In today’s modern media world, everyone is bound to be tempted by creating aliases online and developing fake personalities. Perhaps, they aren’t even truly fake personas but rather an extension of one aspect of a person. Someone who may have a special talent or obsession may create an account that focuses on simply that topic and can explore it without judgment from peers or those in their “real life.” My friend is an example of someone who has used social media and online platforms to explore what she is passionate about. She asked to remain anonymous in order to feel more comfortable sharing her stories.
What social media apps do you most frequently use these days? What did you use most in the past?
“When I was younger, probably around 12/13 years old I was really into Tumblr. I used to share a lot about my day and really thought of it as a blog. I don’t think I ever got popular but I did have more followers than most of my friends. I remember it used to sort of be a competition about who could get more and having like 200 or 300 was a really big deal back then. Now I don’t use it as much and use mostly twitter. I really like the short format of tweets and the interaction with my ‘mutuals’ is really great. I’ve made some great friends from there so I am definetly always on tweeting or retweeting and staying updated with my feed.”
Do you use your real name? Have you ever created aliases or fake accounts? Why?
“I used to use my real name but I think when I got older and schools used to do a lot of “be careful about the Internet” seminars I became paranoid of people finding my social media and somehow finding me in real life. Then as I got even older I realized what I was doing online could be seen for, like, colleges or jobs to see if they liked me I was even more strict about keeping it private. I use usually nicknames for my profiles now or just a name I think is pretty at the time. Only a few close friends from my real life know my twitter account so its usually not a big deal.”
Do you have different personas online on your social media accounts?
“I have two twitters actually. One is my real, personal twitter with everything I nerd over and talk about real issues that bother me. The other one is the one I put on public for new friends or talk about things I find interesting that could be seen as professional. I don’t use it much but I thought it would make sense if a job is looking into me that they can see I at least have a social media account. It’s funny, the one that is real with my name is more fake to me than the one with a fake name.”
Does the digital persona of your ‘personal’ twitter help you cope with problems you face?
“Well, I don’t know if it, like, cures my problems but I can definitely be more honest. I can have really controversial issues that people on my facebook won’t want to see. Sometimes being different person or hiding behind a fake name helps me be honest with myself and let off steam. It also lets me enjoy the things I find interesting without being worried someone will see it and say “wow, she’s so weird for liking that so much” you know? It lets me be me without feeling nervous someone will judge me.”
Do you think we are able to be our truest selves when we aren’t in fear of being judged by others? Are relationships built online just as valid as those made in the ‘real’ world?