Lecture Notes: The Future of Names and Online Identities

Introduction

• Speaker: Michael from Vsauce
• Topic: Scarcity of unique names and online identities

Unique Names in America

• 106 Harry Potters, 1,007 James Bonds, and 8 Justin Biebers in the U.S.
• Limited pool of names for a large population
• 300 million people in America
  • 150,000 last names
  • 5,000 first names cover 90% of the population
• When will we run out of unique names?

Name Scarcity in Popular Culture

• Famous names can overshadow common individuals with the same name
• Band and brand names reaching saturation
• Most common bands: Bliss, Mirage, One, Gemini, Legacy, Paradox, Rain
• Historical ease of name overlap due to fewer bands and lack of search engines

Online Identities (Usernames, Handles)

• Are we approaching peak username?
• Increasing need for abbreviations, initials, numbers
• Future possibility: strings of random alphanumeric characters

The Name Crisis

• Rapid emergence of new famous people due to the internet
• 1 in 10,000 people are famous (Wikipedia page criterion)
• Birth rate of famous individuals: one every hour

Infinite Name Possibilities

• Social Security Administration: 36 letters for a full name
  • 3 sextillion possible combinations (more than atoms on Earth)
• Pronounceable names (Randall Munroe’s study)
  • 105 consonant-vowel pairs
  • 24 letters needed for unique names for all observable stars

Online Disinhibition Effect

• Online anonymity can lead to uncharacteristic behavior
• Subreddit KarmaCourt: exposes online falsehoods

Psychological Impact of Usernames and Avatars

• Username affects behavior
  • NFL/NHL players more aggressive in black uniforms
• Avatar studies
  • Sexualization of avatars impacts body image awareness
  • Avatar resemblance increases real-life exercise
• Proteus Effect: avatars can influence real-life actions

Conclusion

• Names and identities online are abundant and influential
• Psychological distinction between online and real-life identities
• Future outlook: names may eventually control human behavior

Final Thought

• Names and identities in the digital age offer protection, entertainment, and influence interpersonal interactions
• We won't run out of names, but names may outlast and impact us significantly