Online socializers have all sorts of reasons for not wishing to expose their personal relationships.
In fact, amid the information that is offered, some will vary from the truth while others fail to make mention of a relationship at all.
Online profiles are like mini resumes. They are every individual's personal sales pitch. However, while a profile is the key to all people inside an online community, they often contain the most evasive, altered and inaccurate pieces of information. It is divided between those who disclose accurate information and those who don’t, and one of the most widely altered elements of a public profile is relationship status.
To some online socializers, the straight forward, honest approach is most comfortable. To others, not wishing to mingle family life with an online social environment is more comfortable, and there is a justifiable tendency to omit relevant familial information. But then, there are those who choose to fill their profiles with inaccuracies. While not discrediting the honest profile builders, a deeper look into the less than truthful profiles that circulate within virtual chat forums seems curiously necessary.
Profiles are not mandatory in the majority of online venues, although it is for some. The focus here rests on non-required profiles, in which all people who chose to fill them out do so at free will. This composition will bring summary to the various elements of this phenomenon, while subsequent articles will delve deeper, bringing attention to what all this seems to mean.
It is found through observation that there is a substantial portion of people who choose to deflect the subject of personal relationship status by whatever means. Some seem to do this for personal gain, while others seem to use it as a luring tactic for attention. The range is wide regarding what is said, what actions are being taken, and the thoughts that provoke and initiate these actions.
What some people are saying:
Common responses to the question of relationship status vary among profile builders who are attempting to divert attention from their real life personal relationships:
- The lonely 's' - single letter application representing a single relationship status
- The announcing of an ending relationship
- The victim of relationship abuse
- n/a: no answer or not applicable
What some people are doing:
For those who chose to divert attention, they do so utilizing various evasive tactics:
-Skirting the truth
-Omission of information
-Making up stories
In their words - Common thoughts behind building an altered profile
There are many reasons presented as to the absence of relationship detail in a person's profile. A few common responses, but certainly not all reasons, are as follows:
- Feeling left out
- Attention seeking, becoming the center of attention
- Soothing loneliness
- Finding the emotional element missing in real life
- Seeking emotional enhancement
- Seeking sexual enhancement on an emotional level
- Potential deterrent of frank, uncensored discussions
There are pros and cons to all elements of internet socialization, and argumentatively so, each side is for the most part, justified in their own right. While the majority of people are not malicious by nature, they are, however, protective. Some of the steps that are taken to keep information hidden does not seem to be taken to cause emotional harm to others, but is taken to protect self. In this argument, the idea of 'emotionally harmful' is irrelevant, as it is not the receiver of information we are focusing on, but the person who is restricting factual information.
For a more in depth look at this topic, visit The Non-Truths in Online Profiles
