An interesting thought piece by Glynnis MacNicol on what might happen when the life you are living online diverges sharply from your real life. Ms. MacNicol alludes to some of the potential costs, which I imagine are indeed a risk. At the same time, I can’t help but wonder if we could use technology to create a “highlight-reel self” not to hide or be in denial, but to forge a new story of our lives in an attempt to break out of old, stuck ways of feeling about ourselves. It could be an act of “re-visioning” if we do it right.
Psyche's Circuitry 
Interesting post. I’m reading a book about Theodore Roosevelt. As a child he was fearful of many things and he decided to act as though he were not and so eventually became a very forward and fearless person. So the identity we imagine might become the identity we actually live.
btw: I’d be really interested in your ideas about the recent disclosure of Facebook’s “experiment” on its users. Beyond just generally believing Facebook is evil I think this “experiment” was a real violation of ethics and the fact that some portion of the psychology establishment went along with it (i.e. by publishing) represents an ethics lapse. But that’s just my amateur opinion so I’d be interested in what an expert has to say.
That’s a great story about Roosevelt. He certainly knew how to create a public persona – and a personal narrative as well it seems!
I am nothing short of horrified by the Facebook experiment. Speechless with disgust really. Especially the betrayal of ethical standards by the academics. I certainly don’t expect any better from FB, whose arrogance is profound and ubiquitous.
Further, I am offended by the nitpicky discussion of whether this is “technically” an ethical violation – with many seeming to conclude that it is not. If it walks like a duck, and it sounds like a duck, it is most definitely a duck. I was thinking about writing a post about the study, but I can’t quite stomach it.