Cyberselves

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The digital embodiments of individuals that exist within virtual environments and online platforms
2. The versions of people created through their interactions, representations, and avatars in cyberspace
3. The personas individuals adopt in the context of the internet, reflecting their choices and identities in digital realms

Etymology: Cyberselves is simply the plural of "cyberself", and the etymology is a plain compound: "cyber-", the combining form that comes from "cybernetics" and the internet-era sense of anything relating to computer networks, joined to "self". Nothing about the formation is mysterious, and the source offers no further history of the term beyond this construction. The second element is where the meaning lives. "Self" is an ancient English word, and attaching it to "cyber-" creates a noun for the version of a person that exists online. A "cyberself" is therefore not a separate being but a presentation of one: the username, avatar, profile and voice a person chooses when they go online. The plural simply refers to the several such presentations one person may maintain across different platforms, each one reflecting different choices about how they wish to be seen.