Does anybody have multiple personas?

[Rubbereon]

Kind of analoguous to this thread, but does anybody have multiple personas?

As defined by wikipedia:
According to Carl Jung and Jungian psychology, the persona is also the mask or appearance one presents to the world.[12] It may appear in dreams under various guises. People may choose to wear a social mask or use a persona to make themselves appear more socially desirable. This is used to impress potential partners or to make new friends.[13] People can have multiple personas that they use in various situations; this can include work, being with friends, at home, etc. Depending on the individual's circumstance, a persona which they consider stronger within their specific social situation can be created because they put a higher emphasis on social interactions. Jung warned about using personas too much, fearing that one might lose their own individuality to their persona. A study has shown that this can be true to an extent; when taking a private self-rating test, there is a high correlation between how a person rates themselves and how they present themselves in public. It is difficult to tell if people are accurately filling out the test or answering what they find desirable.[13]

In a study written by Danielle Jackson, she argues that a person's persona can range in healthiness. The more healthy a persona is, the more socially acceptable and consistent that person remains. However, once a person starts to believe they are their persona, it can have adverse effects on their personality.[14] James Hillman believed that once a person loses their identity to a persona, they become an archetypal figure. By losing their "ego", their persona becomes their personality in an archetypal form. However, when this occurs, the person becomes unstable and they are unable to act outside their formed persona.[14]

In short you behave differently around other people or around the same people, the difference is that unlike plurality it's controllable so to speak.

In short I do, I have this furry character when I'm online and where I can act a little bit more crazy, but in public I try to keep my furry life separate and private because I obviously don't want problems at my employment or anywhere else for that matter. I know that many people in adult communities have multiple personas depending on who they talk to.

[jP]

i feel like we all do. i highly doubt we behave the same with strangers than people we care about. even between ppl you care about it can be different. th real question is which one is me??? they all are? am i being fake or am i just being different types of real me? so many questions...

[squidlifecrisis]

the difference is that unlike plurality it's controllable so to speak.

is it? if you were in a room with your boss and your mom, which persona would "win"?

plurality isn't always "uncontrollable." I'd argue the opposite. I found my personality was inconsistent and incomprehensible until I realized it was multiple "personas" vying for control. Now everything makes sense!

I believe everyone has multiple "personas" according to that definition. it's how the human brain works. it's why we're so adaptable to many environments and social situations. because we can shift mindsets to better suit our present needs. it comes with our evolution.

I think this culture of insisting we don't have personas is unhealthy. it makes us think we have "disorders." Each persona exists because it has a specific purpose, and when they mismatch for any reason, this culture insists we mask the symptoms instead of looking inside ourselves for what's really going on.

[IndigoGolem]

I think everyone does to some extent.

I say that, but i think i've kind of been breaking down the differences between mine, because acting different ways in different contexts is kind of exhausting. It used to be that i wouldn't talk about my website with anyone i knew in person (not sure why that was embarrasing), and then if someone asked what i was up to and that was the answer i'd have nothing to say.

I do play Dungeons & Dragons, and you could argue that my character there is a Persona. I don't know if that's what you and Jung mean tho.
This topic brings to mind tulpamancy, specifically the dialectal framework for explaining how that works. Briefly, tulpamancy in the traditional framework is intentionally induced plurality, and a tulpa is a headmate you create who then becomes a separate person sharing your brain. A tulpa in the dialectal framework is more like a Jungian persona. I think the only difference is that it's done intentionally instead of arising from different expectations of behavior. But maybe i'm wrong about all that. I'm not plural, i've never made a tulpa, and i might not know what i'm talking about.
Another thing this brings to mind is a few months ago when i responded to "Do you tell people you blog?" There i referred to Online Me and Offline Me, and the separation between those two that makes me hesitant to tell people about my website. But that distinction has been partly broken down as i get more comfortable mentioning my website. Even if people rarely ask, having an idea of how many people know both Online Me and Offline Me makes me more cautious about the privacy and anonymity of my internet presences. I'm way less likely now to mention something on my site or a forum if i wouldn't be comfortable also mentioning it to someone's face.

However, once a person starts to believe they are their persona, it can have adverse effects on their personality.

This is interesting. None of my personas (except my D&D character) were intentionally created, and i don't think any one is more real or more true to Me than any other. Maybe that's just because there's so much overlap, but i don't think so. So what would it mean to believe i am my persona? If someone decides their work persona is the real them and then quits their job, they'll probably stop acting how they did at work in favor of acting how they do in other settings. Is this ego death?
There are cases where i'll put on a persona or censor myself. If i'm writing an email to my bank i'll be more formal, things like capitalizing the word "I". If i have to talk to a customer at work, i probably won't joke around.

But mostly i've collapsed Me into one persona. A part of my life is either something i'll tell anyone who asks, or something that exists only in my head and diary and is never mentioned to anyone. Maybe part of it is that i don't like lying or the effort of keeping secrets. In many ways it's easiest to be just one me everywhere.

[oro_junestar]

I definitely do, and I'm sure most other people do too.
Around family or authority figures, I'm much more quiet, nervous, and plain.
Around strangers, I'm ironically a little more comfortable, more outgoing and friendly.
Online, I take more initiative, helping out wherever possible, and I share what makes me happy.
With my friends, I'm also pretty comfortable being myself, especially with my best friend.

[rnottelovesowls]

boy, don't i...

around my friends and peers, i feel more comfortable being vulnerable and open about my concerns
around my family, i am silent and keep my head down for fear of "killing the mood"

do these 2 different personas stem from my autism? maybe. always assumed my family was just tolerating me

[fauxhumanoid]

no i am a sinner whose hands slipped away from the strings of how others perceive me. i can't tell anymore. all i know is it's not me and it's driving me CRAZY!!!!!!!!

[Seechain]

What you mention was quite common in the early days of the internet, as people were very cautious about revealing their real identities. I remember being "Lázaro" on a writing and poetry forum, while on an anime forum I was "kintaro" and those two personalities really had nothing in common. I would even say kintaro felt much younger than Lázaro. Later on, I went through a period where I became a forum administrator, and that was the most terrible split for me, because I met people in real life and they saw me through the prism of being the "admin." During that time I truly felt that the "self" was being pushed into the background.

[Noah_S]

That's the default. The context collapse pushed by social media companies is the new thing.