Who I Am Online
The article by John Suler (2004) called The Online Disinhibition Effect made me reflect on how I want to be perceived on this website. I hope to remain my authentic self in all of my posts. Because this website is a personal blog that shares my thoughts, I tend to write my posts in a way that I feel still reflects my voice. I try not to make my writing too formal, as I do not believe that reflects who I am.
My online presence is similar in the sense that I do not pretend to be someone I am not; however, I tend to only post positive things that’s occur in my life. In a sense, you could say that my online presence is a glorified version of myself. For instance, my Instagram profile has only. a few posts on it, and I tend to only post pictures that I want people to see; the same goes for my Instagram story. As for my blog, I am planning to be more open with what I share. I may not always create posts that just reflect the positives in my life.
One aspect that I like about this blog is the dissociative anonymity factor (Suler, 2004). I chose to not include any personal information about myself, such as my full name, as I like that anonymity factor to it. I believe that if I reveal too much about who I am, it may effect what I decide to share on this website. This allows me to feel less vulnerable about writing my thoughts and opinions on certain topics.
Could I Live Completely Offline?
After reading How I Got My Attention Back by Craig Mod, it made me reflect on if I could live offline. To be honest, this is not the first time that I have thought about this. During the height of the pandemic, my screen time was concerning high. I would spend half the day on TikTok and even though I recognized how bad this was, I couldn’t get off it.
In January 2022, I got a new phone and I decided to not install the TikTok app. I have now been off TikTok for over a year, and let me tell you, it was the best choice I have made. I found myself spending less time endlessly scrolling, which made me feel better about myself and how I choose to spend my time. Not only that, but I noticed my well-being improving drastically. I spent less time comparing myself to the lives of others, and it was so nice being able to spend more time enjoying my own life.
Reflecting on how positively deleted TikTok has impacted me, I truly think that I would enjoy living offline. I have watched a few shows (such as a show called Anne With an E) that took place in the 1900s, in a time before all of this technology was a thing. I often think about these shows and think about how much simpler life was. There was no such thing as FOMO or such easy and accessible ways to compare yourself to others.
I believe that if I was able to live offline, if my situation in life allowed it, I would be a lot happier. I would feel weird being disconnected and unaware of what was happening in the world, but it would allow me to put more of my energy on things that mattered to me.
References
Mod, C. (2017, January 13). How I got my attention back. Wired. https://www.wired.com/2017/01/how-i-got-my-attention-back/#.djqfcpajo
Suler, J. (2004). The Online Disinhibition Effect. The psychology of cyberspace. https://truecenterpublishing.com/psycyber/disinhibit.html
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