Do you think people portray themselves as who they truly are on the internets?

[Haole Girl]

:shrug:

[khashka]

1. I usually try

but I'm only indifferent honest.

I once tried an experiment (not here!) where I posted exactly the same things word for word as myself (an adult man) and as a 14 year old girl. The difference in the way I was treated was amazing.


Khash

[Haole Girl]

23. I can only imagine posing as a 14 year old girl would be interesting...

and an "eye opening" experience too! :hi:

[FunkyLeprechaun]

61. I did the same thing when I was 20

I said to my friend, "Look how disgusting people can be in a chatroom when you say you're 14/f." So we went into a random chatroom on AOL and once someone asked "a/s" I typed in, "14/f."

I got a BARRAGE of IMs. I think I literally got 30 IMs all at once. Of course they all went on my block list.

[NewJeffCT]

2. Having dated people from online from the mid 90s

through 2001, save for my short-lived marriage in 98-99, I would say it's pretty rare that people are honest.

The first woman I met in person from online made herself out to be Pamela Anderson... turns out, she looked closer to a blonde Rosie O'Donnell, and was also married (but later claimed she was separated, even though she still lived in the same home as her husband) and also had a one-year old. Now, I dated plenty of women with kids through the years, but I normally like to know that stuff ahead of time.

Another woman I met bragged about her D cup bra size (and, I did not solicit this information from her...)... I met her in person and she was attractive and all, but was probably a A cup. Nevertheless, we hit it off and started making out in the parking lot and she was a fantastic kisser. Then, I noticed a guy staring at us in the parking lot and I whispered that to her. And, she said pretty matter-of-factly, "Oh, that's my husband!"

Maybe things have changed, but who knows? With webcams and digital cameras, it is a lot easier to make sure the person is generally who they say they are physically... but, you can't really verify things like marital status and all.

[Haole Girl]

14. Wow

I'm glad you made it out of that situation in one piece! eeek! :hi:

[NewJeffCT]

19. well

it wasn't that the husband was stomping across the parking lot to kick my ass... he was watching us make out.

maybe he liked to do that sort of thing?

who knows?

[Forkboy]

3. I think some are totally like they are offline, and some are totally different.

Guess which one I am? :D

[TZ]

5. Do I really want to know, sporkboy?

I figure you are like most here, similar but a bit exaggerated on line:D

[Forkboy]

9. Well, a few DUers here know me offline.

They'll tell you I'm the same.

Ask Angel, Buddhamama, or even my mother here, WarNoMore. :)

[Angel]

39. You are exactly the same online or off

You are easier to make smile in person :evilgrin:


As for me, I am the same odd, quiet person off line as I am online.

[Forkboy]

43. That's what I tell people.

I couldn't act any other way if I wanted to. :)

[Angel]

50. If you acted any other way

you would be the person they wanted you to be and not yourself. Not much fun to live like that now is there lol

[Forkboy]

59. I'm not sure how fun it is to live like myself either.

:D

[Guava Jelly]

55. I hear nothing but bad things about you.

:hide: I also heard that a friend of ours gets really bitchy when she is PMSing :rofl: :yoiks:

[Forkboy]

58. LMAO

Yup, she was so bad we barely made it through our 3 hour conversation. :rofl:

My sides hurt when we were down. If that's PMSing I wish I did it too. :D

[Guava Jelly]

62. That one isn't normal

I mean look who she associates herself with :eyes: :crazy:

[TZ]

4. I do but I know some people don't

I recently met someone who is somewhat different in real life than on the internet, but not in a bad way really..but there were enough fundamental similarities. I think a lot of personal traits get exaggerated a bit on the internets...:hi:

[Haole Girl]

21. Yes..

a lot of traits do get exaggerated-- both good and bad, sometimes. :hi:

[bigwillq]

6. I try as much as I could

but I don't think that's the case with everybody.

[Haole Girl]

16. I get the feeling you portray yourself for who you are...

and that's one of the reasons I like you so much! :hug:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

7. depends...i think people dont potray who they are in real life either

[NewJeffCT]

13. I know

you're very shy & reserved in real life, I've heard.

:evilgrin:

[skygazer]

45. That's probably the most accurate post in this thread

:thumbsup:

[BeachBaby]

8. No - take it from the master....

I've disappointed many an internet stalker when they show up at my door. I think it's the warts protruding from my neck rolls, but I can't be sure. :rofl:

<jk> ;)

[Haole Girl]

24. lol!

:-)

[TZ]

30. Ha!

Well hopefully one of these days I will be able to do a comparison study on you IRL...:hi:

[petronius]

10. I think a lot of people only display certain aspects of themselves online;

after all, it's a pretty shallow medium to convey a full portrait of a personality. I think outright deliberate fakery is a minority position, but it's not uncommon - we certainly have (had) examples of it here...

[Haole Girl]

12. Yes we have, haven't we?

:hi:

[supernova]

11. Depends entirely on what the person

wants to get out of the internet.

If you feel thwarted offline, you might use the internet to try being more combative and "stronger, tougher."

If you are very shy, it's a good way to come out of your shell and expose more of yourself.

If you want to try out a more malicious persona, well that's there too.

I'm about the same offline and off, though offline, I'm a little more affectionate. Imagine being shy, but sorta touchy feely too. :blush: :P

I've met people offline several times and I'd say about every third person is what they represented themselves to be. I hope I'm that third person for someone else as well.

[Haole Girl]

25. I should have put 1/3 in the poll then

Thanks :hi:

[SoxFan]

15. They all lie

I'm sorry to dispel your illusions, but I have to...

The REAL KC2:


The REAL California Peggy:


The REAL Zanne:


The REAL Lioness Priyanka:


The REAL SallyMander

[Haole Girl]

18. lol!

Well, the "warrior" part is right!

:rofl:

[SoxFan]

20. Patrick Tribbett, hero of the intertubes

Apparently, this guy has trouble getting the message!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

22. My dear BlueDogDemocratNH!

ARGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!

You've blown my cover, baybee!

:spank: :spank:










:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

28. OMFG

:rofl: thats pretty funny stuff

[SoxFan]

31. Never knew I dressed like this, did ya?

[SallyMander]

57. OMG!!!

:spray:


I have some sweet orange hair :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[lizerdbits]

17. I went with 50/50

Being online is a great(?) way for people to somewhat anonymously express bigoted opinions without facing consequences as they might if it was a face to face conversation.

[Haole Girl]

27. That is true. Well..........I have to run now........

Have to be across town in 1/2 an hour!!

Thanks - everyone - for your responses! :hi:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

26. My dear KC2...

You know, I honestly don't know how other people are...

But the way I show myself...

That's how I am.

It's not all of me...but it's most of me...

I'm a little sassier in person...

Ask anyone who's met me, and they'll tell you it's true...

I can also be shyer, or bolder..

It depends on the situation...

:hi:

[Haole Girl]

29. Thanks, Peggy!

:hi:

[NewJeffCT]

32. don't let her fool you

I've heard stories about Peggy and her viciousness. The nice person online is all an act.










:evilgrin:

[SarahB]

33. I prefer to portray myself as far more dull and uninteresting than I actually am.

Most people couldn't grasp the actual Sarah. Kind of blinding. Like the Sun.

[Pale Blue Dot]

34. AAAIIIEEEEEE!!! My eyes!

I am actually a 60-year-old Polish woman. And a Republican.

[SarahB]

36. You don't look a day over 39.

And Polish women can be hot! :loveya:

[PassingFair]

35. We took our 12 year old to Montreal to meet her "on-line sexual predator"...

he turned out to be the 14 year old hottie he purported to be.

His parents were also very nice.

My daughter thinks we are the coolest parents in the
known universe, and we had a WONDERFUL time in Canada!

[auntAgonist]

37. I don't think I'm any different in person than I am online.

I'm just me.

aA

[eyesroll]

38. I'm basically me, here.

On another message board, I'm me with slightly different family names, ages, and identifying details, as I want to remain anonymous there. But I've met so many DUers (I counted at least 40 offhand) in person that pretending to be someone I'm not here would catch up with me in a hurry.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

40. I am, but that's only because I could give a crap...

...the concept of trying to impress someone or be someone I'm not on the Web rockets right past "sad" and crash-lands on "pathetic," IMHO...

I post on DU to sharpen my writing skills. I write like I talk and I talk like I write, and my universal attitude is "f**k 'em if they can't take a joke."

:toast:

[madinmaryland]

41. I actually own an NFL franchise and am trying to make life horrible for the fans!!1!!

:evilgrin:

[TZ]

46. Nice post, Snyder!

I always KNEW you had a real talent for being obnoxious madinmaryland..I just thought it was a hobby..I didn't know you were a pro....:rofl:

[madinmaryland]

51. You see, old Danny Boy is really a plant for Jerry Jones!!1!!

:rofl:

[TZ]

52. Well you know

They ARE a lot alike actually...twins separated at birth?:rofl:

[RainDog]

42. I don't have "one" myself- does anyone?

I do not talk and behave at work or some other professional situation the same way that I do when I'm with friends telling stupid jokes and sharing a bottle of wine. But sometimes when I'm with my friends I feel sad and I don't tell jokes, either. Sometimes I'm quiet. I don't interact with my kids in the same way I interact with my friends. I mean, we're all really open, but there are somethings I'm just not gonna talk about with them. And there are things in their lives I don't want to know about in excruciating detail.

If I go out with friends to a club to hear music, I don't dance on tables, but when I'm on DU, I sometimes dance on tables, metaphorically, because... well, just to entertain myself. To avoid the reality of the crap I need to do. To make myself laugh when I feel like crying sometimes.

I certainly wouldn't think that most ppl act in public the way they do with their intimate partners, either... both "real life" situations that allow or require different parts of our personalities.

If you mean that people are not realistic about themselves... that can happen in any environment. Believe me, it sucks to get older because, even tho you no longer look as young as you were, you don't (or ppl that I know don't) feel like they're supposed to act like Trent Lott at the Sunday service. But I do know that ppl have said that's an issue - maybe that's one reason I would never try to date via some online thing. I certainly don't want to disappoint someone who might see me and run away in disgust.

Our culture puts so many limits on what is "allowed" for behavior, generally. Knowing this, when I'm in public in larger groups, I just don't say anything a lot of the time because I don't want to have to deal with other ppl's bullshit. Plus, I get claustrophic in large groups. I always want to be near a door just so I can leave when I want to leave. Some ppl take that as snobbery when it's more like just not wanting to have to give a damn. there's a big difference. ppl used to think my ex was a big snob because he's european, so they'd often have those assumptions built in. However, the truth was that he was painfully shy around ppl other than his family. But around his family he was goofy sometimes.

:shrug:

[struggle4progress]

44. What possible motive do you think I would have for lying? I really am a 29 year-old

multibillionaire who gave up my promising career as a professional skier to help humanity; now I alternate between lecturing about quantum gravitational theory on the Ivy League circuit, teaching famine victims to overcome hunger through yoga, and a great CIA project. Your "suspicion" about my veracity merely reflects a petty jealousy

[CBGLuthier]

47. I very much do so

I am every bit as much an asshole in "real" life.

[Redstone]

48. Dunno about other people, but I do.

I am who I am, no matter where I am.

Redstone

[SPKrazy]

49. I'm less shy online than I am in real life

I don't know how to gauge it for certain though. In some ways the internet has helped me somewhat be less shy in real life. Especially when I say things like LOL, or LMAO, ROFL, etc. in conversation :P (really I've only thought those things in my mind except I might have said them to someone who is also an internet user who would get it. I texted a friend of mine and put "ROFL" at the end and he didn't know what that meant :rofl:)

I think I may be ahead of myself online as compared to in real life. I don't think I'm much different though. I make mistakes in real life and I do online as well.

:shrug:

[sammythecat]

53. I don't think I'm too naive in saying

that I believe the percentage of people who actively tell lies about themselves is pretty low. Although I will admit that I surprise myself a lot of times with how naive I tend to be.

On the other hand, I think sins of omission are very common. I mean, after all, we all have "sin", and, unless pressed, we're not likely to bring them up.

I'm just about out of commas. If anyone has any extra, I could use a few, and thanks in advance.

[Guava Jelly]

54. If I was going to adopt a phony persona.

I sure wouldn't pick the one that I use here.:silly:

[quakerboy]

56. I think that there is a good bit of unintentional deception

basicly, there are those who are scroupulously forthright, and there are those who are inveterate liars, but the majority don't have the energy or the drive to be either, so they portray themselves more as the self we see ourselves as. Which has a tendancy to be a slightly more heroic person than who we really are.

[UndertheOcean]

60. I go with 50/50