Sometimes, I miss the days when who I was online wasn't so intimately connected to who I am in real life. I once kept a blog under a pseudonym and as a result felt a liberating permission to voice there anything at anytime about any subject. It was a wonderful forum for processing thoughts and feelings.
Today, Social Media and the sophistication of Search makes it easy to see who is behind the posts, updates and mentions.
Do you ever miss the days of virtual anonymity?
It's something I never tried. It might sound trite today. But, in 2003 when I started blogging I was just me.
ReplyDeleteAt first I did but then I realized that a great majority of people, including myself, spent WAY too much time and effort creating a persona of themselves online the way they WANT other people to perceive them that just isn't true. (Think facebook pages that people post all the AWESOME stuff in their life but never post the crappy stuff like traffic tickets and getting sprayed by skunks..) It sets a false expectation of life and of the 'self'. I felt really vulnerable when I started my personal blog and then gradually I grew more comfortable with the idea of being me and that it was okay to say what I thought and post things that might not necessarily be awesome. That's life. I think overall it's made me more comfortable with who I am and luckily I'm in a job industry that if they found my blog they really don't care if I curse on there or am occasionally inappropriate - they know me in real life and can tell you that's just who I am.
ReplyDeleteRob - you are far from trite. genuine, but not trite.
ReplyDeleteRewka - Thanks for the visit. You bring up several good points. Is the transparency of the web making us more self-conscious online? Are we spending more and more time pretending to be only our good self? Do we risk losing something in the process? Also, there are those whose jobs are at risk if the skeletons are brought into the light. SO, being too honest online could be dangerous - of sorts.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff!
In the words of Brad Paisley "I'm so much cooler online." Or at least I was back in 2007, when the song was recorded. I'm not sure that's still the case.
ReplyDeleteBetter to stand up for your beliefs as who you are than hide behind an anonymous identity.
ReplyDeleteUnless you're Brad Paisley.