability to completely be in control of how you are presented. Starting a Roblox account is like starting that blank slate, you are given an avatar that is a blank canvas, you are able to customise this however you like, you’re given the opportunity to start from new to create a persona that may not be who you are, but who you would like to become. Online personas being able to thrive on Roblox reinforces the idea that online gaming communities foster the creation of a second identity, where users are not acting as their true selves, but as someone who they are trying to be.
How Roblox and Discord in Combination Personify a Second Social Identity
Together Roblox and Discord personify ones second social identity, often the way in which a certain Roblox user acts on Roblox would be the same or similar as on Discord as they are interacting with the same people and want to keep up with this second social identity. Using both Roblox and Discord together can further assist in personifying a second social identity, as using this persona across multiple platforms can help to solidify second social identity. Using the same second social identity across both of these platforms can help make it appear to others that this is not a persona, but your true self. Most games on Roblox have a discord community which is linked in the description of the game. An example of a game with a discord community is the game Outlaster, which is based on the television show Survivor. Outlaster is created by Peak Precision Studios on Roblox, the Peak Precision Studios discord server relates to Outlaster, as well as other games produced by the studio. The Roblox game and its Discord community go hand in hand to personify ones second social identity as users who create an online persona and second identity which they use on Outlaster, are going to keep up this persona and second identity on Discord so the players they interact with believe this persona to be their true selves. An online Roblox game such as Outlaster is an especially relevant game to use as an example as this game is known to have dedicated players, who know each other and have formed friendships with one another. Therefore, users would want to keep up their online personas so these players would not suspect that the online persona is just that, and not the user’s true identity. Discord and Roblox go hand in hand to create a second social identity, it allows for users to act like someone else, or who they want to be online.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of a Second Social Identity
There are both advantages and disadvantages to the creation of a second social identity as a result of the online gaming communities. There are advantages in the way that creating a second social identity allows people to feel more comfortable with themselves and express their true self. However, there is disadvantages through the way people can hide behind their second social identity, can have negative consequences. Of a survey done by Mashable 40% of those surveyed answered that they find it easier to present their true selves on Roblox than in person (Mashable, 2023) Online communities allow user to express their true selves in terms of their gender identity and sexuality. Creating a platform which allows users to be able to feel comfortable and confident online, can help them feel comfortable and confident with themselves in real life by embracing who they are. Roblox gives users the opportunity to express their true self through an online avatar, these avatars allow users to present themselves how they may want to in real life. Users are able to try out fashion styles, experiment with different looks and even see how others respond to this. Individuals are able to make decisions through a separate entity, which can result in disconnection, lack of judgement and harmful consequences (Macdonald, 2020). One main disadvantage of the creation of a second social identity through online communities is that hiding behind a Roblox avatar allows for an environment where bullying can thrive. Users may see this digital identity, or avatar as a place where they can express themselves differently, or as a mask they can hide behind. This second social identity is disconnected from one’s real social identity; therefore, users may see this a space where they could bully or mistreat other players with a lack of real-world consequences. While this second social identity, fosters a place for expressing one’s true self, it can also foster a place for cyberbullying to thrive. While the advantages to this are plenty, the disadvantages can have detrimental negative impact.
Conclusion
This paper was addressing the question of how the online gaming community fosters the creation of a second social identity but is this expressing yourself, or is it acting like someone else? Through using Roblox and Discord as the prime examples of online gaming communities and platforms, I have concluded that these sites certainly allow for the creation of a second and social identity, but it allows users to both express themselves and act like someone else. I was able to come to that conclusion through understanding that while some users act like someone else through the way they express and present themselves on Roblox, some users may present themselves differently but present their most true selves.
References
de Luna, E. (2023, November 11). Roblox avatars are helping Gen Z embrace their “authentic selves.”
Mashable; Ziff Davies. https://mashable.com/article/genz-roblox-avatars-metaverse-research
Deaux, K. (2001). Social Identity. In Encyclopedia of Women and Gender: Sex Similarities and Differences and the Impact of Society on Gender (pp. 1–9). Academic Press.
Macdonald, C. (2020). The Avatar Effect: The harmful consequences of decision-making through a “separate” entity.. Open Science Journal, 5(3), 1–9. ResearchGate. https://doi.org/10.23954/osj.v5i3.2380
Peak Precision Studios. (2025). Welcome to Peak Precision Studios. Discord. https://discord.com/channels/304864209328406538/761794420089290762
Roblox Corporation. (2025). Communities – Roblox. Roblox. https://www.roblox.com/search/communities?keyword=
Vasconcelos, S. V., & Balula, A. (2021). Pitch This. Handbook of Research on Contemporary Storytelling Methods across New Media and Disciplines, 100–115. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-6605-3.ch006
Yenilmez Kacar, G. (2023). Instagram as one tool, two stages: self-presentational differences between main feed and story on Instagram. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 32(1), 1–16. ResearchGate. https://doi.org/10.1080/15456870.2023.2202401
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