Social Media vs. Real Life Personalities
Are you the same person on social media as you are in real life?
This question is very simple, yet it makes you think. It makes you wonder how different you are online as you are in real life. For me personally, no, I am not the same person. In fact, I'm more myself online than I am in real life. I feel comfortable and safe online in communities that I know will accept me for who I am because they are like me too. In real life, you never know how someone might react until they do, but online people have had similar experiences and understand what's happening.
Even with meeting people on the internet for the first time, they can tell a lot about me based on my bio or active communities. Similarly I can tell a lot about them with the same things. For example, my profile on most social media platforms say I use he/they pronouns. Additionally, it says a bit about my hobbies and interests. Such as how I like cats and my passion for writing. However, there is a certain level of privacy I do maintain on the internet. Such as my age, where I live, my real name, or my appearance.
It's easier to establish trust on the internet knowing that you are fully anonymous. The only things associated with you being your username and profile picture, which most of the time isn't related to your real name and picture. Yet in real life, you tell someone something and they will remember your face, and what you told them. Every time you see them, they will recognize you and judge you. Now I'm not saying this doesn't happen online, where they associate your profile with what you told them, yet it feels less personal that way.
I agree with this partially, for me personally I am similar to in person, but I appreciate how relatable this is. I like how you didn't add your name to the blog to add the second layer of anonymousness, allowing you to open up more to the blog readers. This is fun to read and look back on how I present myself online.
ReplyDeleteDuring COVID I made a lot of friends online. I found it easier to open up to my friends through text and I felt more comfortable. I myself also find it easier to open up online than in person and your blog was very relatable.
ReplyDeleteI feel like its different depending on the person. I can really relate to how you perceive your own social media persona. I also feel like I can better be myself on social media. But I feel like I am better expressing myself in person. It is easier to have the info you want people to see without have to tell people when you first meet them.
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was very interesting how you connected associations with a face versus associations with a profile. You mentioned how when you tell someone something in person, they will remember what you said and think of it when they see you. Whereas on a profile it feels less personal because it isn't you that they are looking at, it's what you've chosen for them to know about you.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting how you tells us the safety you feel behind the screen. I feel the same way. It's much easier to open up to friends online because they won't judge me. And even if they do they don't actually know me in real life.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great, interesting blog that shows a lot about how the internet affects people and their behaviors. It makes a lot of sense that people are more open and comfortable on the internet as they can remain anonymous and talk to other people with similar interests, life experiences, personalities, etc. and your blog makes a good argument for that. I love how you connected your personal experiences to your writing!
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting how you talked about knowing peoples interests from their profile before actually talking to them. It makes it a lot easier to find people with common interests online than in real life. I also think it is interesting how you can decide how much privacy you have by customizing your profile.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty true for me too, although I haven't made completely online friends before. I definitely text a bit differently from how I speak, and like you said there's surprising comfort in talking to strangers or people you don't see in person, especially with really personal information. I thought it was interesting how you talking about how it's easier to open up online and how some online friends know you better than in-person friends, yet at the same time that trust is built on them not actually knowing you, which is an interesting balance.
ReplyDeleteI like how you much you explained really in detail how people act differently through social media than what they actually are in real life.
ReplyDelete