How does the internet effect a person’s personality online versus reality?
By Danielle Haynes
What may be more remarkable, however, is that our online traits are unconsciously being imported into our idea of what a real- life community should be, for example, is being reconfigured in the image of a chat room, and our offline persona increasingly resembles that of our avatar. -Elias Aboujaoude
Elias Aboujaoude writes about the psychological factors that play into the real world versus the virtual one in his book “Virtually You: The Dangerous Powers of the E-Personality”. He begins to explain how many people have acquired impulse control disorders, similar to obsessive compulsive disorders, due to the addiction that the internet inflicts on people of this day and age. This includes all age ranges that use technology and are familiar with its functions. Aboujaoude’s argument is that people tend to lose themselves online and get so caught up with their “e-personality” aka their online identity, that they begin to lose who they are as a person and forget the repercussions they can face in reality.
In my perspective, I agree with Aboujaoude’s argument because I feel like people do create a different personality online in comparison to how they are in real life. I believe this is done only to entertain their selected choice of audience, whether it being posted on a public platform or sent in a five-person group chat. A majority of people look for the acceptance of others on social media or social forums whether they realize it or not and sometimes they can get swallowed into keeping up with their social reputation, myself included. When you are introduced to such a wide variety or sources, you want to explore your options and find out what works for you. For example, some may prefer Snapchat over Facebook because Snapchat is more of a closed-in circle where you can still see the personal lives of people you choose or vice versa. However, you may feel pressured into doing things you are not comfortable with to “keep up with the ‘norm’” or saying things you wouldn’t dear think of in person because you want to seem “cooler” than you think you are. All of these happen over these platforms because social media users believe there’s this cyber wall that can protect their safety and well-being. This can explain how cyber bullying and negative comments can happen so often due to the fact that people get so carried away with speaking behind a screen. Nevertheless, they don’t realize how they are changing themselves to appeal to others in the blink of an eye. Don’t get me wrong, not everyone is like this, of course, but this is just a reality check for some people who fall under this category of the “e-personality” as Aboujaoude likes to put it. Just take a moment to ask yourself, “Would I really say this in person?” Or “Would I actually go along in doing this in public?” These are questions I need to ask myself in future situations that involve me questioning my identity on and offline.
A link to Elias’s book “Virtually You: The Dangerous Powers of the E- Personality”:
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Elias_Aboujaoude_Virtually_You_The_Dangerous_Power?id=QhGGwJWV-KMC
