Who Are You?
Who are you? Are you that profile on Facebook? That resume on LinkedIn? Are you the sum of your RSS feeds?
We can define and refine who we are in an instant online, by a keystroke, by a new avatar; we can mutate instantly to someone we like better. But really, who are we? We can broadcast our mood instantly across social networks , we can be loud, bright, dark, pensive, jaded, frothy, optimistic, the whole spectrum can flash across your keyboard to the world in seconds. And we are all watching it live online.
Before You Hit That Button
We sit quietly in front of our monitors and post our thoughts, thinking out loud, typing it out loud to the world. Is that what you really wanted to say? Would you say that out loud? And would you really show that photograph to everyone from your best friend to the guy in the cubicle next to you? Our Id, our inner beast has been unleashed, the internet has allowed us to release it from its prison of social morality and rules, and it runs wild across your screen and then flies from satellite to satellite bursting through the firewalls to the desktop of friends and strangers.
Say What?
We mind our words in a social setting, there are just some things best kept to ourselves and not for public consumption. However with the anonymity of the internet we spew off thoughts without filters, we can post our deepest thoughts, fears, biases and desires without having the fear of being ostracized or judged by society. Even in our known identities on social networks such as Facebook, we might be more open to sharing how we feel than we would in public. We allow others to glimpse into our private thoughts and to join in on the conversation.
"Friend me on Facebook"
We have become an amalgamation of our off and online lives, we are learning in fits and starts of this new line of communication; the possibilities and the pitfalls. Like the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, we are of two minds in the same body; and we have to learn to live together, to work together to keep one from overtaking the other. And once we do, we will truly know who we are.
Image: Ophelia Chong/ A Beautiful Web
