Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Confession #1

Surprise! I'm starting a new blog!
I know no one reads blogs anymore, but I never wrote my blog for the readers anyway!

So confession #1 to the world: I created and use an online dating profile.
I feel like I'm in an addiction recovery meeting.
"Hi, I'm Tacy and I converse with strangers online on a regular basis!"
But here is the real trick: To the "world", online dating doesn't have the stigma that it used to. We live in a digital age! Everyone is "online" for one thing or another, so it only seems natural that online dating is now becoming a social norm.

Just as my friends convinced me to create an online dating profile, they convinced me to start a blog about it. I guess they thought my nightly stories were funny enough to be shared with the world.
So on this blog I'm going to share some of the things I'm learning while "conversing with strangers on a regular basis!"
So let's jump right in with the first lesson I learned:

The Anonymity of the Internet Can Work For AND Against You
I'm not necessarily a shy person, but get me online talking to strangers and I have no reservations! That doesn't mean I lie. I am 100% honest with my profile, and with any questions I'm asked. But the fact that there is a 99.9% chance I will never see these people in person helps me to say what I'm thinking. Not just WHAT I'm thinking, but EVERYTHING I'm thinking. In return I feel more open and honest, because I'm holding nothing back.
But then came the moment that I realized we don't say everything that comes to our mind in face to face conversation for a reason. And then I just felt like an idiot!
No one wants to be someone's horror story, or the butt of someone's joke, or go on the list of "online dating creepers" simply because the proverbial sock never made it to their mouth (...or fingers, since I'm usually just typing). So what I say to people, hiding behind the anonymity of the internet, can get me labeled as something I 100% am not because I paraded around saying, "Well, I was just honest!"
So the lesson here: Don't say anything online that you wouldn't say face to face!
I wondered why I felt "crazy" while I was talking to people. I even said to a few of my friends, "I don't know what is up with me! I just don't feel like ME while I'm talking to these strangers." Well, it was because I wasn't being ME. I don't say everything that comes to my brain, because only crazy people say everything that is on their mind! It takes a certain kind of decorum to hold your tongue!

1 comment:

  1. Very True! I am so glad you are doing this! I hope you tell a few stories. They are so funny!! Good luck with this AND the online hunt.

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