C.

(Sumicad, Lady)
Robert Hogan on Personality Psychology, stated: “there’s a you that you know and the you
that we know.” There’s an identity we’ve established within ourselves, through ideas and the
stories we invent. However, who we are based on another person’s perception, is the one that’s
grounded in reality. The story we tell ourselves is something we’ve made up, while our
reputation can be confirmed by others. As Sigmund Freud declared, “the you that you know is
hardly worth knowing.”
What adds motion to life is social interaction. We anticipate the next occasion we engage
in conversation — rehearsing past experiences, evaluating the effect of our choice of words, and
the best approach to accommodate an individual’s preferred communication style — whether we
are conscious of this act or not. Through this endeavor to connect and socialize, we learn and
grow to become mindful and self-aware members of civilized society.
Sherry Turkle’s article highlights points that would agree with the previous statements.
Most people you see online are wearing false masks, thus our need for authentic relationships are
impaired. Using social media, we can manipulate our image and distort the information we post
to the public. Trying to seem interesting, we consequently draw people in who believe that we
are who we say we are. Maintaining a façade diverts our attention from what truly matters most:
someone who will come to understand and accept the crazy, weird, beautiful and broken you.
Finding another human being who’s willing to point out your flaws and misconceptions
coming from a place of compassion and love, seems like a shot in the dark today. Knowing that
we can hide behind our virtual self across a myriad digital ecosystem, to speak up and dare to
open our hearts for others to take a peek inside is a really brave thing to do. Vulnerability doesn’t
mean weakness; when we stumble upon those special people we can go and grow together with,
life becomes a little less strange and heaps more freeing.