i was online from my pre teens time. i actually had to wait a 'few' years to get my own email address. back then, there was no "social media", no algorithm and you were taught to not give your real "A/S/L" because people could track you down and hurt you and all that. oh the days.
i adopted this randomuser handle, not linking my accounts from one service with another, not reusing handles, not having google/FB/apple accounts, it takes time and energy.
anonymity on the internet is a wonderful thing really. forget the abusers and stuff, moderation is for that. when you consider the real problem of doxing, you appreciate the benefits of using anoymous handles.
>Everyone knows, abstractly, that the internet is not real life. But you can’t picture it, not really, until you sit across from the real people behind the screen. Even the darkest online personalities are just people on their phones. It is oddly disappointing to meet the “worst person on the internet” and find that they are nothing at all.
we call if "AFK" and not "IRL"