Advanced Essay #2: Online/Offline

Advanced Essay #2 - Andrew Rodebaugh

When you are on social media do people know that it is you? Do you feel more open to your opinions when you are online? Do you feel like there is less consequences for your actions? Or do you know that but think you can simply “figure it out” in the future? Are you more open about/to people online vs in person?  Being online can make you a different person because it is so easy and their are either no real consequences if any they are not immediate most of the time. The ability to change your identity online can make it seem like you have the ability to be more open about people or show your true personality but can lead into future problem mostly out of your control. We have a different personality online and offline which is not a bad thing generally but the seemingly absence of consequence online can make you do things you would never think to do offline or people in your life would never want you to do at all.

After stressful days at school wanting to disconnect from life I jumped out of my Andrew Rodebaugh self and jumped into my other self “Cosmic” my online identity where I was seen as the normal nerdy teen (among other things that I don’t want to share) that I wanted to be seen as in real life but it is hard to or not wise to. I got a couple good friends and got pretty popular online. It was good at the time being able to share my thoughts without being judged and being able to think for a while before responding which helped me avoid making mistakes of which I make in real life. I created projects with them since they were mostly programmers like me and they were really awesome about working on them. The best part was that they did not know who I really was, what I looked like, where I was from, and same about them. All they knew about me and all I knew about them is that I program, I try to listen to people and I can be helpful with life situation.

Unfortunately I became to used to it I went online and they were online most of the time… they were nice and they helped me through some tough times and we had fun making projects together. But then after a while the username became them and they became like my personal chatbots I did not really put a person behind the keyboard it might sound creepy but it is easy to do when talking to someone you do not know while online. Then you become more  open, more honest and you are quicker to criticize because you don’t really see their true emotions during a situation which can obviously lead into some problems. Then I was lead into a choice between two online friends…

Hero -> Cosmic: “Cosmic I cannot stand @jordan anymore he thinks he owns this whole project though he barely does anything.”

Cosmic -> Hero: “What happened?”

Hero -> Cosmic: “Don’t you see how he is constantly telling us what to do? He barely even knows how to code! Why did you even invite him!”

Jordan -> Cosmic: “Is @hero talking bull crap about me again? He constantly complains. I am just trying to keep things organised. Why did you even invite him he constantly complains and does annoying things?”

Cosmic -> Jordan: “Well maybe you guys need to work this out yourselves. I don’t want to get into any of this”

Jordan -> Cosmic: “Well if that is the case… If you do not kick him out I will quit and if you haven't forgotten I own the server which has the code in it… so it is either him or me and the code.”

That whole week was full of arguing online and it started to crumble this project I have been working with them for a long time was removed from the server so we were unable to use the code. People left and stopped chatting with me because I got impulsed to say things out of anger and frustration which was more than I would ever offline because I thought everything would work itself out like it always did. There was some other stuff that happened which is why you should not mess with programmers Jordan was able to take from a domain name I bought the IP address of my computer to be able to pinpoint my location being able to get my name to then get images of me. Then it happened I was out, they now knew who I was that safety I once had of being able to talk openly about myself went down the drain. I now had a real identity and they were learning things about me I did not want them to learn like my heart defect, what I look like, how I sound, my school, more of my interests and more. The web is a scary place that has so much information about you which anyone can find just by using my name. Your past is online and will continue to be online for the foreseen existence of the web and it is highly accessible with a simple online post. Put something embarrassing online then deleted it… don’t worry it is in some archive somewhere for someone to access.

Your identity affects how people will treat you that is why I wanted to hide it to create a new identity. Now they thought I was a disabled kid that needs help and is going through problems in life. And now they treated me that way which is the way many other people offline treated me… these were supposed to be the people that only new the good stuff about me: my close to perfect identity the person I would want to be seen as in life.

In conclusion, when people do not know your true identity such as online, people treat you differently. Your race, gender, ethnicity, disability and look among other things that make up yourself define how people interact you making online a safer place to express yourself sometimes. Making it safer until your identity comes out if it does.