Does the Online Environment Bring Out The True Self?

While it is a nice idea to believe that someone online becomes a different person, I don’t believe that this is the case. A person who is unpleasant online is likely going to be unpleasant in person, only more aware of social conventions. A person’s conscious actions are that person as a whole. The online self is simply a version of that person who feels, rightly or not, that there will be no consequences to their actions. The online environment brings out the self that exists if there is no one to show you the door, which may well be the most genuine version of you.