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Individuals with various forms of disability, such as autism and muscular dystrophy, being online or having an avatar can be the first time the person feels they are seen by others as a normal human being, the report said.

The rise of hyper-connectivity, in which people become constantly connected to social networks and streams of information via smartphones, would change the face of British society beyond recognition.

While being part of such a society can increase the pace and turbulence of social change, violations of identity and privacy online continue to cause concern.

It found a person has a number of identities linked to their online persona and as their online and real worlds blur, criminals would exploit the data to steal their identity.

The study, titled Future Identifies: Changing Identities in the UK the Next Ten Years, found that if the changes were ignored could fuel social exclusion and result in communities becoming less cohesive.

The 71-page report was based on 20 separate reviews of a range of areas affected by identity including social inclusion and mobility, education and skills, crime and mental health.

It concluded that the traditional ideas of identity will become less meaningful as boundaries between peoples public and private identities disappear.

This, the report found, would have wide ramifications for government and policymakers.

As people have become accustomed to switching seamlessly between the internet and the physical world, they have begun to use social media to pursue friendships, continue conversations, and make arrangements in a way which dissolves the divide between online and offline, it said.

The consequences of this shift could be profound, the authors suggested, with the possibility that some in society will be left behind.

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Rise of social networks in Britain 'risks fuelling social unrest'