This is not about me at all. This is about my virtual self that exists on social media.
I am outspoken, straight forward, dynamic, passionate, impromptu and emotional. I act on my instincts. I love philosophy and preach even when I am sober.
My social media counterpart is .... well different.
He proof reads every Whatsapp message, for spelling and ambiguity, before sending ; thinks twice and thinks of alternative replies before sending; tweets selective thoughts; and is very particular of how his photos are on Facebook.
He is reserved. He is more thoughtful, more cautious. He's a little over 4 years and growing fast. He might never grow up to be like me. He has so many toys to hide his true self from the world.
This is not what I fear. What I fear is that everyone else too has a similar counterpart who is a complete stranger. With real world merging with the virtual one it will become more and more difficult to tell them apart. Relationships will become more complicated as the person he will be related to, is a personified personality disorder just like him.
The growing social media connect and usage is giving him more and more masks to wear. Underneath these masks, created by ephemeral trends, is the face that is slowly getting lost - identity disappearing - and locked in the hearts of very few who are close to him.
If he evolves to accepting the fact that a majority knows him by his other self and not the true one he will survive, if he fails to then he will fall victim to this fusion.
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