…in our real lives, we struggle to understand our real self.

…in our real lives, we struggle to understand our real self. This illustrates the situation pretty well:

(I am not sure where this abstraction comes from – Carl Rogers comes close)

In essence, we are neither who we think we are, nor are we what others think we are. Our real “self” is embedded in some shadow. Discovering this – our “real self” – is the magic that has spawned generations of godmen and mystics. This quest for the search of our true “identity” has continued for centuries.

What happens when you introduce the online world? This:

The quest for identity has gotten much, much more difficult thanks to the Internet. We are no longer just real human beings living in real lives, visible to sound, sight, and touch – we are now a Twitter persona, a Facebook persona, a Google Plus persona, and so on.

These online accounts are identities in themselves. Whether one chooses to associate these online identities with one’s real identity is an individual’s choice. (There are over 7 billion people on this planet.) But many do, and when they do, there is possibility of conflict. Online and Offline collide in ways one had never thought of before. Yes, they often do, just like this.

How does it look when your online persona is very different from what you really are?

The more different you are online than in your real life, the more stress you feel.

Some people are true to themselves to such an extent that their real life identities match closely with their online identities.

These are folks who experience harmony, with their digital and real self entwined together.

Another way to think about this:

No wonder millions of people are trying to solve the puzzle.

– Mahendra Palsule