This is something I’ve noticed as a factor in my own behavior since I was a child. I never tried isolating myself from social influences to avoid pressure on my personality though, rather, at an early age, I consciously rejected the idea that I had a distinct “true” personality that existed irrespective of circumstance. My strategies mainly focused on creating my own pressures to conform to so that I could shape my contextual behavior in directions I wanted.
My first top level post is actually an example of this, since I created it not just to provoke discussion or enlighten, but to unpack my sense of humor. I tend to be happier in social circles where I express a sense of humor than ones where I don’t, but while I could act like that whenever I want to, in practice, if I haven’t set up a persona that it’s consistent with, I usually don’t.
I also tend to avoid anonymity online, so that I can use others’ expectations of me to reinforce standards for my own behavior. I use the same online handle pretty much everywhere I go, so that I can enforce some continuity between my online personas, and so that my reputation everywhere on the internet rests on my behavior anywhere, and I can keep myself from descending into GIFT
This is something I’ve noticed as a factor in my own behavior since I was a child. I never tried isolating myself from social influences to avoid pressure on my personality though, rather, at an early age, I consciously rejected the idea that I had a distinct “true” personality that existed irrespective of circumstance. My strategies mainly focused on creating my own pressures to conform to so that I could shape my contextual behavior in directions I wanted.
My first top level post is actually an example of this, since I created it not just to provoke discussion or enlighten, but to unpack my sense of humor. I tend to be happier in social circles where I express a sense of humor than ones where I don’t, but while I could act like that whenever I want to, in practice, if I haven’t set up a persona that it’s consistent with, I usually don’t.
I also tend to avoid anonymity online, so that I can use others’ expectations of me to reinforce standards for my own behavior. I use the same online handle pretty much everywhere I go, so that I can enforce some continuity between my online personas, and so that my reputation everywhere on the internet rests on my behavior anywhere, and I can keep myself from descending into GIFT