11–20 of 23 posts
I found managing my online "brand" tiring and exploitative. So I killed it.
If only it were that simple. It wasn't my "online persona" that lost friends due to publicly showing support for Trump online during the election cycle, it was me. It was real and it hurt.
See, the trick is to make your persona the 'you' that you want to be. For better and worse. Best case scenario: you become more like the 'you' that you wanted to be. Worst case scenario: your online persona is linked to the 'real you', and you can now be measured by your own ideals! I've often wondered what would happen if my 'online persona' were linked to my real identity. It would be extremely embarrassing: I've b…
Fortunately, I'm not very controversial but people still behaved like a pack of animals. I got so much delivery pizza that I eventually notified the area services and had them no longer accept orders in my name.
I'd move soon after, but I got the damnedest of complaints. I had donated a ton, but not to the causes people liked. In some cases, I was told I'd donated too much. Things like that.
Meh... It wasn't that bad, for me. I was no longer in a position where my livelihood was at risk. My kids escaped unscathed, but appreciated all the pizza. And yeah, I paid for every last one of those pizzas. It really wasn't the company's fault.
I do kinda wish they'd have ordered other types of food. Pizza got boring and we could only give so many away to neighbors. I'd bring what the neighbors didn't want to the homeless shelter.
So many pizzas...
But, that was the worst of it. I could see it being much worse. I was pretty much immune to harm.
> "This strikes me as a splendidly healthy way to approach life online: let your online persona take the criticism, while you get on with living." If only it were that simple. It wasn't my "online persona" that lost friends due to publicly showing support for Trump online during the election cycle, it was me. It was real and it hurt.
Supporting someone who's either a very terrible person or panders to those who are raises a lot of questions, but that's not enough on its own. Plenty of good people fool themselves into believing a person like Trump doesn't really mean all the awful things they say and do, and that can be forgiven.
Are you sure it was because you supported Trump, and not because of things you said?
See, the trick is to make your persona the 'you' that you want to be. For better and worse. Best case scenario: you become more like the 'you' that you wanted to be. Worst case scenario: your online persona is linked to the 'real you', and you can now be measured by your own ideals! I've often wondered what would happen if my 'online persona' were linked to my real identity. It would be extremely embarrassing: I've b…
>While I would absolutely hate being 'doxxed', if it were to happen I think the consequences would be good and educational regardless, so I'm kind of okay and safe just being this 'better me' online. I am happy you apparently hold views that large swathes of society agree with. You are lucky, dare I say privileged, that you are fairly certain that nothing you have said would provoke a violent response from somebody.…
Too many people have online personas that are simply terrible, opinionated loudmouths. It's a shame, really. It's led to today's bifurcated society.
Surely there must be a substantial number of people who have more than one because they feel a need to express themselves in ways that their mainstream friends, acquaintances, and family would not approve of.
Let my online persona take the criticism? Yes. My offline persona too. Alan Watts used to point out that even the 'real' persona is only a mask (the word coming from the ancient greek πρόσωπον which originally referred to a theatrical mask). >the “online disinhibition effect” is what enables your mild-mannered neighbour to become a hate-spewing bigot on social media It's complicated. The fear of enemies keeps our 'eg…
Let my online persona take the criticism? Yes. My offline persona too. Alan Watts used to point out that even the 'real' persona is only a mask (the word coming from the ancient greek πρόσωπον which originally referred to a theatrical mask). >the “online disinhibition effect” is what enables your mild-mannered neighbour to become a hate-spewing bigot on social media It's complicated. The fear of enemies keeps our 'eg…
I don't understand the part about having someone to hate making people feel safe. What's the mechanism there?
Let my online persona take the criticism? Yes. My offline persona too. Alan Watts used to point out that even the 'real' persona is only a mask (the word coming from the ancient greek πρόσωπον which originally referred to a theatrical mask). >the “online disinhibition effect” is what enables your mild-mannered neighbour to become a hate-spewing bigot on social media It's complicated. The fear of enemies keeps our 'eg…
I don't understand the part about having someone to hate making people feel safe. What's the mechanism there?
This is a metaphor, because real boxers obviously do control their arms.
But substitute certain emotions (e.g. anger, fear) for the arms, emotions with which one is strongly identified, the loss of which causes a greater fear (of disappearing, of death).