Editing Counterculture (section)

==== Authenticity and experimentation ====
Arguments that the Internet is a platform for authenticity and experimentation highlight its role in the creation or enhancement of identities. This approach asserts that norms of non-virtual social life restrict users' ability to express themselves fully in person, but online interactions eliminate these barriers and allow them to identify in new ways. One means by which this exploration takes place is online "identity tourism," which allows users to appropriate an identity without any of the offline, corporeal risks associated with that identity. A critique of this form of experimentation is that it gives the "tourist" a false impression that they understand the experiences and history of that identity, even if their Internet interactions are superficial.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lingel|first=Jessa|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/982287921 |publisher=The MIT Press |title=Digital countercultures and the struggle for community|date=2017|isbn=978-0-262-34015-1|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|pages=25|oclc=982287921}}</ref> Moreover, it is especially harmful when used as a means to deceptively masquerade oneself to appeal to digital counterculture communities. However, especially for countercultures that are marginalized or demonized, experimentation can allow users to embrace an identity that they align with, but hide offline out of fear, and engage with that culture.