PERSONA
‘persona is that which in reality one is not, but which oneself as well as others think one is’
Persona, in everyday usage, is a social role, or a character played by an actor. The word derives from the Latin for “mask” or “character,” derived from the Etruscan word “phersu,” with the same meaning.
Persona is the mask one presents to the world. Our persona is the appearance we present to the world. It is the character we assume-through it, that we relate to others. The persona includes our social roles, the kind of clothes we choose to wear, and our individual styles of expressing ourselves. The persona is not a pose or some other intentional misrepresentation of the self to others. It is, the self as self-construed, and may change according to situation and context.
IDENTITY
Identity is whatever makes an individual recognisable. It is the set of characteristics that distinguishes the individual from everyone else.
Using a combination of the characteristics below any individual on the planet can be uniquely identified and this is their identity
PHYSICAL IDENTITY
If you walked in to a room you would distinguish an individual by their height, their body shape, the colour of their hair, the shape of their face, the colour of their eyes, the sound of their voice, their personaility. These characteristics could be considered to comprise their physical identity. Human beings find this easy to do.
BIOMETRIC IDENTITY
Computers are not very good at recognising indviduals from their physical characteristics. Computers attempt to recognise individuals using biometrics. Biometrics are measurable physical characteristics, fingerprints, iris scans, the shape of the face and the sound of voice. These characteristics could be considered to comprise their biometric identity.
DIGITAL IDENTITY
If an individual undertakes electronic transactions, they may use, their username, their password, their email address, their digital signature to sign emails and documents, their smart card to with withdraw money at a bank ATM, a two factor authentication device, their phone number to send a SMS text. These characterisitics be considered to comprise their digital identity.
BIOLOGICAL IDENTITY
If an individual has problems with their health. A blood sample may be taken to determine their blood group, or a dna test may be undertaken to determine their genetic makeup. These characterisitics be considered to comprise their biological identity.
LEGAL IDENTITY
During day to day life individuals carry out transactions with organisations such as banks, employers and other individuals. Whilst, carrying out these transactions they will use other characterisitcs to identify themselves, their name, their address, their date of birth, national identity numbers (national insurance numbers etc), their birth certificate, their passport, their driving licence. These characterisitics be considered to comprise their legal identity.