Are You the Same Online as you are Offline?

The Internet can be a good thing and a bad thing. On one hand, you can be anyone you want to be on the other side of the screen. On the other hand, you can be anyone you want to be on the other side of the screen. Yes, you read that right.

I've touched before on honesty in online dating and how some people embellish when presenting themselves online (which has always perplexed me. Afterall, you have to somehow keep the illusion going if you actually plan to meet someone in person). 

There are also "trolls" online - people who are purposefully inflammatory or aggressive just for the purpose of starting trouble, goading people to react, or just purely to get attention. It makes you wonder if, in real life, some of these people are just normal, well adjusted, mild mannered people, or if they're actually jerks online and offline?  

On the positive side though, the internet allows some of us to be more outgoing than we may be face to face, more honest about things that we may normally not talk about offline, and maybe even have the opportunity to be more creative that we usually get to exhibit. 

So what about you? Do you think you represent yourself pretty much the same online as offline or do you take advantage of the online world and bring out some personality traits that others may not normally see? Tell us in the comments section about yourself and others you may have run into online!