Alter Egos - Who Needs Them When You Have Chat Rooms?

If I could have another job in life, it would be that of a psychologist specialising in multi-personalities and alter egos!

As someone who frequents the chat rooms on the net, I am continually amazed at how people have two or more nics, and the personas they portray to reflect them.

Take one particular person in his mid-20s who is well known [but will remain anonymous for legal reasons]. Under his regular nic, he is the nicest person you shall ever meet. Nice as pie, could even say marriage material. And under this nic you could actually say "yeah, I could see myself falling for this guy".

But when he is in chat under his 'alter ego' nic, well -- what can one say. Do you run for cover? Leave the room and don't come back till he is gone? Or dare take the chance of staying in there and keeping your mouth shut, hoping you won't be spotted! He is the most vicious and cruelest person you can imagine, picking on people from their nic to their race! And even strychnine would do this person no harm!

Now, knowing this person in real life, he is actually not only a blend of these two nics, but more. He has the qualities of "marriage material" crossed with the "devil re-incarnated", with one extra trait which none of his nics disclose - a thief. Many unwary people have fallen for his charm, only to find that they have lost money, property items or worse - their trust - for falling for this guy.

One wonders whether the net allows these people to allow their alter egos loose, or whether the net actually creates them and the person then fine tunes and adopts the traits. That is one of the hardest questions one can try to answer. Maybe some one out there doing a thesis, may want to look at this perplexing question - does the net create alter egos, or do alter egos simply emerge from a dormant state within someone.

Maybe the net is not responsible for any of it at all. No more a catalyst than having alcohol in a liquor store, and blaming it for someone being drunk. Who knows, but alter egos do have a role to play, even if for no other reason than to entertain the rest of us during quiet moments in the chat rooms. Who knows!

James