Who is that person behind the screen?
 

In another thread, there was a comment made on how people using social network sites, (such as this one) are easily hid behind their screens which tends to bring out the worse in some....well, maybe in most.

This has long been an interest of mine and I find the evolution of those who participate in social networking, particularly in political forums, is universal regardless of age, politcal leanings, sexual preferences, or any other social demographic that tends to impact groups. The only factor I see that varies is it takes some a longer, or shorter, time to go through the evolution process.

My conclusions are only based on casual observation and particpation. I have no scientific or verifiable evidence to support my thoughts. So, when this topic came up, and it was suggested a thread be started, the opportunity was ripe for me to explore the issue more.

Some reading for discussion:
Who is Portrayed in Second Life: Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde? The Extent of Congruence Between Real Life and Virtual Identity

Bernadett Koles, Peter Nagy

http://journals.tdl.org/jvwr/article/view/2150

(if I didn't do that link thing right, please let me know and I'll try again.)

more information

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0620133907.htm

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/0...od-study-says/


Information on this topic seems to be hard to find.

Besides, I'm more interested in the thoughts of the people here about the topic.

I think a prime example would be craigslist rants and rave section. Gets awful nasty.

Much as I hate to disappoint anyone what you see is what you get. I am the same annoying person face to face.

I'll have to check that out. Never been there ........

its something i never checked until about a month ago. Been using craigs for years. Its gripping. And some times a sad sight. When people start to rant on races other then their own...

say barb are you a member over at AK? wondering what stereo you have. :D

It seems that sometimes manners call for us to be less than completely frank with others. If the anonymity of the net permits us to let our manners slide does it make us more honest?

Does it make us less honest, because we don't have to face the person with whom we're communicating and look that person in the eye of expose our body language to that person? Body language is pretty irrelevant on the net - I wonder if there is a substitute?

Does it make us more honest because we are uninhibited, which might be a function of manners or a function of other inhibitions?

Does it make us more likely to exaggerate, because we aren't otherwise able to emphasize the significance of something with voice inflection of other indicia of excitement or resolve?

Do we need more emoticons?

Your post is very good food for thought Barbara.

Regards,

D-Ray

+1 I will debate anyone here face to face. We may forget about debating after the smoked ribs are gone.

D-Ray, you aren't that far away. Let's get together and listen to some music. The only stipulation is a do not want to hear any legalize. Just kidding.