Why do people pretend they are someone else on social media?
Biswatosh Sinha
There are different reasons why someone might create a fake profile online, or pretend someone else:
Loneliness: You might want to meet someone online and feel worried about using your real identity. You might lack confidence or be extremely shy.
Fear: You want to meet someone but you don’t think you are worthy of love or connection the way you are, so you invent a different or embellished identity.
Sadness, Anger or Jealously: Sometimes fake profiles are created as a way to talk to someone you already know and see how they react. If you’re worried your boyfriend or girlfriend is cheating, you may create someone else as a “test.” If you’ve broken up or are worried about a relationship, you may want to try and stay connected. It can be very hard to express these kinds of feelings directly, but these indirect ways often cause more problems than they solve.
Boredom: You may have created a fake profile online just to see what would happen. Once you start talking to someone, it might feel awkward or uncomfortable explaining that you are not the same person as your profile.
