Musing about Identity online - in which I talk about people as cartoon figures, but only at the end
This is going to be a bit disjointed, apologies in advance.
I was thinking about identity online this morning (In part because a friend posted a comment which made me think their account had been hijacked).
We rely so much on that little icon to tell us who's who - or the name at the top of the chat window. And, while I could probably imitate with some success the typing voices of my top 5 online friends, there is still a matter of trust - that when I'm talking in the comments to, say, Kelkyag, that it is actually the same person every time.
I get ~freaked out~ when I find out someone is talking to me on someone else's account. It's like... they put on a Friend One suit. At first, Friend One is just acting a bit strangely. Then, Friend One says something out of character, and by this point I'm starting to panic. Then Friend One says Ah ha ha ha no, this is Friend Two (Or Friend Ones's Girlfriend)...
...and I get furious.
But *cough* that could just be me.
How do you deal with identity when your "mental image" of the person comes from a cartoon icon?
(Speaking of which, I've MET @inventrix in person, & I still picture her as her icon (not @capriox, though :-P).)
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/784049.html. You can comment here or there.
I was thinking about identity online this morning (In part because a friend posted a comment which made me think their account had been hijacked).
We rely so much on that little icon to tell us who's who - or the name at the top of the chat window. And, while I could probably imitate with some success the typing voices of my top 5 online friends, there is still a matter of trust - that when I'm talking in the comments to, say, Kelkyag, that it is actually the same person every time.
I get ~freaked out~ when I find out someone is talking to me on someone else's account. It's like... they put on a Friend One suit. At first, Friend One is just acting a bit strangely. Then, Friend One says something out of character, and by this point I'm starting to panic. Then Friend One says Ah ha ha ha no, this is Friend Two (Or Friend Ones's Girlfriend)...
...and I get furious.
But *cough* that could just be me.
How do you deal with identity when your "mental image" of the person comes from a cartoon icon?
(Speaking of which, I've MET @inventrix in person, & I still picture her as her icon (not @capriox, though :-P).)
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/784049.html. You can comment here or there.