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I wonder if you're posting about our "real" identities, as they're understood by our immediate family, in-person friends, colleagues, banks, and governments; or
by enasterosophes 3y ago
I wonder if you're posting about our "real" identities, as they're understood by our immediate family, in-person friends, colleagues, banks, and governments; or online interactions in general, even when some form of anonymity provides some distance?
I'm definitely more hesitant these days to associate my "real" identity with my online identity. Easy example is I only access HN through a VPN and a pseudonym. I'm mentally prepared for the day that this account will be de-anonymised, and I don't post anything too crazy under this name against that day. Still, I'd prefer to keep a separation, and I'd probably start a new account if that's what it takes to retain anonymity.
None of this should come as a surprise. McLuhan predicted from the mid-20th century that we would end up with a global small-town mentality. The "global village" wasn't a platitude, it was a warning.
- _xivi 3y agoI meant online interactions in general even with a pseudonym. You mentioned using a VPN and a pseudonym but my point about data mining and computing power is that it seems quite easy and more accessible than ever to use techniques like Stylometry to link data points together and track your activity across platforms. And this is just using publicly accessible data. I'm not concerned about my profile per say but it seems many parties are weaponizing the data shared on internet to their advantage, and I don't want to feed the beast(s). Tbh, I'm not sure how to piece my thoughts together yet but the idea of being more of a lurker online sounds more appealing as time passes.
- enasterosophes 3y agoI'm interested to see what it looks like once you do piece your thoughts together. Then again, by that point, you may have decided to stop sharing your thoughts altogether, so maybe I'm in the goldilocks zone of everything you will ever post :D