The Alter Ego

subwayrider

subwayrider

Into the White
MBTI
INFJ
Enneagram
4w5
To what extent is your online self different from your real-life self? Is there any distinction for you? Which one is the real you?

I sometimes feel I am more subwayrider than I am [insert name here].
 
I'm more judgemental internally, and outwardly nicer. I talk less than it seems I would judging by the forum. You'd have to ask @acd for the accuracy of my self description. I tend to dance if the music is right. I like to give people looks and use body language.
 
Last edited:
People online tend to think I am much more of a hard ass than I actually am.

Hmm. I have that problem in real life too, now that I think of it.

I have no idea how I am different. I say things instead of type them. Tralala.

Those who see through the "hard ass" projection would snicker at this. Sure, you go ahead and think that. You damn marshmallow.
 
Jill Hives said:
People online tend to think I am much more of a hard ass than I actually am.

Hmm. I have that problem in real life too, now that I think of it.

I have no idea how I am different. I say things instead of type them. Tralala.

Those who see through the "hard ass" projection would snicker at this. Sure, you go ahead and think that. You damn marshmallow.
Click to expand...

I relate to this. Exactly.

(Wonders if this is an INFP thing.....?)

subwayrider said:
I sometimes feel I am more subwayrider than I am [insert name here].
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's weird, but I know what you mean.
 
Last edited:
[MENTION=6017]wonkavision[/MENTION]

So you finally decided on INFP, eh?
 
I'm slightly more openly quirky and talkative online than in person.
 
I feel like I vary in personality depending on context, mood, environment, and atmosphere.
 
This is a tough question to answer because I'm not 100% sure what my real personality is. Sometimes I think I'm a collection of altered egos that make one person. Muahahaha!!

If I would say anything, I'm more animated on the forum than IRL. I think it's because I'm aware my actions won't affect me because it's just a forum. Also I feel obligated to be real on the internet because if I'm not then I'm misleading people. It seems worse on the internet because I have no idea how many people I'm misleading, if that makes sense.
 
I'm more talkative IRL than on the forum. However, get me on a chat and I will talk. Just don't expect me to start the conversation (I may/probably will if I talk to you quite a bit). I wouldn't say I differ much online or IRL.
 
I'm more talkative in person. The internet makes me paranoid. Also I just find it harder to come up with anything to say when I can't physically observe the person I'm communicating with.
 
Jill Hives said:
People online tend to think I am much more of a hard ass than I actually am.

Hmm. I have that problem in real life too, now that I think of it.

I have no idea how I am different. I say things instead of type them. Tralala.

Those who see through the "hard ass" projection would snicker at this. Sure, you go ahead and think that. You damn marshmallow.
Click to expand...

wonkavision said:
I relate to this. Exactly.

(Wonders if this is an INFP thing.....?)
Click to expand...

Yeah, probably an INFP thing, I do this also.
 
I don't talk as much in real life, mostly because it seems like my opportunities for interesting conversation are more limited and it seems like a lot of the people around me are just not as interesting. I think it's mostly because my best buds moved away last year and there has been a huge gap that I haven't been able to fill.

I tend to keep my distance more when I'm online… I guess I'm still pretty distant in real life, but mostly because I like to limit my social life to a handful of people that I genuinely respect and like.

Oh yeah, and I let people see my face in real life whereas I've never actually posted a picture of myself online (except for my facebook page)… and I probably never will.
 
I can be very talkative if I like a person. If I don't find that person interesting you won't see me, you won't hear me IRL.
The difference? I'm more open on these forums here than anywhere else online and surely more so than IRL (except very close to me people, of course). And sure, in life you can't go out and about without your mug being attached to you at all times, it changes how people perceive me but it doesn't change what I say. Ada is way more open than the Other One... Also conversations are different (unfortunately). I find myself observing and hearing people I do not enjoy in the slightest IRL simply because they are there and I have no choice. I get cranky on the inside.
 
Sometimes I feel like my online self and my real life self are both alter egos of who I really am.


To really know me would probably involve being able to see all the scattered fragments of my pieces together and understanding me better than I can currently see and understand myself.
 
There is a difference. Not a huge one. What stands out to me the most is my reactions to posts and the assumptions I make about who people are and the characteristics I assign to them w/o all of the information. Also, I am more of a flirt and I'm nicer on the net than I am in the real world. I talk more in the real world.
 
I am actually much more awkward and funny in person.
A dude named David left me a ten dollar tip on a ten
dollar tab the other day because, "I was odd and would put
it to good use." Yeah.

I also had a conversation with one of the dudes that worked
on Windows 8 about how much I hate windows 8. He wasn’t
really sure what to say. This is how our conversation ended:
me: Also do you know a man named Jeurg sjghisofghifdogh?
him: Uhm… I don’ t think so.
me: You should consider yourself lucky then. I hear he’s quite
unpleasant. Good bye now.

And then I had another experience with a woman. She asked
me if I recognized her family. After looking at her like a deer
in the headlights all doe eyed and whispering no, I walked away.
Then I saw her family walk in. My favourite family ever! I love
the little girl who is actually the only one I recognize. We routinely
talk about soccer. After showing the father and the daughter to
the mother I talked for about five minutes about how I do know her
family I just didn’t know their name! And the man and his children
usually come without the wife who must work more often than the
father. I’m sure I’m probably their least favourite person now but
they’re still my favourite family.
 
What you see of me online is mostly one aspect of my personality because that's the only aspect I'm really interested in drawing energy from. I'm not different in real life, just more multi-faceted.
 
I feel a lot better about how my face looks on here :lol:

I'm mostly the same because, really, I'm not very shy really. Around people I think think they are above me I am a little wary because, even though I disagree, I don't like supplicating to anyone unless I believe they know more etc. A bit like how [MENTION=2578]Kgal[/MENTION] was talking about calling people 'sir'. I am just aware that I disagree with so many notions of social status and I live like I disagree with them but have little to show as an alternative. I am 'sans social proof' in the obvious ways but lacking that thing to compensate if you will.

I'm probably nicer on here by a long shot because I think it is an environment that brings out and lets me actually enjoy that side of me. No-one here really wants anything from me so I can be nice and pleasant because I want to without thinking I could be being taken advantage of. But if I met people like those here in real life I'm not horrible to them, it just takes me a while to warm up to them and show a softer side. I feel right cheesy talking in mouth words about anything serious or emotional (especially emotional! :eek:) :lol:
 
niffer said:
Sometimes I feel like my online self and my real life self are both alter egos of who I really am.


To really know me would probably involve being able to see all the scattered fragments of my pieces together and understanding me better than I can currently see and understand myself.
Click to expand...

Pretty much.

I guess I chose the Online Self because it's so culturally relevant, and I guess a cliché in popular culture. Part of the point with movies like "The Matrix" is to make the statement that we're dependent on machines, and that with the new information age we take that dependence further than ever before, perhaps eventually to the point of physical merging. The symbolism of a baby hooked into "the matrix" illustrates this:
matrix_097.jpg





I was watching this show on MTV called Catfish. It's about online relationships where one person deliberately tries to pass him or her self off as someone else. It's really sort of pathetic and sad, but I feel I completely understand their position. They are rejected by the people in their physical worlds, usually for their outward appearances, so they create a deliberate alternate-self in the easiest place to get away with it: the internet.

[video=youtube;CMA4x7aXJT0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMA4x7aXJT0[/video]

The internet has become so real that many people live a good deal of their lives on it.
 
Interesting question. Up until about a year ago I didn't have an online self, so my perspective of this is still evolving. My online self seems to be aspects of who I am but in a distant sort of way, kind of like correspondence school back in the day :becky:. Without facial expressions, touch, and an actual person in front of you, it's kind of a bizarre yet fascinating experience. I would say it's like the TV show "Cheers", the same folks meet, in the same place day after day, shoot the s**t, talk about their day, and get to know each other. I'm much more cautious on this forum then I am in real life cause you never really know who is behind that avatar until you meet them and get to know them in person.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top