Who Are You Online?

Who Are You Online?

Who do you believe yourself to be online?

Is your online self the same as who you are IRL? Or is it a reflection of your inner world?

Do you feel this to be accurate?

I think it could be argued that our experience of ourselves online is an extension of our interior life. The TikTok algorithm will make recommendations based on your current likes which can represent your current mood.

You may be quicker to speak your mind in the comment section under a post. You might feel more open to sharing vulnerabilities with strangers on the internet.

Your Instagram grid may be your digital journal and scrapbook. Your Twitter feed may be your unhinged memes and hot take opinions.

You might even talk a big game through the taps on your keyboard, but crumble under the pressure on confrontation.

When we came online, it started with the written word and the words came pouring out of our brains where our thoughts and feels are instantaneous and unrefined.

But is this who we really are? Angry comments and half-hearted selfies subject to targeted ads?

With something like personal development or self-improvement or embarking on a spiritual journey, what is demanded of us is to know ourselves. To understand ourselves and develop a discernment for the world and environments around us.

This is true with our digital selves.

An exhausted cliche is that we can be who ever we want to be, and we can absolutely be who ever we want to be online—for better or worse.

We decide. We choose. This doesn’t have to be a passive relationship or an unyielding tidal wave of trends and attitudes you either adhere to or fall behind.

I think the better question for all of us to consider is: Who do you WANT to be online?