web Your Internet Persona

[Circadian 1,273]

Have you ever heard of the idea that how you act on the internet is a more accurate representation of who you really are?

 

The reasoning behind this is because you're essentially anonymous, you have no need for a social filter. Thus, you're free to say and do what you really want without consequence.

 

 

What is the difference between your internet persona and real world self? Is there any noticeable difference?

 

Edit: From the responses, it seems that everybody agrees with this idea. To avoid stagnation, I'll add another question.

 

Would acting more like your online persona in your day to day life be beneficial or detrimental? Why?

[SCS 7,537]

I notice this all the time. Social situations make me stressed out and anxious, even the most simple ones. I often worry about what other people think of me. I'm always afraid I'll say or do something that's stupid in front of other people. It causes me to almost never talk unless I have to, or I'm around my friends. Only around my friends am I able to socialize. And, even then, most of the time I'm not being my true self. I often feel like I have to make them laugh to constantly reassure myself that they accept me for who I am, which results in me saying vulgar or offensive things that, when I'm alone and I don't feel like I have to act in certain ways to please people, I want to distance myself from. The ironic part is that they probably would accept me if I just acted myself. But I don't even know if I know how to be my true self in public, because I'm so used to acting in different ways in different situations. 

 

On the internet, I'm not in direct contact with anyone I'm talking to, so my fear of social interaction is greatly reduced, resulting in me being able to come a lot closer to being myself in some situations. But in some situations on the internet I even act in certain ways that are just not me, all due to my social anxiety and insecurity. 

[Mutemutt 773]

Yes. I actually talk quite a bit more on the internet (even though I often call myself "mute". Ironic ). And I act slightly more silly at times than I would normally. I guess things just feel a bit more free form on the internet and I can just kinda wing it without worrying about my reputation (at least not much).

 

Plus I get to do those little side bar asides in parenthesis that I really only mutter under my breath irl (if it even happens). Here my side bar thoughts are crystal clear. 

 

There may be more subtle changes but I can't really notice them...

Edited March 15, 2013 by Cota

[Circadian 1,273]

 

Plus I get to do those little side bar asides in parenthesis that I really only mutter under my breath irl (if it even happens).

 

   

 

Every time I see you use parenthesis from now on I'm going to read it in my head as being muttered. Just like how you're reading this in my voice.

[Keylise<3 488]

This is true. The person I am here on the internet is a lot more accurate to who i am than how I act in real life.
It feels like real life is just a play... :c

[Betez 1,734]

Well, I can talk about more serious and mature things online, whereas, if I talked about them in real life, nobody my age would have any idea what I was talking about. Also, I'm probably a little more social on this site than I am in real life. But only a little.

[Scootalove 10,689]

My internet persona is the same as my in real life persona. Nice & generous person, and I think the only difference is that I feel more comfortable talking to a community online that I enjoy very much.

[Zacharias 191]

Yes, I have nothing to hide here (or not nearly as much as IRL) so I always act naturally. In real life I say vulgar things and hate on people, and prejudice everyone, so that noone's gonna have the slightest idea of who I really am. I only open up to those who deserve it in my opinion.

[Champion RD92 8,658]

That makes a lot of sense actually. I feel a lot more comfortable expressing myself and being more outgoing here than I do in real life. It's easier to share my opinions and thoughts on things by typing them, as opposed to actually speaking them.

[Anonymous~ 591]

I have to agree with the OP on this one, but there are exceptions. Let's take me for example -- the only place I feel like myself is #chan, where anonymity is forced (or in other words, no one will recognize me), thus no one remembers me and the mistakes I do and I can always feel anxiety-free. Can't say the same about this place (or any other forum/social sites), though. Here anonymity, at least for me, seems to be nonexistent. I somewhat imagine this place as real life, which restricting me from doing certain stuff and being myself.

 

[jw5587 182]

Yes I am much more like my real self on the internet. I get bullied too much in the real world if I show my emotions due to living in an area populated with red necks who think emotions are for gays and girls. I'm actually really, really sensitive in real life and I think I display that more on the internet. Also that gif is amazing. I spent a solid two minutes watching it and laughing.

Edited March 15, 2013 by jackw545

[Derplordsnuffy 28]

I tend to be a little bit more witty especially when it comes to talking via type, "Mane-ly" because I have more time to think about what I'm going to say a form a legit thought. Just wish I could have better spelling and grammer.

[I used to be a stranger 7,993]

My internet "persona" is exactly like my real world self, minus studdering, and ample opportunity to construct interesting ways of conveying a given snippet of information like a sentence. Usually my words are far more inelegant in conversation.

[Planty 1,053]

I am pretty similar online to offline, partially because I try to be as genuine as possible.

 

I would say i probably find it easier to talk to strangers online and join in big group convo's (like this thread) because its so much easier then trying to join a circle in RL.

 

I am not as witty online, a lot of my humor is in the form of quick comments/randomness which you can't pull off online most of the time

 

And although i and generous person in RL i find it easier online as most of the time when im playing games it's not with real money, which i still struggle to give to people who really need it for some reason.

[-BleachedOne- 233]

I'd...haven't really thought about this before, to be honest. Sometimes I wish I was more sociable, like I am online. Maybe it's a consequence of living in the same place for so long that I really don't feel like hanging out with the same people all the time. I have no idea. I portray myself as a quiet, intellectual type online, when in reality I'm...just a TAD socially awkward and trying to fit in where it seems a bit fruitless.

 

My internet persona may or may not be a shadow of my true self, but it just...seems more natural to me. I symbolize myself with a specially colored version of the Pokemon Haunter online. A spirit of darkness. Or something. Might be something for me to think on. Thanks for mentioning this, by the way.

[crazitaco 596]

i'm far more talkative on the internet and less awkward than in real life, mostly because i tend to fumble my words around and my thoughts never come out quite right. i'm better at expressing myself though writing, and the internet is the best way to do that.  just yesterday, i was hanging out with some of my best friends and i STILL get tongue tied and get my words mixed up! the anonymity of the internet does also help alleviate alot of pressure from social situations, and allows me to think out what i want to say instead of being forced to speak faster irl to keep up with the conversation. even as we speak, i'm rereading this post and editing it until i feel like i've best expressed my ideas. i love that i can edit things to my hearts content on the internet.

Edited March 15, 2013 by crazitaco

[~Chaotic Fireball~ 499]

I talk a lot more on the internet, and maybe use bad language a bit more freely..... Not all the time though.

I also feel more free about myself and just usually stick to the facts when talking about something. This is a forum, after all, and everypony's opinion is welcome.

[Circadian 1,273]

I've noticed that as I grow older, my real and constructed selves are gradually starting to merge. There are exceptions of course, but it seems that I'm starting to actually act like my true self more and more. 

Edited March 15, 2013 by Circadian

[DokiNaku 31]

I find I generally act more polite and friendly online because I have all the time I need between responses to figure out what I want to say and how I want to say it. I wish I had that luxury in real life but people think it's awkward when you stare at them for more than five seconds without saying anything. 

[FractalMoon 378]

For me, everything I do in public (at school, group events, etc) is all an act... I act mentally unstable to make people laugh, and it always succeeds!

If I was more like my internet self IRL then I would probably have many fewer friends, but ponies would be MUCH more predominant in my life.

[Dashmagic 19]

I definitely act far more intelligent online, due to the fact that I don't have to worry about being judged. At my school (High school), I'm more prone to spout phrases such as "Yeah, dude" "That's sick", etc. I do that because that's what people do and that's how I'm expected to act. I don't really mind it, and it's not a huge hassle.

 

Online, however, I act far more intelligent and allow my vocabulary to blossom and fulfill its potential. I feel that the people that I meet on the internet are more intelligent than my real life friends.

 

If I acted like this outside of the internet, however, I believe that it would just cause problems, and act as a language barrier to those who don't understand. I mean, my friends do speak english... barely.

 

 

Also, I'm far more polite online because I genuinely like being liked. It's more difficult in real life, however, due to the fact that there's more factors contributing to one's opinion of me than the way that I communicate.

 

Plus, being 16, I'm not exactly hanging out with the smartest people.

Edited March 15, 2013 by Dashmagic

[Zygen 6,066]

Yeah I think its quiet safe to say that my internet persona is pretty different. IRL i'm shy and quiet normally, I also tend to not have the most amazingly great gathered thoughts and don't talk very fluently through conversations at times, like I'll say the wrong word or I'll have to think of a word, where as here I'm able to think before saying something, it also makes everything just flow together better. And again removes some of the strange and awkwardness from normal conversation.

 

More of my random side shows here, since i'm not as shy being less worried about being judged here especially.

 

I can't think of anything else really. I'm sure theres more i'll think of it later I guess .

[Friendship_Cannon 1,676]

hm, yea... I don´t know, i don´t act much different I think, IRL I sometimes have to play cool (though I try to avoid it), else I´m just the completely awkward, but nice person I am always xD

[Shanks 10,816]

For the most part I am the same brutally honest often blunt person the only time I am a different person is when I am at work. That is one of the many reasons why I hate my job is because I have to lie and pretend I am someone else in order to keep my crappy dead end job but once my exit strategy is complete I can tell them where they can stick it. Word of advice to anyone who is even thinking about working in retail is unless you have a basic working knowledge of how to speak bullshit then you are probably going to get canned very quickly.

[Orca 8]

I don't feel like my personality changes between the internet and real life, but there are a couple differences in how I communicate.  On the internet, I can express myself and my thoughts more clearly than in real life, as I have time to plan my responses and make sure what I'm saying makes sense. The only other difference I can think of is that I'm a lot more quiet in real life than I am on the internet. I'm not particularly shy, I just prefer to be silent.

Edited March 16, 2013 by Orca