[Aelthwyn]

I don't know about you, but I Love making personal profiles online. I make them on all kinds of sites that I don't even check up on again, lol! You, know, filling in all the information and details about yourself, rambling about who you are, making lists of things you like or don't like, posting pictures that capture who you are, and generally expressing "The Essence of Me".

My suspicion is that a lot of us INFPs enjoy this. Since INFPs tend to be on a quest to discover and know themselves as well as understand others, we spend a lot of time thinking about what makes us unique, what makes us who we are. So it follows that we would enjoy filling out all those fun questionaires and writing our personal observations of what makes us tick. I call this Defining Ourselves. By thinking about it, deciding, and writing down "I am like this, I enjoy these things, etc." we are essentially writing our own encyclopedia entry about ourselves, and this can help us feel like we have a better grasp of who we are personally, as well as presenting an opportunity for others to get to know us after an introverted (non-interaction based) way.

The beauty of profiles is that we often feel more comfortable being open in our writing (sitting alone with our computer), while we can often be overlooked and never manage to get a word in edgewise when we're in a group of people. I have a feeling that a lot of us want to truely be seen and understood, but because of being unobtrusive in social situations feel like we are largely ignored and remain undsicovered jewels. It's nice to think that someone else just might notice and appreciate us by reading our profile, and we do discover friends this way, but the main reason for making Profiles is as much about connecting with others, as it is about connecting with ourselves.

So what about You? Do you enjoy making these too? Are you addicted to filling out silly personal questionairs and creating and maintaining personal profiles on various sites? Do you think this is a general INFP tendancy?

 

[rowingineden]

Not really. I'm not that interested in it. I know myself well enough to know what I like, and I don't want to put it in words on the screen. I don't even really want to define it, usually. I don't want it to be broken up into little categories, like things can be sorted in that way. Eww.

 

[Red Panda]

Nope, I don't like writing about myself especially if it's a profile and not a conversation.

 

[Outside Woman Bluez]

Roflmao, hun I do that too. Except, I do it on virtual chat sites like IMVU. I constantly delete then sign-up so I can make a new avatar... It's fun to have a new standing, and to get to make new a totally different looking avatar than last time.
Weeeiird I know

 

[rowingineden]

I suspect that probably type 4 INFPs would be more likely to be interested in profile creation, since type 4 is all about identity. However, they may think their identity is so wonderfully unique and complex that it cannot be defined or confined to a profile, so there's also that to consider.

 

[Red Panda]

I suspect that probably type 4 INFPs would be more likely to be interested in profile creation, since type 4 is all about identity. However, they may think their identity is so wonderfully unique and complex that it cannot be defined or confined to a profile, so there's also that to consider.

haha
I'm type 4 but I don't think of it this way, rather that I just don't want people to know things about me this way, I might tell them if they ask me, but no way I'm writing it down in a profile, it feels a bit like a cry for attention (no offense!!) and I'm not like that.

 

[crazystargrl]

I love making profiles. I don't usually do it on sites unless I go on them a lot, but I enjoy filling in my interests, random info about myself, etc. I've actually been complimented on my profile before on this one site and told I seem like an interesting/nice person. I'm a type 4.

 

[Simplify]

Absolutely! This is exactly what I do! I acknowledge that an INFP doesn't care to expose too much of his/her self, but deep down, I've always been the opposite online.

While in a group of people IRL, I don't have much of a desire to, although I really wish that I could, but I've come to terms with that I'm just another paragraph online matched up with a name and an avatar, so what's it matter if I say too much- so long as I don't say something that offends someone in particular! I go all out on personality profiles, and yes.... for some, do have a tendency to not come back for a while... I change interests very quickly.

But I highly enjoy doing this! You hit the nail right on the head! =)

 

[Simplify]

I love making profiles. I don't usually do it on sites unless I go on them a lot, but I enjoy filling in my interests, random info about myself, etc. I've actually been complimented on my profile before on this one site and told I seem like an interesting/nice person. I'm a type 4.

Yeah! Have you ever been on MySpace? I loved doing CSS/HTML work for my profile constantly and this one dude was absolutely amazed at how I set it up, as if it was not in the human will to have a profile that looked like that! (For him, it was just get a MySpace layout and go, I suppose.) xD
I cancelled my profile a long time ago, but physically re arranging my profile was a favorite past time of mine! Do you do that, too? Did anyone else out there spend hours arranging the CSS on their website if it was allowed?

 

[Raichan]

I suspect that probably type 4 INFPs would be more likely to be interested in profile creation, since type 4 is all about identity. However, they may think their identity is so wonderfully unique and complex that it cannot be defined or confined to a profile, so there's also that to consider.

This, and I don't see the point in creating too many profiles O__o

 

[pinktees]

My ISFP friend loves doing this. she has like 50+ profiles on different sites lol..

I usually stick to 1-2 and just elaborate on and pour over them constantly.

 

[OrangeAppled]

It becomes repetitive, so if I want to join a site, then I tend to copy + paste from other existing profiles. I'm also rather lazy about updating. I do like to customize a profile if possible (one reason why I preferred myspace to facebook). I definitely see them as tools to express a bit of who you are in the otherwise anonymous internet land, but I don't enjoy making them for the sake of it. I prefer pictures & music & quotes also, as I don't find myself clever enough to express what I want, or I don't trust my own words; that is very e4 also, to create an identity out of your "tastes" (albeit, quite shallow & elitist).

If I join a lot of sites, it's with the intention to participate in some way because it caught my interest, but of course I can't maintain participation in that many sites consistently (very much in the "INFP starting projects but not finishing them" vein).

 

[Aelthwyn]

they may think their identity is so wonderfully unique and complex that it cannot be defined or confined to a profile, so there's also that to consider.

on not wanting to break it up, or confine it to a profile - I think I get what you mean.

Your comment reminded me of a concept from a linguistics class concerning words and meaning. Words are symbols which represent meanings, though in and of themselves they are just sounds or shapes. Outside of words meaning is sort of like a great pool of interconnected, overlaping, ideas which don't exactly have definate boundaries - meaning is sort of analogue I guess. Words take bits of meaning and group them together - sort of digitizing them. sort of. Different languages group portions of meaning differently which results in the inability to directly translate certain words or phrases. This is also why we can sometimes have trouble getting across the exact meaning that we are thinking of - because there is no word that perfectly captures it. That idea of an unsegmented realm of idea/meaning kind of relates to what you were saying about not being able to define or confine a person to a profile. The whole of a person is very complex and the words we have to work with don't always perfectly combine ideas to adequitely describe aspects of someone, let alone the entirity of their being. So yes, this makes sense to me

Perhaps some people feel that words are cheap substitutes for the real person/idea behind them.

I can see how getting to know someone through a profile can feel sort of....impersonal, something which I think a lot of us dislike. It might even feel like going against an ideal to not reveal yourself individually and personally to each person you encounter in each situation. A profile isn't tailored to a specific person or specific mood or situation, and therefore only reflects a portion of who you are and communicates it in a way that may or may not be understood properly by the one viewing it.

Also, along the same lines, I know a number of people who are a lot like me but have an aversion to things like personality theories (which I love) because they say it feels too much like putting people, or yourself, into boxes. Perhaps I automatically think of personality descriptions as general principles and take everything with a huge grain of salt - I'm willing to throw out whatever results don't feel true for me personally, or for whoever else. I love adding qualifiers and exceptions and explainations. Anyways, I can immagine that dislike of 'boxes' could extend to the limited information on profiles as well. - Does that make any sense?

Of course I know that profiles, particularly the ones that have word limits (which are so annoying to me), can never fully capture who I am. I guess I don't mind too much that they can't be complete - not sure why. One of the things I really hate is having to choose just one answer on a questionaire - I always throw in extras if I can, or I choose both options and then explain all the situations in which I would choose one or the other. It's always pretty hard to pick just a few words to describe myself as well. Although I don't experience it, I think I can see the underlying reasons in myself that might make someone else not like trying to capture themselves in profiles.

 

[Aelthwyn]

Yeah! Have you ever been on MySpace? I loved doing CSS/HTML work for my profile constantly and this one dude was absolutely amazed at how I set it up, as if it was not in the human will to have a profile that looked like that! (For him, it was just get a MySpace layout and go, I suppose.) xD
I cancelled my profile a long time ago, but physically re arranging my profile was a favorite past time of mine! Do you do that, too? Did anyone else out there spend hours arranging the CSS on their website if it was allowed?

I LOVE customization - actually that's my current issue with Facebook - the white and blue is so boooooriiiing! My page just can't feel like ME on there I'm sad everyone I know moved from myspace to facebook - even though there is a lot of cool stuff there you can't do all the rearranging and customizing that I love!
I love designing things, choosing color schemes, arranging stuff, background pictures, etc. etc. A good profile has to be very visual - it has to give you the feel of who the person is just by glancing at it. It's kind of like my bedroom online. Showing someone your room generally gives them a good idea of what you're like - your interests, your tastes, the way you organize, the things you do. That's what a profile is to me online - like a glimpse into my personal zone. And then, if you feel like actually reading about me in depth, you can do that too, just like you could sit in my room with me and talk together.

 

[hercoffin]

Yep! I love to do that too!

 

[Aelthwyn]

haha
I'm type 4 but I don't think of it this way, rather that I just don't want people to know things about me this way, I might tell them if they ask me, but no way I'm writing it down in a profile, it feels a bit like a cry for attention (no offense!!) and I'm not like that.

none taken

I can actually relate to not wanting people to know things about me like that - it iS strange to think that random people can read about you and you won't even know it! I used to have a ridiculously huge profile on my old school site and after thinking about the fact that not just my friends might be reading it I took it down and re-did it to be shorter and less revealing. I think attention only plays a small part in it for me, considering that I don't really get disappointed when nobody seems to be looking at it or making comments. I just find it fun to fill things out And sometimes I do actually get annoyed by people I don't know taking too much interest in my page and trying to talk to me all the time. In spite of the relative anonimity, I can see how it can feel like putting yourself out there a bit too much.

For some people creating profiles may be a cry for attention, although I have a feeling that a lot of times profiles don't get looked at in depth (which is why I prefer the highly visual ones where you can set a background picture and choose colours and fonts, because probably the initial visual 'feel' and maybe a few favorites all that most people who do check your profile are going to come away with.)

But I wouldn't say that seeking attention is necessarily a bad thing. We all need to be recognized and appreciated by someone, maybe just a few people, but we do need attention. No one ever said it was a bad thing to seek food - and attention is a kind of emotional food. It's true there are some people who are obnoxiously self-centered, demanding everyone's attention and expecting them to be totally engrossed in whatever they have to say - and that can be annoying and unhealthy. And there are people who look for attention in the wrong places expecting shallow recognition to fix their low self-esteem - and that never works and is also unhealthy. Children often misbehave in order to get attention - and that is unhealthy. But seeking some attention, whether you're of low-self-esteem or not, isn't something we should be ashamed of. If you're thirsty, you ask for a drink. Why should it be wrong to ask for a little attention? Not that you're necessarily saying this, but it is an oppinion I've seen a lot in our culture. I think the false impression that 'asking' for attention in various ways is pathetic and unhealthy causes a lot of emotional harm - especially for people who are naturally more quiet and get overlooked without anyone realising it. Making an online profile may be an unintimidating (and un-obnoxious) way for an introverted person to help themselves be seen - possibly by other people like themselves who they wouldn't normally have a chance to meet.

 

[robitussin]

the most fun part of games for me is the character creation.