Do You Show Your True Self in Cyberspace?

Use anonymity to your advantage

Photo by Andrei Lasc on Unsplash

“Individuals with increased inferiority feelings have a higher tendency toward self-concealment, which in turn results in an increase in loneliness and a decrease in happiness.”

Here is a provocative quote that inspires a sense of familiarity and tempts me to spill the beans. Do essay writers on Medium conceal themselves, or do they express their truths with abandon? Or do most do both?

I don’t pretend to know, but the issue around self-disclosure and the term ‘self-concealment’ is fascinating. Self-concealment is a psychological construct defined as “a predisposition to actively conceal personal information that one perceives as distressing or harmful from others. “

Limits on Self Concealment

I think the Internet has had a liberating effect on the silent majority, especially on the self-concealers. This includes those who would rather hide our light under a bushel than express our truths into the world.

Writing online and consuming content online tends to permit more disclosure due to anonymity, ease of hiding one’s identity, one-sided interaction, and the use of mediating communications via apps…