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How do you judge
if a net persona (age, gender, location, etc) matches the real persona?In an environment such
as this project and email, I pretty much take people for what they present themselves as.
In fact I like the sort of level playing field that this medium presents (not level if you
can't write however).
As for chat rooms (which I still have
problems following) and other mass posting environments, I work the opposite. I pretty
much feel that the person behind the screen words could be anyone or anywehre. The
12 year old girl from Manitoba could easily be the 62 year old man sitting next to me in a
public lab. I trust what happens in these sorts of online environments a lot less.
Sort of like the difference between walking
into a bar (chat room) or a dinner party (groups like this).
Felicia, 34
Somerville, MA
If I know a person in real life,
that's a good indicator. I don't seek out people that I
know purely on the net. . .I don't go in chatrooms or anything. If I talk to
somebody I haven't met it generally has to do with a common interest that we have, and
there's no reason to lie about that.
Karen, 20
Marshelltown/Ames, IA
You don't judge whether a person is
who they say you are. Personally, I don't lie
about who I am, however, people do and I don't have a problem with that. Basically, when
you talk to somebody online, it is a crapshoot to determine if they are who they say they
are.
Ernest, 29
Washington, DC
You can't. These are some of the problems
you encounter with written correspondence in a quick back and forth environment. I use a
decent amount of dry humor and sarcasm and am often taken a lot more seriously than
intended. Everything about the chatroom people is unknown and that's why the alias is
always irrelevant.
Alias Irrelevante
Are you asking for advice? If she says she's
18, she's 12. If she says she's 25, she's an evil mummy and can only be defeated by fire.
Anthony, 25
Baton Rouge, LA
When two worlds collide! -
Jami, 27
Lowell, MA
Except for this project, I primarily
communicate on the net with people I already know, so I don't really have any
standard criteria.
Jane, 60
West Linn, OR
I either don't care, don't worry
about it, or I meet them. Simple.
Firelady, 22
Dallas, TX
I guess you just have to take their word for
it... I know some people online who've showed me their pics, and they pretty much match
the description.
Jeremy, 13
Highlands Ranch, CO
From experience, I can usually tell who is
being rotten and who isn't. I stay out of the way of liars, I make friends with ones who
are honest and reliable. That's about it.
Aurora, 17
Montreal, Quebec CANADA
behavior most likely, but the truth is, you
never really know.
Angela, 16
Aiken, SC
That's a good question. I don't
think that there is a way really to know. So everything someone says you have to take with
a grain of salt. I think that even if someone were
posing as someone else - in some way everything that they say is a part of them. It is
really hard to hide personality for really long periods of time. I also don't really care
if someone is or isn't who they say they are on the net - I prefer to make friends in
person :)
Kate, 19
Bellingham, WA
IT WOULD REALLY BE HARD IF YOU ARE REFERRING
TO A PERSON ON THE NET. mOSTL LIKELY BY LANGUAGE AND THINGS THEY MAY SEND. YOU CAN BE
FOOLED AS IT HAS BEEN PROVEN BY MANY ON THE NET ESPECIALLY IF THEY AGREE TO MEET A PERSON.
I GUESS BY THE TERMS THEY USE IN WRITING OR THE SLANG THEY MAY USE.
Marci, 55
OH
i think you really have to pay attention to
what they say and how they say it. do they fit the stereotype of the age they gave
you, do they seem to know their way around the place they say they live, etc
Karen2, 14
Boston, MA
I learn well using all three methods,
depending on the situation. If it involves something mechanical (assembling something), I
learn best by watching and doing. If it involves remembering a verse from a song, I learn
best by listening.
Dianne, 51
NY
I don't try to ever get that close to anyone
on a web page so that it particularly matters. . . .If someone wants to lie about any or
all of that, and create a persona for themselves, I'll go with it as long as they allow me
to. . .or as long as their credibility isn't stretched way out of reason. . .and even then
I doubt I'd indicate for a second that I noticed the obvious contradictions between what
they're saying and what info. they gave for their age/gender/location. . .
mothmc, 35
Los Angeles, LA
It is sort of revelaed through
conversation. It is pretty easy to tell if someone is not who they claim they are by the
way they write, or respond to more indepth questions.
Maggie, 20
Sandwich, IL
I try not to judge. I realize that some
people live vicariously in cyberspace, and so I keep an open enough mind to allow for
that. If someone wants to misrepresent themselves,, I guess that's his right, for
now.
Jesse, 24
Bowie, MD
There really is no way to tell
Meg
Well, you're never really going to know, but
the whole world of the net is only pictures in our own mind anyway. If you think you're
talking to someone of a certain description, I don't see the difference if they really
aren't, as long as everyone;s aware of the possibility that not every one is who they
seem. Being someone else can be part of the fun.
Megan, 24
Chicago, IL
I had a REALLY bad experience with a person
online (I won't even get into the story. Sufficient to say, it's long and dramatic... like
my life *grin*) so I automatically distrust most people in chat rooms, random emails, etc.
But if I've communicated with them for a long time (there are some people I've talked to
for 4 or 5 years and never met in person), I tend to believe
Amy, 23
New Orleans, LA
I judge a person based on their words and
actions. For me that is a better indication than age, gender, etc. If words and actions
don't match, then I take a closer look at that person.
Laura, 35
Lowell, MA
I would have to say just talking and
getting to know the person. It's not something you can realize in the first few minutes of
chatting. However, you can usually figure out if a guy is genuine within the first few
minutes because he won't ask the typical "get in your cyber pants"
Tracy, 24
Ocean City, NJ
I have never used a net persona or
communicated with a net persona. So I guess I would
assume everything to be fiction until proven otherwise.
Tina, 31
Medford, MA
I rarely chat to people who I don't know
online, of the few that I have chatted to I couldn't care less if they were who they said
they were so long as I have a laugh and good conversation. If someone is sad enough to
make up a whole new persona for themselves it's up to them.
Nikki, 27
Kirkham ENGLAND
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