October 18

I just finished Because Internet. I was mildly disappointed. I was expecting something a bit pithier and witty, and while there were points where the book was that, it also felt a bit overwrought. In any event, one thing that the author put her finger on was something I have thought a lot about but could never contextualize. She talks about how early Internet adopters, people (like me) who came online in the early/mid 90s, created an alter ego the was different than their “IRL” personas. The idea was that internet was an alternate space separate from the real world you lived in. On the other hand, people who came online once the internet was ubiquitous and everyone joined Facebook and iPhones folded the market, did not do the same thing - their online and "IRL" personas are the same.

It made sense once I thought about it. Back in the day, the internet had a vaguely mysterious air about it; chat rooms and message boards, there was almost something illicit about it - like, the idea you would meet a person you met on the internet seemed ... risky and dangerous in ways it no longer does. Our office has a social media policy that envisions people expressing opinions online that are easily connected to them because most people don't bother creating that alter ego (like, say "scary lawyer guy") that was once common.

Anyway, that part of the book really resonated with me. It is very hard to find information about me on the internet and I prefer it that way. Y'all who blur the line, I just do not get.

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