MySpace, Facebooks, Livejournal and anonymity

[orangerful]

banazir posted a bit on how much Rupert Murdoch just paid for MySpace and Facebook and it got my brain turning again about why I would never use these services.

I like to be anonymous.

It's not that I try to hide my age/race/sex when I post about things, but it's almost more amusing to have people not know right off the bat. I'm sure the way I talk and the icons I use give it away most of the time, but you never know. I feel like MySpace and Facebook are all about SHOWING us who you are, the emphasis on pictures. It's about posting your photos, your bio, who you are, who your friends are, how many you have yadda yadda. It feels far more superficial.

Now, I wasn't around when Livejournal first came about. jimithingy said that it was a very big deal for awhile. Perhaps in those days it was more photos and OMG AM I HOT IN THIS OUTFIT! and bright pink on yellow backgrounds. But not in the circles I move in.

I've probably said this before, but when it comes to many fandoms, especially music fandoms, a lot of times girls get discounted for only liking a band/show because of the hot male lead etc. Or she becomes a thing of wonder when she happens to be a fan of sci-fi or fantasy, especially to the extent that I am with the collecting and such. And it can detract/distract from any actual point you're trying to make. It's one reason I love my username - it's a pretty unisex name.

And I know that sounds sorta creepy - ooooh Sam likes to be anonymous, she goes into the old man chatroom and pretends to be an old man! It's not that. But if you've ever had something you sorta "pfffft" by someone else because of something as simple as how you look, your age, your job, etc you understand what I mean.

Comments

[whitemartyr.livejournal.com]

And I know that sounds sorta creepy - ooooh Sam likes to be anonymous, she goes into the old man chatroom and pretends to be an old man!

LOL! Yeah! I agree. Totally. I have been enjoying my myface more, but that's mostly because I enjoy the fact that it plays music and video and I can discover new artist's through it. LJ is where I express more of myself because I feel more...free? Odd. But true!!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

exactly! there's something very freeing about no one knowing. I mean, occasionally we post photos, but MySpace usually puts the pictures in your face, so it's a constant, while on LJ they are usually just from one post or another.

[toothlesshag.livejournal.com]

I like to go to chatrooms and pretend Im old.

Seriously, though, I'm totally with you on all this.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

hehe, it's not even that I say I'm someone else...I just neglect to say who I am. And the first thing MySpace lists is your name, age, and location, usually asking for a big honking picture of you next to that.

It makes sense that teenagers would latch on to MySpace to show themselves off, even though it's famously the time in your life when you're most insecure about your body and how it compares, it's one of the big times when you're willing to compare.

I'm sure there are many MANY psych majors in the world right now working on their MySpace thesis papers...

[blu-harvest.livejournal.com]

I agree! I don't want everyone knowing I'm a black Jewish Woman! That's my business.