Does your online personality reflect who you are IRL.

[Ghost14]

Re: Does your online personality reflect who you are IRL.

@Sentry

Isn’t online real life? Is the internet a matrix where time doesn’t exist?

Online you can be anyone you want. You have no face but you have multiple personas. Your deepest thoughts, feelings & expressions are free for all to read and debate. I think the saddest part of all of it is the reality that what people do online is who they really are and in “the real world” they hide in their shell to afraid to express their inner thoughts.

To some extent, yes, people are able to be who they are online, but when you remove body language and tone from the message, as well as the feedback for your actions, it makes people worse than they are (or better if you’re shy or socially awkward). Looking at the negative behavour, if you insult someone and see their embarrassment or shock right away, most of us would apologize. Some of us might fake it, because that’s what society expects, but I think most people have at least some measure of empathy. Being online removes all that.

So yes, society forces people to behave to some extent, but is that any different from our parents teaching us how to treat others? Many of us, if we had been born into harsher environments, would have different personalities.