Two Personalities?

So, the Question of the Week is about cyber personalities. This is actually something I've though a lot about, so I was kind of excited. I'm going to take a different stance than most others, but one I think ya'll will find interesting nonetheless.

For the most part, I'm largely the same online. I do my best to imitate my speech in real life, I act in a similar manner, I have the same sense of humor; I'm largely the same person. However, I feel like, there's something inherent in online interaction that changes a bit of you, no matter how little your thought process or personality changes. One thing different between real life and on line is that there's always a delay in conversation. You can take as long as you want to think, and reply. Of course, in real life, responses are immediate, unless you want to be very, very awkward. At first, this seems like a plus for online. You avoid awkwardness, you can sound smoother, more intelligent, and it's easier. However, that awkwardness and spontaneity inherent in face-to-face conversation is something I like. There's a bit of feeling for something in the dark to it, where you're constantly trying to understand the other through everything. Lots of times, the understanding is derived entirely from things outside of speech. In online interaction, you miss out on facial expressions, movement, body language, and that inexplicable connection you have with someone. Sure, you can try to make up for some of it with smilies, emoticons, and the like, but it's a very crude substitute. At the same time, I don't think of awkwardness as a bad thing. Once you learn how to use it, it can become a device just like sarcasm, a fundamental part of the way you interact. It can tell the other person things without you having to come out and say it. Plus, girls thinks it's cute in appropriate doses.

How many times, too, has something happened, and it was the funniest thing ever, even though there wasn't much of a reason for its hilarity? You laughed so hard you cried and your abs ached. But try explaining it to someone, and you get dumb expressions. The humor was entirely in the interaction, and it's much harder to achieve through an online conversation.

I'm in no way discounting online interaction. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I have plenty of friends online. However, I find in some ways it just can't compare to face-to-face. You lose out on a part of yourself any time you're talking to someone through a screen.