I've had some free time in the office in the past few days just to think about how our online interactions affect both ourselves and others. If you're familiar with this blog, then you know that I wrote a paper regarding online societies. If you haven't read that, I certainly encourage you to check it out.
Anyway, I have come to the idea that no matter who we are are what we think of ourselves, we are all schizophrenic. When we are at home, we act differently than at work or at church. When we're online, we have the freedom to be as nasty and rude as we want, hiding behind a screen name or an avatar image.
Is it any wonder that 50% of marriages fail and that people seem less close when we are all living behind a web of false truths? We create a character and take on that persona every day depending on the situation. In essence, are we showing people who we really are, or are we merely pretending that we're one way when in reality we are not?
Definitely something I've thought about before. We also feel more free to express our actual feelings online because of the impersonal nature of a blog, social network, or whatever. It's not wrong to epxress yourself online (unless you're being a total jerk and trying to rip people apart), but I do think it's dangerous to do so if it starts to become a person's primary outlet for expression. People need face-to-face interactions in order to properly grow socially, emotionally, mentally, etc.
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