I hate anything I post that makes me seem ‘so old’ or whatever haha.
But, while I don’t ever remember a time in my life without internet, I do remember early internet and AOL and all that jazz. And I remember in elementary/middle school making up dumb screen names and things. I think, at the time, that was considered ‘standard’ and ‘safer’, to not be yourself, but to be just a username.
Then, as I got a little older (I think especially in college), screen names seemed ‘stupid’. Many people encouraged going by your real name, as it seemed more authentic/professional/conceivably easy to find your friends.
But then, on TikTok the other day, in the comments section of some video on my FYP, someone was totally roasting someone else for using their real name. Like, ‘why would you ever do that on the internet? We’re all just here to have fun. Pick a random screen name.’
And now I’m just wondering – have we come full circle? Has the etiquette changed, or have I just never known it? Is it maybe different, depending on the app? (Probably that one, but that sounds like a lot to keep track of haha)