Fun & Famous

THINGS THAT ARE VERY NORMAL ONLINE BUT NOT SO IN REAL LIFE

You know what's fun? If you think about what it would be like if you also ‘did’ your online behavior in real life. Just for a day, as an experiment.

Following people

To start with the most obvious. You hear someone talking in a restaurant or café or you find someone very attractive, and decide: “I want to know more about that person, I’m going to follow him/her.” All around the city, to dinners and parties and on vacations. And probably ending up in jail, because stalking is quite punishable.

Prodding

To be honest, I also find the poke function on Facebook quite idiotic online, but offline it would be even weirder. Imagine secretly poking random passersby in the side, only to then whistle and look the other way.

Engaging in discussions with strangers

I am always surprised at how heated the discussions can be under random statements or articles. People who don’t know each other at all go completely wild in the comments on Facebook, often resulting in intense online arguments. Imagine doing that in real life, seeing someone walk by who says this and that to his or her friend, and you then totally unsolicited jump into the conversation. Madness.

Liking everything all the time

Someone has a new sweater? You shout very loudly: ‘I LIKE IT!’ Or a cute cat or dog walks by? ‘I LIKE IT’ echoes immediately from everyone at once.

Telling everyone what you ate

Every random stranger you meet, you enthusiastically tell what you had for breakfast this morning, and it’s probably soy yogurt with red fruit and chia seeds. I LIKE IT!