Appearances can be Deceiving
Posted By Teeni on September 3, 2008
I just want to take a moment to remind all my blog buds that things aren’t always what they appear online. I’m pretty sure we all know we should be careful with our personal information. But I also think you should be careful with your emotions and sympathies. It can be physically and emotionally draining to invest too much in something that may not be real. It can also be pretty insulting to find out that you were being played with. I think most of the blog buddies I’ve been fortunate enough to get to know are very nice people and I would hate to see any one of them get taken advantage of. I also think they are pretty intelligent people and that they will probably NOT get taken advantage of because they will recognize some red flags. I certainly don’t mean to sound condescending on here.
But when I found out about the following story, it amazed me that so many people had fallen for it - good, intelligent people. And so I wanted to share to make sure you are aware that these things do happen, people do get fooled, and yes, there are people who will stoop so low as to feign serious illnesses and pretend to be innocent characters. There are also plenty of others who just seek attention. They can be extremely convincing. Please take a few moments to check these links out and just remember that things are not always as they seem. I don’t want any of my buds getting hurt in any way.
As interesting as these stories are, it is good to keep in mind that a LOT of people were emotionally abused and taken advantage of, not to mention some may have contributed financially or materially because they were nice people and thought they were helping someone out. So please just be wary. Thanks to Calamity for some of this info.
Note: Edited this post to move the links to before my signature instead of after so they will be more noticeable.
A fabricated life and death
Red flags cause doubt - The boy is identified
Another good post about the subject
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[...] I want to share with you a post that one of my very good blogging friends teeni wrote on how Appearances can be deceiving, in which teeni has provided links to stories and other people’s posts when some good [...]
I’m very gullable to but not that very naive.I’m just learning that my blog isn’t a personal diary. I have been pretty open and have given personal information out ,for sure I’ve given all my emotions out.
I find it hard not to care when I feel a care for some-one. You - know when you meet some-one and you instantly feel some sort of love Yes ! Love or a love grows. I don’t know how to stop that connection. I wouldn’t want to stop it but I’m aware we have to be careful.
Written relationships can be hard, especially if theres only one of you truly in it.
Thank- you for this Teeni. I’ve read the storys. Yes ! It goes on doesn’t.
Love & Care
Di
It is hard not to care - very hard. That’s one of the reasons we need to remind ourselves to be a little wary. Because even if the online persona is not real, our emotions still are, and we don’t need our hearts dragged around and over the coals. So I just like to remind myself and my friends just to be careful.
This is incredibly creepy. Oh…my…word… I’m sending you an e-mail related to this. Bizarre!
EXCELLENT post, Teeni, and timely. This subject has been on my mind a lot lately.
One of the things I love so much about blogging is the fact that it connects me to amazing people– big hearts and big brains all mushed together on a regular basis makes me happy. I’ve never considered not taking bloggers at face value until recently, and it’s weighed very heavily on my mind. Had I to do it all over again, I probably wouldn’t change things much, because numbers-wise, the honest, funny, semi-sane bloggers outnumber the bad apples a million to one. Yes, that is a scientifically proven statistic. ;P
I am going to try to be a little more savvy, but you know, I think it’s just a risk we take– car mechanics sometimes take advantage of me too, but I still keep driving.
I’m glad you liked the post, Moonbeam. And I like your attitude, mostly because I feel the same way - my total online experience has been far, far more positive than negative and I would hope that one bad apple wouldn’t ruin the whole experience for someone who is otherwise getting a lot of enjoyment out of it.
I just have come to really care for so many of my online buds that I don’t like them to get taken advantage of so I just like to remind everyone to be safe. Hugs to you and thanks for commenting.
[...] are being duped or taken advantage of. Teeni at the Vaguetarian Tea Room wrote an excellent, thought-provoking post addressing this subject, and I thank her for it, because it’s been on my mind so much [...]