Being Anonymous 1/20/17

January 20, 2017

It has been already for 20 days into the new year! Time flies. Social media has been around our world more than 10 years. For instance FaceBook started February 4, 2004. People have been creating “self image” apart from the reality for long time. We can be anyone we like online. In Japan it is very popular to take photos with the machine (Purikura) which can make your eyes bigger, your body thinner, whatever you like. You just push the bottom to select the perfect image. And you post this photo online. Who am I??

I recently have gone to several social meetings to experience “Current Trend”. It is fun. I have noticed people don’t introduce themselves fully, and try to stay anonymous in person. For instance they call each other “Handle Names”. At one meeting (Japanese language one) I was told I should join “Line” even though the purpose of that meeting is to get away from internet and talk in person! One person from the other group gave me the internet image to introduce himself. It did not tell me anything to get know this person. Of course being musician myself it is our job to be in public and we can’t hide. People know us. More to the point we have to be known! So I may have different attitude toward this trend. But it is very interesting and alarming that people are not proud to tell their real lives. If you start with “created image” when do you reveal “reality”? Or people don’t care and they separate their real lives from created ones. So they live in 2 or morelives?? You can be cool and fancy on internet, but Who Am I??