Question of the Day

[ayoub]

Do you keep your online and real lives separate, and if so, why?

---

They're merging... Because I don't have any reason to separate them any more...

Comments

[glowy-lovers.livejournal.com]

Hmmm I guess mine are fairly seperate. I think I'm doing the male thing of compartmentalising. Apparently females don't do it very well but I seem to maintaining it ok LOL

[billzy.livejournal.com]

Its easier that way! lol... Only a couple of people atm cross the divide...

[cram.livejournal.com]

i used to, because it always seems to cause drama and conflict in other people's lives, especially livejournal. but i have met a few people on lj and have added a few real-life ones to my friends list the past year, and it's mostly been okay.

[milagro75.livejournal.com]

Not really. I have a handful of friends here who are friends irl, and others I hope to meet someday.

[seegwa.livejournal.com]

At the moment they're quite separate - but I would really like to meet a lot of people on my flist for some realtime face to face.

[alainn-mactire.livejournal.com]

The only thing that's really separate is the fact that most people in RL know me by one name and most people online know me by my nickname.

Other than that, I'd say my online life is, other than Dave and Hannah, sometimes more real than my offline one, LOL. Come on, I'm even doing my degree online!!

[shadowwolf13]

No, never have, because I want everybody reading me to know that you can have a good, happy life after abuse. I want them to know that there is a way to get out and they can find joy in life again.

[gillian16.livejournal.com]

No, but there have been a few instances where I wish I had. But to balance that, there have been a few where I am so happy I did.

[1jodie.livejournal.com]

i don't purposely keep them separate. but none of my real life friends are on LJ. however i have met a couple of my LJ friends in real life. and there are a few others i'd like to meet as well.

[kathyrene.livejournal.com]

I try to as much as possible but I'm longing to meet new friends. That being said, my good sense (and experience) knows that the internet is not always the most wonderful place we wish it would be. I'm also quite naieve I've discovered. So not ready to throw caution to the wind just yet.

[fragbert.livejournal.com]

Despite early attempts to keep them separate, my life and my LJ have become entangled completely.

[kingdavey.livejournal.com]

Distance keep most of my online friends seperate

[naimhe35.livejournal.com]

Since I'm fairly new to Lj, most of my real-life friends are not on except the one who introduced me to LJ. With him it's been mostly ok, we have our moments.

[sorah.livejournal.com]

I do not keep them seperate and often speak of my friends online. People do look at me like I am whacked. Oh wait - I am whacked!

Forgot to mention that I hope your back feels better soon. I hit the chiropractor often due to my back. In fact, today is one of those days where I will be calling to get in.

[chiropteraclan.livejournal.com]

Yes. Well right now, I refuse to join Myspace, and there are no LJ users here. I have yet to meet any LJ-ers living even an hour from me.

[pyxiwulf.livejournal.com]

sort of. I know lots of lj friends IRL & want to meet more. that said, outside of my personal lj & the people fl, I tend to play a character in communities. it's not that I don't neccesarily think the things I act out, but I drop all manners & tact. the persona I use to say what I think is not who you will see IRL. I also do not allow my family aside from my older sister to know about it. just like I wouldn't invite them to a kegger, I don't invite them to my lj.

[evergladesqueen.livejournal.com]

no, what you read is what i deal with FOR REAL.

[eithnepdb.livejournal.com]

Ah – a seemingly simple question but quite complex if you consider the varying levels to which the internet or “online” world has evolved in society.

In terms of tasks (shopping, banking, investments, correspondence, research, information gathering, entertainment – the list goes on!) the online world has become part of my offline life. The way I did things ten years ago as opposed to how I do them now has merged to a point where online is a part of my daily offline life. It has been absorbed like any tool might – a telephone or PDA for example.

In terms of personality I’d like to think my online presence has always been part and parcel of who I am in the offline world. I was never one for taking on a pseudonym (I’ve almost always used a version of my given name) and a different personality to accompany it.

I certainly have known people who have completely separate personalities online and off. Married people pretending to be single being the most prevalent. People substituting online interpersonal relationships for offline ones. Good, bad or indifferent, these are some of the separations I’ve certainly witnessed.

The simple answer is they have always been linked although the degree of that linkage has broadened in scope and in depth in an ebb and flow pattern over the last 15 years.

[donnickcottage.livejournal.com]

I am who I am; more's the pity :p

And... I've offered to meet people often. They don't often take me up on it, but that's not my fault:)

[pasticcio.livejournal.com]

Mine are merging in some ways .. I do like to keep them separate as much as possible because my online life can be an escape from my real life at times and we all need a little place to escape sometimes, know what I mean? :)

[beloved-juno.livejournal.com]

I don't really make a distinction between my online life and my "real" life anymore. These days, I use the internet to supplement my actual life -- for work, promotion for my personal projects, and to connect with others. My significant other, my family, and my real life acquaintances are all aware of what I do online. I'm always babbling on about my clients, how things are going with my art sales, and so forth.

Years ago though, it used be more an excuse to get away from my life. I was in a bad marriage, I hated my job, and nothing was going well with any of my real life acquaintances. I turned to the internet in those days as a place where I could be accepted, as well as vent about everything going on. No one from "real life" really knew who I talked to or was allowed to read my blogs or anything, and this was way before I went back to my art or my writing.

[fox-bard.livejournal.com]

Not for many years. Online is just a daily part of my regular routine these days.

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

As you said, they're merging. What you see of me online is pretty much the way I am offline.

[popfiend.livejournal.com]

Yes and No.

There's always spillover, but for the most part (other than my wife) my family knows nothing about my online life.

My sister, mom and dad wouldn't get it and it's easier just to omit it.

[mercystreet1986.livejournal.com]

I wish I could merge my online and real lives together. There are a lot of lj friends who I would love to meet face to face. :)

[f-l-i-r-t.livejournal.com]

I don't keep them separate persay, but I also don't write a 'today I woke up and....'

Also out of respect for people in my life, I don't speak about them in a detailed sense, they have a right privacy as much as anything else. And, in 'real life' as you put I share different levels with me with different people same here.

So basically I don't keep them separate, those that are important to me in my life know about and have access to read my journal if they fancy.

[childeofloki.livejournal.com]

They are separate if only because all my online friends live a long ways away, so I can never just go hang out at coffee with them.
Also, my "real life" friends don't get random bouts of poems as often.

Due to my nature, my interactions are different as well. I am more jovial face to face, more prone to smart ass responses, less prone to start speaking the more in-depth thoughts.
It is not an intentional "must keep real life and online separate" kind of deal, it's simply that the two are different.

[nantosvelta.livejournal.com]

oh come now, I'm sure you're RL friends would love random bouts of poetry at random times during the day! ;P

[childeofloki.livejournal.com]

Blues Traveler:

Choking on the inside
Kill a little of your pride
Jaded hate
Intellegence insatiate
Humor does not lack
Lack of tact is a lack at that
Friend to few
For friends are few
Chorus of quotes
Pads with poetry notes
Quick with wit
Just listen a bit
He's a little rash, and sometimes a fucker
But all in all, he's our friend, Tucker.

~by my friend, Justin Kramer. (it's about me, if you couldn't tell)

[nantosvelta.livejournal.com]

I surprised there wasn't a bawdy limerick in there sometwhere! ;D

[childeofloki.livejournal.com]

"A lack of tact is a lack at that" sums that part up.

[nantosvelta.livejournal.com]

tact is for those who can't think of something witty to say.

Or something along those lines, I forget the exact quote.

[nantosvelta.livejournal.com]

Mostly separate, mostly due to distances involved. Hard to meet for pints when an ocean or 16hr drive separates us!

[hippie-geisha.livejournal.com]

I just took the giant leap of posting a photo of myself....I feel kind of queasy....

[lipzofs0rr0w.livejournal.com]

define separate? I mean as you know, i do write personal events in my journal, but i don't write everything in there and a lot of my friends i met through online socializing.

some ex's too.

[mousie.livejournal.com]

sheesh you too??

You guys really want me to answer this huh?
lol

[innerly.livejournal.com]

yes, i don't hide it from Cris, he knows about all of you guys, have shown him pictures of my fave people (you included!), he knows i would let him in if he wanted to, but he says this is *my* thing.. as you know he's met a few of my LJ friends with me...
the rest of my family know i have friends from all over the world (i use my dad's PO Box in Texas to get my mail, mexican postal service sucks), but they don't know about my journal.. and i intend to keep it that way

[avis-noctis.livejournal.com]

Somewhat. Mostly my distinction is based on "trusted/close people" and "not trusted/close people", though, not "on/off line". There's a lot of stuff that no one really needs to know about me, whether on or offline.

[castlelady.livejournal.com]

Not really. The only difference is that I'm not as trusting with people offline than I am with my friends list, and my friends list knows more about me than offline people ever will.

[painted-dreams.livejournal.com]

I don't see a reason to separate them so no.

[kelly-pink.livejournal.com]

nope..Shawn, Sarah and becki are on all my pages so...not possible! lol

[bia22.livejournal.com]

yes i do, I dont really know why i do anymore. I guess at times, I want to moan about people I know in real life on lj:P