(I had written this as a comment to the professors assignment, I'm just reposting it here as a seperate blog entrance)
There are many differences between writing about yourself freely, and about doing it on the computer. When writing about yourself on the computer on sites such as MySpace and facebook there are specific questions about yourself you are asked, and certain things you are prompted to say. True, you can add some of your own personality, but it’s harder to interpret it then reading someone’s writing. Penmanship and the way people write can tell you about a person. You also learn about a person when it is not so structured, because more of their personality is interjected into the paper. People may take online personas a bit far. People become obsessed with them, mistaking it for real life. It may be fun to participate in websites like MySpace and facebook, but it has to be realized that it is not real life. Being part of a global community may make people feel that they are part of something bigger. That is ok, but I feel it has to be taken with a grain of salt, and people should have the right state of mind when setting up online avatars.