I never thought it would come to this. Although I am 43 years old, I am still drawn to youthful music and activities like video games. I am willing to try out most new services that come along on the internet. Lately, however, I've been feeling like an old fogey on the internet.
I came to web maturity in an age when you didn't use your real name or picture on the internet. That is still recommended for those who are under 18, but I am seeing a shift with adults. All of a sudden it is frowned upon to use an avatar on social networking sites. One day everyone had a cute cartoon for their icon, and now I seem to be the only one among my Twitter friends not using a photo of myself. It is starting to look like LinkedIn.
Maybe I'm weird, but one of the reasons I like hanging out on the internet is so I can present a stylized version of myself. Do you have to know what I really look like to enjoy my writing or have a stimulating online chat with me? One of my online friends said that she prefers photos and real names so that she can recognize people if she happened to run into them on the street. Yikes! That is so outside my comfort zone. I socialize online so I don't have to interact in person. Although I don't think I'm a troll or anything, I'd rather keep hiding behind my Meez.
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