Online Honesty | INFJ Forum

Online Honesty

Gaze

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Sep 5, 2009
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How do you think honesty about self, feelings, thoughts, and ideas affect how see yourself as a person in the online world and the way you interact with people irl?
 
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There is a group of people I have been involved with online that has effected my very soul..........they are the most educated, generous loving people I have ever know.
Being that I come from an abandoning father and abusive/neglectful/drug addict/alcoholic mother (only child btw) they have filled in a lot of the 'gaps' in my learning what is normal. They have inspired me to be a better person. To be honest, I am more myself with them than anyone else in the world.
 
How do you think honesty about self, feelings, thoughts, and ideas affect how see yourself as a person in the online world and the way you interact with people irl?

I don't know. I know that there are lots of interesting topics online, especially on this forum, that inspire me to think more deeply about different things. I think that, for me, any communication I have online can help me in the real world, because it's all about learning more about other people as well as myself through communication and exploration.
 
The more honest I am with coworkers and acquaintances, the less they understand me. I have learned to keep my honest reactions and beliefs from my grown siblings unless first doing lots of prep work by listening to their views on the matter at hand and even then I may keep my realizations to myself rather than disturb them. With my spouse and few friends I am open and honest. On line I try to react considerately and honestly to discussions . I find in real life and online I tend to feel ignored.
 
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Well, I don't know son, you tell me.

I'm certainly not a 19 year old dude from the UK in real life, though some people online see me as this....
 
...is impossible.

We aren't supposed to exist in text and imagery. Sorry. And. We aren't supposed to be in different rooms while we communicate. So I think even if we could hear and see each other (and maybe even touch?!), it would still be fake from distance.

:m056: (at least the monkeys all around the place are encouraging ^^ for my wild nature)

How it affects me... in many ways, mostly about thinking, but I recognize it's very limiting and misleading and I accept that for now.
 
This forum makes me think, a lot. It's helped me grow as a person and intellectually. I feel that the interactions I've had on here have helped shape me into a better person.

I'm also a lot more honest about myself online then I am in real life. I think the false sense of anonymity helps feed my "honesty"
 
I tend to expect little from life on an on-line forum. If I find myself pleasantly surprised now and again...that's great!!
 
How do you think honesty about self, feelings, thoughts, and ideas affect how see yourself as a person in the online world and the way you interact with people irl?

On the forum I reveal feelings and thoughts I never would share in the real life. In the forum I'm totaly INFJ and in real life I adapt myself to my suroundings and change often in INTJ, INFP, ESTJ ... So I would say I'm more honest about my true self on the forum than in real life. But than again who I am in real life is also a part of myself

I must notice that since I am on the forum, I'm also changing in real life. Now I finaly can tell what is going on inside of me without the balk shocked faces, I can finaly accept myself without thinking that something is really wrong with me. And because of that I am more myself in the real world. And that is a very good thing. And what I never could imagine, a lot of people to who I open up, really understand me and confess that they have the same problems that I had. There seems to be more INFJ'ish people around me than I ever imagined. And also other types of people accept me more than before because now they finaly get a sence of who I really are...
 
I must notice that since I am on the forum, I'm also changing in real life. Now I finaly can tell what is going on inside of me without the balk shocked faces, I can finaly accept myself without thinking that something is really wrong with me.

Before I knew about this whole Psychological type/MBTI thing, I used to think I had a personality disorder, lol.

I think understanding yourself is one thing, being able to communicate your differences to others is another- and I'm getting much better at that, thanks to a deeper knowledge of the system and myself.
 
Before I knew about this whole Psychological type/MBTI thing, I used to think I had a personality disorder, lol.

me too!!!!!! Also when I revealed a little bit of my strange personality to someone, the actually told me that that was not normal, LOL

And the wonderfull thing is, since I now I'm not abnormal, I can accept myself more, I AM myself more in real life, and I AM accepted by the real life too.
 
I think I'm a bit more bold online, but for me it's because I feel more confident online. As an introvert I think I thrive online.

That being said, I strive to show the "real" me as much as possible. In real life I'm probably much more shy.
 
I was thinking about this when we were having our jello wars. How many of us in real life would have been so outgoing. Not me! I would've been hiding in the back watching all the fun.
Ha! how true. There's a good chance I never would have even shown up at the pool. If we all actually knew each other though, I'd be in the middle of the fray
 
Nope, I'm way more honest on this forum. Not that I'm dishonest in life. I just don't reveal many of the things that I do here. Yes, it's easy over the "faceless" internet, but it's more than that. I understand all you, and know that you can understand my thoughts and feelings much better than others, due to our being of like minds (and type or course). I want people to understand me, especially all these great minds here on the forum.

We are all beautiful inside. Here it can really come out if you let it.
 
Im just as honest here as I am in real life.

However I feel more comfortable online chatting to people than I do in real life.
 
Im just as honest here as I am in real life.

However I feel more comfortable online chatting to people than I do in real life.

Yeah, same here. I "feel" (because i'm sure i'm probably mistaken) that i can be fairly open and honest here online about feelings or thoughts, when irl i wouldn't and couldn't be. I feel this kind of honesty however, is a bit of a risk. You risk others seeing things in you than others irl don't see, which could be good or bad. But being honest online has helped me in some way to be more honest with myself, but there's also less willingness to compromise. Sometimes, the honesty goes to far, and crosses a line or reveals more than it intends to, creating poor impressions of self online and off. So, it's tricky.
 
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...is impossible.

We aren't supposed to exist in text and imagery. Sorry. And. We aren't supposed to be in different rooms while we communicate. So I think even if we could hear and see each other (and maybe even touch?!), it would still be fake from distance.

:m056: (at least the monkeys all around the place are encouraging ^^ for my wild nature)

How it affects me... in many ways, mostly about thinking, but I recognize it's very limiting and misleading and I accept that for now.
Whatever helps you sleep at night, dude.

Just because it isn't within reach doesn't mean it isn't real. There are liars online, there are liars offline, there are good people on and offline, there are people starving in Africa, and gays being repressed in Japan. There are people being born or dying in armed conflict right now. Someone, somewhere, right now has lost a mother or a brother or an uncle.

And it's all real. But I can see how convincing yourself it's not real would make it all so much easier.
 
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Sorry, what?

Maybe it's just me, and my brain considers non-verbal communication to be more important than verbal.

I'm more hurt if someone lies to me with voice, face, posture, and movements, than with words.