Forums → The Tavern → I Have A Second Life
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I don't know,* if it's a phenomenon prevalent in today's world, dominated by social media, but I feel that I'm taking on a second life. FB, Twitter, MSN, AIM, Skype, LJ, I've been there done that. Not to mention MMORPGs and other online personnas. Does anyone here feel the same? Do you think it takes over you as a real person? Or that your ''second life'' is still you, but merely an extension? Thoughts?
*Or rather, I'm too lazy to/ Unwilling to give out answers that others might seize upon and repeat.
- 30 Replies
I suppose so, but the only real difference in the situation is the friends you talk to.
Well yes, that's the main difference. But you said it yourself, it's much easier to act differently; in fact I think it's extremely hard to always act exactly the same way you would in real life, because you lack a lot of less obvious things like sound, mimics and posture that also take part into communication.
It's similar for me. I use the same username for everything, but cablecar1 on this website is going to act differently than cablecar1 on another website. They're all different so I feel that my online personality's train me for real life, but just the same they can cause me to do things I wouldn't.
I've never understood why people act differently offline or online. I act completely the same. I'm still the crazy, talkative person in school that I am here. Maybe people at school don't call me Moon, but there are people here that call me by my real name.
Nicho, you have revived the Tavern. You don't have stupid questions.
WHY DID YOU EVER LEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVE?
WHY DID YOU EVER LEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVE?
Personal reasons? AG is not his life :P
If I acted exactly the same online as in real life, I'd have never created this account, or started posting on the forums, or made this post....
You don't have to act differently to post on a forum. I first created an account because I played a few games on AG but couldn't find them again, so I wanted to be able to favourite them for future reference.
After registering, I checked out the forums, a few topics caught my interest and I shared my opinion. Then somehow I just got hooked on how welcoming this community is, made 'friends' and had fun. I never once thought 'I need a change from my personality, I'm going to create a whole new persona on some gaming forum to feel alive again.'
I'm not saying all of you lie, but a lot of you find it easier on yourselves to slip into a different act. For example, some people become more talkative online and find it easier to get on with people they don't actually physically see or hear. I see a lot of people flaming or being ****y online, when in real life they're most likely meek (and spineless). That's a sort of lying, isn't it? It's like acting a version of yourself.
Why do you think that meek people act tough online? Why don't you think that tough people act weak in real life? On that note, if you were to ask these people what they were actually like in "real life", do you honestly think they would lie to you? Do you think they would claim to be lion tamers who fight bulls while riding on motorcycles made out of fire and whiskey?
I don't think most people would. People who are meek in real life often just have a harder time putting thoughts together. The slower pace of the internet (compared to conversation in real time), allows people to better format their thoughts. Maybe, these week, spineless people are just a little out of sync with the rest of society.
Another potential reason for acting differently in real life and online is that on forums such as this, where the vast majority of us are mutual strangers, we have to judge each other solely on out words. For instance, whenever someone claims to be a doctor, or whatever, you kind of have to wonder if this is actually true or not. I tend to go back in my head, and read over their past comments to determine how likely this is.
Sometimes, it is pretty clear that people are actually what they say they are. And other times, well... Point is, in real life there is often no such ambiguity. When I tell people my major/age/hometown/etc in real life, no one questions anything. By giving away this information, the way I am perceived instantly changes, because people can take this information for granted and place me in the appropriate context.
Because people are far less skeptical in real life, I can instantly start talking with whatever authority I can derive from this information. Not so on the internet, where I have to constantly back myself with credible links, where my own experiences count for diddly squat. While I rarely talk about myself in real life, I pretty much NEVER talk about myself online. Because it doesn't really matter online who I am in real life. I use the same mannerisms and whatnot, but when I want to be convincing my real life is irrelevant. So, in response to the thread title, I don't think I have a second life. I have one real life and something else.
tl;dr..
Basically I was referring to the type of person who trolls, flames and hates online, who belittles peoples opinions in sarcastic and bashing ways for whatever reason. I highly doubt they do the same to people in their real life because they'd be hated themselves.
I wasn't saying that people who are shy and meek in real life are angry and rude online, and I certainly wasn't saying that the stereotype I described above is set in stone and that all people who are aggressive online are just acting a role or exaggerating to bolster themselves up.
well, sort of. its not like im obsesed with "another life" on the internet, but yes. you could say i have another life.
I think the internet me is similar to the me at school which is compleatly different but somewhat similar to the me at home. So, me at school, is different from me at home. Me on internet, is combination of school and home me. I lead a triple life.
I act the same in real life and on the computer.You could say i have another life on here.The internet and school is mostly similar.
I don't know why people act differing when online and offline.
I guess it can be easier to be the person you want to be online.
Like, sometimes we want to have interests, take comic books for an example, yet our friends think it's uncool. Some people can't hack the pressure from that so keep it a secret in their real life, yet can fanatically discuss it online.
My one difference offline/online is i'm a lot more chatty and confident when typing. I'm not this waffley and talkative in real life all of the time. [Maybe when i have a few drinks in me]
When I'm online i do my best to act like if we were talking face to face that means not trying to get hated and making a fool of myself.
I strongly believe I have a 2nd life. There is "normal, real world me" and then there is the pangtongshu me. For the most part it is basically and extension of myself, though at times I can spot differences between real-me and pang-me. I sometimes also, when I'm in a random situation, will feel that the other me could handle it better, so I basically will "swap" in the other me to handle that situation (Like this, I am answering as real life me so that I can better describe my thoughts)
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