We all know the struggle of having a level of disconnect between our real and virtual identities. Online, we are seemingly more confident, popular and successful. What if we could accurately measure the authenticity of these identities by comparing the real person with their online avatars? We may have found the answer with ‘SOKO’—an acronym which stands for ‘Superman Online, Clark Kent Offline’.
SOKO is a way to refer to profiles and avatars that exaggerate or completely fictionalize the qualities and accomplishments of a person. Through the use of AI applications like ChatGPT, glamorous photos and social media bots, people can create an identity that is far more impressive than who they actually are. This can have the effect of making the more average people feel inferior, whilst giving innovators a far more vibrant platform to showcase their work.
An example of this phenomenon is ‘Angel Priya’, a fake name that was popular a few years ago. Men were captivated by the thought of a beautiful woman behind the username, but as time has passed, names needed to be made more real, hence the rise of fake profiles with real names. The metaverse is here and is only set to grow, so it is important that we correctly measure the gap between the real and digital profiles by scientifically tracking SOKO levels.
So the next time your friend starts talking about how he met a celebrity in the metaverse, make sure to check his SOKO rating. A high SOKO rating can help others identify a person they may encounter in the virtual space, preventing them from being taken in by false promises of grandeur.
A great example of a high SOKO rating is Saurabh —a friend of the author. His LinkedIn profile reads, “I make professionals make successful job transitions”, while his Instagram bio boasts that he has travelled 17 countries with their flags placed along and is the chief spiritual officer in an organisation. His Facebook profile is equally impressive, but vastly inaccurate; depicting photos of him with Bollywood celebrities and standing in front of a black BMW he does not own.
The SOKO rating system can be used to warn friends of the potential encounter with elevated SOKO profiles, helping to preserve healthy levels of self-esteem. High SOKOness may be unavoidable, but it is important to identify it and maintain a level of authenticity in an increasingly digital world.
The company mentioned in this article is ChatGPT, an AI application which helps generate content for digital profiles. ChatGPT is a powerful program used for creating conversations, digital content and large-scale online communities. It employs machine learning techniques to provide natural language understanding and takes conversation bots to a new level – providing deeper engagement and more accurate responses.
The person mentioned in this article is Saurabh. He is a friend of the writer and is known for his exaggerated online presence. He is an example of what a high SOKO rating looks like. Saurabh’s LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook profiles all boast of grandiose gifts, travels and accomplishments that simply do not exist in reality. He is an example of someone who wants to achieve viral fame and is an example of what a large gap between an online and offline profile can look like.
SOKO is a type of digital categorization which helps keep tabs on what can potentially be a dangerous gap between online and offline identities. It is important to use the SOKO rating system to identify suspicious profiles in the digital space, as well as to maintain healthy levels of self-esteem when encountering profiles with a high SOKO. It is our responsibility to keep digital conversations and experiences as realistic and authentic as possible, with SOKO being a means to quantify the difference between real and virtual identities.
