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Internet Personality vs. Real Life Personality

NewfieMike

By NewfieMike
in General Premed Discussions

How much does internet personality correlate to real life personality  

1 member has voted

  1. 1. How much does internet personality correlate to real life personality

    • People act on the site very similarly to how they would act in real life
      8
    • People are typically nicer on the internet than they are in real life
      0
    • People are typically meaner on the internet than they are in real life
      23
    • There is no way of knowing
      22

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NewfieMike Newbie

NewfieMike

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I've noticed a common theme on this site. Sometimes when someone gives really helpful, kind advice, someone will respond with a line like "wow you're so nice, you're going to make a great doctor!" The opposite is true when people give snarky, sarcastic comments, and get a line like "I pity your future patients".

 

I was wondering, how much does one's internet personality really correlate to how they would act in a real life situation? Are they nicer or meaner on the net than in real life? Maybe its impossible to tell? I'm interested in hearing what people think about this

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Rayven Newbie

Rayven

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I've noticed a common theme on this site. Sometimes when someone gives really helpful, kind advice, someone will respond with a line like "wow you're so nice, you're going to make a great doctor!" The opposite is true when people give snarky, sarcastic comments, and get a line like "I pity your future patients".

 

I was wondering, how much does one's internet personality really correlate to how they would act in a real life situation? Are they nicer or meaner on the net than in real life? Maybe its impossible to tell? I'm interested in hearing what people think about this

I don't really get the relevance of that first part of your post. If you come off as kind and caring and compassionate then people will say that you're kind, caring, and compassionate and vice versa.

 

I think the general consensus is that the anonymity of the internet lets many of us speak much more frank and arguably much more like our "true" selves.

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NewfieMike Newbie

NewfieMike

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right, people will say that you are kind and compassionate, but that's completely based on how they act on the internet. For example, I have met 2-3 people on this site (in medical school) who are absolute huge *******s on the net, but probably have amazing connections with the patients they have to interact with because they just fake it really well.

 

My point of the thread is that I really don't think people can use someone's internet personality as a reason to verify the quality physician they would make

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future_doc Newbie

future_doc

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I don't really get the relevance of that first part of your post. If you come off as kind and caring and compassionate then people will say that you're kind, caring, and compassionate and vice versa.

 

I think the general consensus is that the anonymity of the internet lets many of us speak much more frank and arguably much more like our "true" selves.

 

I show my true self and proudly so.:P People who are rude, saracastic on this forum cannot make me believe that they are kind, compassionate, considerate people like the adcoms are looking for.

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future_doc Newbie

future_doc

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oh I'm just plain wrong. Sorry I shouldn't have even opened this up for discussion if it was as simple as that

 

Welcome to the sarcastic club. And yes, the answer is obvious, but not to you, when someone on the internet is kind and compassionate, you consider such a person a jerk, however, when someone acts like a jerk, we are supposed to believe the best about this person.

 

It is clear from the posts who shows compassion, who helps, who is a jerk, who is sarcastic, who is rude, who (by their actions on this site) exhibits the qualities that adcoms are looking for.

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NewfieMike Newbie

NewfieMike

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i don't think its as clear as you think

 

 

edit: to prove a point, all someone who you consider mean and sarcastic would have to do is just create an alternate account, shoot the **** for a while about being compassionate and kind, and you would say that person is deserving to get into medical school. When in reality, it is the same person

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future_doc Newbie

future_doc

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i don't think its as clear as you think

 

 

edit: to prove a point, all someone who you consider mean and sarcastic would have to do is just create an alternate account, shoot the **** for a while about being compassionate and kind, and you would say that person is deserving to get into medical school. When in reality, it is the same person

 

For a person to create a flipside and keep these two opposing personalities separate and distinct under different names is a considerable task.....and all to what end?

 

I don't think rmorelan has a mean, sarcastic bone in his body even if he tried, nor do I think that he is phony in giving of such good avice to all comers. He is who he is and shows it, just as do you and others.

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Cnussey Newbie

Cnussey

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I tend to just be myself (proof: I don't even hide my real name with some coded login), but I'm willing to bet that many people find comfort (false or otherwise) in the distance of the WWW and tend to be meaner/nicer/faker/whatever on the internet...that's why you get so many creeps and whatnot on the dating services, that's why you get trolls, etc. The shroud of anonymity gives people the ability to behave however they feel like it.

 

The problem with this forum is that we are all "potential" colleagues, classmates, friends, etc.--it could be very easy to burn bridges.

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Dampy Newbie

Dampy

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I think docs are a lot "meaner", then most of the pre-meds around here would like to believe.

 

I don't really know how to define mean, if you consider judgmental and sarcastic people mean (a lot of the types of so called "mean" posts I see on pm101) then a good percentage of the docs I've met and been fortunate enough to converse with openly fall into that.

 

People aren't saints, giving some tough love around here or calling out the obvious isn't a bad thing, definitely doesn't make you a crap "future" doctor.

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Cnussey Newbie

Cnussey

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I think docs are a lot "meaner", then most of the pre-meds around here would like to believe.

 

I don't really know how to define mean, if you consider judgmental and sarcastic people mean (a lot of the types of so called "mean" posts I see on pm101) then a good percentage of the docs I've met and been fortunate enough to converse with openly fall into that.

 

People aren't saints, giving some tough love around here or calling out the obvious isn't a bad thing, definitely doesn't make you a crap "future" doctor.

 

Very true...I doubt many people are angels...but that doesn't mean (no pun intended) that people are not "meaner" online, even if they are "mean" in person.

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Cnussey Newbie

Cnussey

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I think that relating pm101 conduct to adcom impressions is ridiculous.

 

Actually, relating the "everyday" conduct of most individuals to adcom impressions is ridiculous--people rarely "perform" to their best of their abilities or show their true colours in interviews (the reason why so many d-bags get in and so many wonderful candidates get shafted each year post-interview!).

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