can you honestly brutally say youre the same online as in person?

[redcolours]

you dont have to answer, maybe simply reflect on it.
it may be simple to say you are (or "I AM!"), but to most of us, we all know ourselves, but sometimes what we see ourselves as isnt exactly what people see us as.

(this is really an off-shoot off of nickel's question. i doff my hat to her original topic.)

personally, id say im about the same in person as who i am here or on online chats. i can be very moody, introspective, shallow, manic, goofy, shy, polite, anxious, talkative, clueless, bawdy, corny, horny, apathetic to arguments (im a lover not a fighter), nerdy/geeky, clumsy, emotional. i can easily make mistakes here as much as i do in person, though i pride in being able to easily admit to them too, in both situations. one thing i know and always try to be is honest. i feel each person deserves honesty.
so far, those that have known me online and have met me, and have known me in person seem to think so. At least thats what they say. either that or theyre lying to my face, the bastards!
:D
Now, Im not one to say im immaculate as far as honesty is concerned. when i was a lot younger i was prone to fits of exaggeration, and wanton puffery. i lied and i cheated, and i learned from the best (my father). but it came to a point where it felt heavy on my soul. it felt like i was LOSING my spirit, and i just feel empty and hollow in the end. I was miserable, i felt dirty, and the stench of deception stank so much. i knew i had to change, or wallow in such a vile and contemptuous so-called life.
coming around the bend, being honest (to myself at least) was amazing - i felt lighter and happier, and there was no anxiety or any emotional and mental baggage to carry around. i felt freedom! being honest to people around me came easily after that.

ive met a lot people online also, and im glad all of them are honest (or at least honest enough for me and TO me). i have to say i may be too trusting to the point of gullibility, but i prefer NOT to mistrust at first hello. i give people the benefit of the doubt. just because ive been hurt in the past doesnt mean everyone else will hurt me. If they do, i just turn my back on them and walk away, move on. i figure at that point its not worth my time. THEYRE not worth my time. ive got better things to do, like be happy.

now i dont want to say IRL or "in real life", like the internet is not real, and all of of it fake, like you, or me, or everyone here is fake. i know it isnt so. i know someone is sitting on the other side of the the screen typing away as i am. i know someone will say something contrary to something, and that cant surely be fake. i acknowledge that YOURE REAL, as you are reading this, as sure as im writing it.

i guess we all know this is real, all of it, just translated into bits, and bytes, 0s and 1s. what we all want in the end is a little honesty, which i think really ISNT a lot to ask for. I feel bad for those that have been lied to, all that pain and wasted time. I hope it doesnt leave them bitter, like the taste in their mouths. I feel sorry for those who lied too, for it will just bite their ass tenfold in the end, which will make them more miserable.
Im glad with the people ive met and talked to i havent had to beg for honesty. they all rock!
:)

/end introspection

[YaYo]

ha! about two weeks ago I was honest to a friend of 4 years. I got called a drama queen for it. just so happens I met this person online. at the moment he is not speaking to me.

ive seen him do this to others. I never though I would experience it. never say never.

[kimchicowboy]

yeap. you betcha.

[oblongmelon]

I'm pretty much the same as I am online..with the exception that when I get in a mood at home, I usually just go to a quiet place and read-where as on here..I get fiesty. You people bring out the worst in me. *sigh*

[ray]

Yes. Absolutely.

[Kim]

No, I'm much more shy in real life.

[Jenny]

Heck yeah, I am.

[Memo]

Since I've grown up with the internet most of my life it is a bit different for me. I remember back in middle school I was definately a different person online as I was in real life. I'd have to say I had more confidence online because I just didn't care. Over time I sort of blended the two together. It sounds cheesy but I think the internet helped me grow out of the akward early teen stage. Nowadays,ya, I'm the same person online as in real life.

[chrissy]

hmm, I think I am a little more opinionated IRL. I tend to hold a lot back on GA (it's the only place I post). And yet, as I write that, I can't say I am that opinionated IRL either. I pick and choose my battles and a lot of friends say I need to stand up and yell more. I am sarcastic IRL -- maybe that is why I don't post, because I don't want to be taken the wrong way... I pick on people lovingly all the time. But never in a mean way or when we might be in a situation where embarrasment might play a part. so yeah, more or less the same :)

[CynJon]

hmm, I think I am a little more opinionated IRL. I tend to hold a lot back on GA (it's the only place I post). And yet, as I write that, I can't say I am that opinionated IRL either. I pick and choose my battles and a lot of friends say I need to stand up and yell more. I am sarcastic IRL -- maybe that is why I don't post, because I don't want to be taken the wrong way... I pick on people lovingly all the time. But never in a mean way or when we might be in a situation where embarrasment might play a part. so yeah, more or less the same :)

:stupid:

Exactly what I was going to say...

[eSDee]

Pretty much. Although sometimes here I am venting because I can't in real life. Life as a Sys Admin I suppose :shrug:

[usedillusion]

yes i'm the same offline as i am online: a wackjob ;)

as i mentioned in nickel's thread, everyone i've met online then in person has said i'm the same (maybe too much?). i'm with memo in that i was pretty young when i started getting on and chatting. during high school i had become withdrawn and isolated, partly due to getting lyme disease and having to be homeschooled at a time in life where vital, self-image defining things are happening. i just lost interest in associating with people i considered friends and became unsure of who i was. a lot of times, i'm partly sad to reflect, talking on here was my only socialization.

just as people can be fake as hell online, i think some can be more real and uninhibited. that was the case for me. online, i felt liberated, and in meeting people on here that enjoyed the no-holds-barred me, i allowed that side of me to burgeon in the real world :)

[nickel]

honestly, brutally, yeh, i would say my personality is the same online as irl. if you met me you would realize i like to have fun. i'm the one who scoops up some ice/snow at the supermarket and throws a ball of it at you... that type of person. :D

i do tell more of my personal issues to online friends b/c my real life friends would probably think i was nuts at times.

if we met i might be a little shy at first, but with a couple of bottles of liquid courage the topic could go anywhere and i'd be into it.

[whitak24]

eh....i think i'm pretty similar.

as others have said, there was a point in time where i was a much different person online than in IRL (once again, more outgoing, funnier, trying to be "cool"), but i think that's mostly passed with maturity and becoming more comfortable with who i am.

but a bunch of you have met me, so you probably can more accurately evaluate it than i can.

[Cantacuzene]

I've been told that I talk the exact same way on instant messenger as I do in real life. Like I say the same phrases and emphasis the same words. I'm slightly more outspoken online (I think everyone is) but not by too much.

[sourdough]

I am always better in person than I am online. People who meet me in real life can't help but love me. :)

[Jenny]

I am always better in person than I am online. People who meet me in real life can't help but love me. :)


Absolutely my favorite! Grilled, nice and crispy, buttery. Yum yum yum!

[DaFunkyUnit]

yes.


(please refer to Ray's sig)

[DarkFury]

Honestly, the face that I represent here is my true self... I generally don't see life virtually or real as any different. People are people and deserve the same amount of respect here or IRL.

So more or less... the same type of person you see out here, is the same that you would experience IRL. :D :cool:

[Emqtee]

Um I would have to say I am pretty much the same. . .Fairly quiet. I prefer to be more of an observer. That is until I know the person pretty well, or I am really nervous.

[Airencracken]

I'd say I'm pretty much the same person, maybe a bit more outspoken in real life, just because I'm too lazy to type that much. But basically the same I'd say. I don't have some odd 'net facade.

[psycho-]

Yep, I am

[LPMiller]

I swear more in real life.

[Cantacuzene]

I swear more in real life.

Thats true. I rarely use obscenties, either because they are editted out or because I'm just used to not using them online, but in real life I tend to curse a bit more.

[welfareloser]

i'm even less articulate in person. punctuation really makes my rants make more sense.

[Mike_N_Ike]

Same old me :wavey:

[BrewMaster]

eh, I would have to say that with an honest look, I am not the exact same, but kinds close. i speak my mind a bit more online. in real life i hold back a bit because if i told everyone what i as thinking all the time, i'd probably get killed for being a smart-ass, argumentative, nit-picky, anal, detail freak. i hold back online too, but not nearly as much as in real life. i'll mix it up online because we can just let the thread drop to the bottom of the list and let it go. you can't do that in real friendships. if you hurt someone's feelings IRL, you gotta deal with them and sort things out if you want to stay friends.

i've heard it said that the real you is seen when you are driving alone in the car. do you curse at people? do you cut people off? are you paranoid? do you sing along with the radio? i don't know if i totally agree with that theory, but i see where it could come from.

[molecularfire]

Nah, I try to be more optimistic and open minded on-line. It's kinda harder when you're talking in real life to say things that you don't necessarily mean even if you do feel it would be in the best interest of the discussion. That and I'm just better at thinking things through when I am typing or writing things down than when I am talking.

[InfiniteNothing]

One thing I've noticed is that in real life I suppress 80% of my smart ass responses where as here, it drops to about 60%.

[whitak24]

Nah, I try to be more optimistic and open minded on-line. It's kinda harder when you're talking in real life to say things that you don't necessarily mean even if you do feel it would be in the best interest of the discussion. That and I'm just better at thinking things through when I am typing or writing things down than when I am talking.
if your online persona is optimistic by your standards, i would hate to see your RL persona :eek:

:P

[molecularfire]

Yeah, sadly enough I'm more cynical in real life. I was trying to make a friend of mine feel better because one of his patients coded and died recently and it was really bothering him. Anyways, so I told him that there wasn't anything he could've done about it (which was true), that the patient was dead before she got to the hospital (which was not quite true, she was alive when she got to the hospital but there was no chance she was going to leave it alive), and that for the best doctor in the world if he/she treats a patient long enough, all of their patients will die. Long term mortality rate for everybody is 100% We don't save lives, we only prolong death and improve short term quality of life (which are all true, but not the best thing to say to a guy who was feeling what he was feeling). I really have to learn when to stfu. :disa:

[Ladogaboy]

I am completely real in different life. :shifty:

[nickel]

I am completely real in different life. :shifty:
i am sure there is truth in that lie

[Burzhui]

Mathematic equation for people on the internet:
Normal Person + Anonymity + Audience = Total Fu©kwad

[Maarchk]

I am probably the same type and style of person. But i talk more about issues i have and about situations i have experienced online. In person, i am usually the supportive person and no one really has time to hear my problems. With you guys, i can say whats on my mind, and if you dont want to read it, you dont have to. So i dont feel as bad putting it out there. And with you guys, i can feel more comfortable with my patient / online friends confidentiality. Although i can't get too crazy. I've seen my old housemate around here and if he ever knew how jealous i was about his movie collection, I'm sure I'd hear about it. :) Hmm, and i spelt better here.