A few months ago, Clueless and I were just sitting around and talking. All of a sudden, the topic turned to IMs and phone messages and Clueless turns to me and says...
I like "message" macho girl.
I give my usual blank stare and say
Huh? Who is that?
you know.. "message" macho girl? Its you when you send messages over the phone or over messenger... She is different from "in-person" macho girl...
You actually find a difference between the two?
Yeah! Don't you find a difference between "message" clueless and "in-person" clueless?
That got me thinking. Do I find a difference?
Over the next few weeks, I began to realize that I DID find a difference. I was beginning to see what clueless was getting at. Clueless in person is different from clueless over the phone, who is different from "message" clueless and so on and so forth. It was not just Clueless. I began to note the difference in most of my friends like ann@, Cookie monster, H2O, puttas and the list goes on.....
Why is there a difference in "message", "in-person" and "over-the-phone" personalities of all of us? After all, it is the same person in the conversation, whether in-person or over messenger. Then what makes the difference?
I guess we find a difference in all these "personalities" because each one of them expresses and different type of emotion at a different level. For example, seeing someone laugh at something you say is different from seeing a plain "hehe" over the IMs. That does make a huge difference because you have no idea if the person is really smiling while typing "hehe" or doing that with a straight face. (thats weird!)
We have certain emotions and feeling which we can't really tell out and find it easier to express in written words. I know that I always find it hard to say "sorry" to the person in a direct conversation. I always find it easier to type out a long apology over the phone or my computer. That marks the difference in all the "personalities". It is the way your thoughts are expressed and how it is interpreted. I will always be the same old "macho girl" whether you talk to me in person or over the phone or on messenger. Its the way I express myself over these different media that makes people look at me as different "macho girls"!!! (some people even tell me that "blogger" macho girl is a completely different person!)
I guess most of us suffer from this Multiple Personality...ah.. disorder. Lets not call it a "disorder". I don't think it is a disorder. After all variety is the spice of life! I have no idea what to call a variety in personalities, but whatever it is, it is not a disorder. Its just plain "multiple personality"!
Have you found a difference in the various personalities or "avataars" of your friends and family? Do you think you have a multiple personality?
5 comments:
wow...one tiny little comment from me is enough to warranty a huge 'insightful' post on macho girl's blog!!! i should really make these sorta comments more often!!!
and yeah, i agree with every single thing u've written. I also think its the way we express ourselves in different situations that make us seem so different...but maybe, in time, we can learn to incorporate all these different 'personalities' into one single, likeable person!! :P
great post, as always...keep updating! its the only thing thats gonna keep me entertained in the hols!!! :D
all that you've said sounds really familiar. i remember clueless telling me that she knows its me sending the IM when there are a lot of smileys! :D see? i think facial expression is a powerful tool in conveying what you want to say. i guess that's the reason why i use smileys so much. take for example the message "hi".
option 1: "hi!"
or option 2: "hi! :)"
which one made you happier? ;)
#clueless
U shud definitely make these sorta comments more often! I am sure u will. we have one brand new sem ahead of us!
Perhaps this multiple personality thing is all abt the situation. i guess we react differently to different situations and that reaction is just taken as a new "personality". I have no clue... just my 2 cents worth!
And i will try to update as often as possible! u shud too! thats my entertainment too u know! :D
#ann@
I guess facial expressions speak louder than words. When we talk face to face, our expressions normally compliment what we say. If they don't, then we know someone is not being completely honest. IMs r different. Unless u have a webcam! but even that won't help that much
And u r right about using smileys more often in IMs. Option 2 definitely made me happier :D
Very good post. You're right that through each of these mediums, we express ourselves differently.
// We have certain emotions and feeling which we can't really tell out and find it easier to express in written words.
So true. I feel one of the reasons for this is that when we write, we get more time to think about what we're trying to say, go through the words again and again and get it just right. With spoken words, once it's out it's out... and sometimes, the damage is done.
In some cases, written words also help to put the other person at ease since it gives them more time to respond than to just blurt out something, or have their feelings show on their face.
I guess it also means that the 'real' personality is the one that you can see... coz that's the one that's spontaneous.
Cheers
#viv
i guess not many of us think a lot before we blurt out something eh? There have been many times when i have said stuff without thinking and regretted later. now a days i am a bit more careful and put down lots of stuff in writing. Even before i say something, i try to think a few times. But i guess thats still more spontaneous than writing. perhaps when it comes to certain nice things that we have to say to our loved ones, we shud stick to talking.. afterall, they shud know every aspect of our personality. Besides when we speak out the nice stuff, the person to whom we r talking feels good and we also feel gr8 to have made that person happy with wat we said.
More sensitive stuff shud probably be written down after giving it lots of thought. Or we may just end up hurting someone whom we care abt more than our lives.... I totally agree with every thing u said.
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