monocyte's blog

the paradox of anonymity

last night I was thinking about blogging. not just what to blog but how to blog and I had a sort of realisation about my choice about anonymity. (more like pseudonymity if you want to be pedantic)

I did not make a conscious choice to blog anonymously. that's how my internet presence is like these days so when I started this blog, naturally it wasn't under my real name. but when I think about what to write and how to write I ask myself: "how much of me I want to reveal?" "how many layers of the onion I want to peel back?"

so about the paradox, if I write anonymously my writings have a sort of disconnect between real me. this can make it easier to talk about certain subjects but I think there is a sacrifice in sincerity. on the other hand if I were to blog with my real identity I'd also lose sincerity since I would want to present myself as how I want myself to be perceived by others.

I don't think there is any real answer. you could probably be sincere with either one. and what even is sincerity anyway? don't we all present ourselves differently under different circumstances? what even is the real me? the me in solitude, the me with my family or the me with my friends? probably all of them. after all we are all social chameleons in essence.

reply via email

liked this post? you can follow my rss feed for more. i'd also appreciate if you toasted this post below. 🍞