Q1. Carefully managed online identity
When you see someone carefully managing their online identity (photos, words, privacy),
how do you most often interpret it?
They are trying to hold together who they really are and who they are expected to be.
They are playing an enjoyable game with appearances and seeing what they can get away with.
They are shaping a consistent, elegant image that matches their ideals.
They are writing a story about themselves, like a diary turned outward.
They are investing in their social position and future opportunities.
Q2. Having more than one account
Many people keep more than one account or persona (public, private, anonymous).
What seems most important to you in that fact?
They are trying to protect a serious, respectable self while still escaping sometimes.
They enjoy having freedom to improvise and misbehave without consequences.
They separate different “audiences” so each sees the version that fits.
They experiment with different possible selves, like trying on stories.
They know that one identity cannot meet all social and professional expectations.
Q3. People talking about “being authentic”
When people speak a lot about “being authentic” or “being real” online,
what is your first reaction?
They want to believe they are sincere, but they are under strong outside pressure.
They are turning sincerity itself into a kind of clever performance.
They are polishing a personal ideal of honesty that also looks beautiful.
They are creating a narrative of growth and self-discovery for themselves and others.
They are using the language that is rewarded in the current social environment.
Q4. Discovering someone’s “embarrassing origin story”
Imagine someone’s old posts or background are suddenly shared and seem embarrassing.
What interests you most in that situation?
How painful it is for them to see their hope for respectability shaken.
The irony that everyone has secrets, and the drama when one is exposed.
The contrast between their polished image and this less controlled material.
The way this old story will now be rewritten and integrated into their life story.
How this information will change their status, opportunities, and gatekeepers’ decisions.
Q5. Successful influencers
When you look at very successful influencers or public figures, what is most visible to you?
The tension between their public image and whatever they might really believe or feel.
Their skill in entertaining, provoking, and bending the rules of taste.
Their consistency in style, values, and carefully chosen language.
Their ability to turn their life into an ongoing series of stories that people follow.
Their access to networks, money, and institutions that keep them visible.
Q6. People who break rules online
How do you mostly think about people who deliberately cross the usual norms or rules online?
They are taking risks with their reputation that may haunt them later.
They are testing how far they can push and enjoying the tension.
They are rejecting a certain elegant or dignified standard of behaviour.
They are writing a more dramatic chapter of their own story, for themselves and for an audience.
They risk being excluded by those who control platforms, jobs, or status.
Q7. Online arguments and scandals
When you see a public argument or scandal online, what do you tend to watch most closely?
How one person’s attempt to be serious or moral collides with others’ expectations.
The clever lines, jokes, and improvisations people use in the conflict.
The way each side tries to keep their image coherent and justified.
The way the story develops in episodes, screenshots, and long posts.
Who gains or loses credibility, alliances, and institutional support.
Q8. Posting about personal life
When someone shares a lot about their personal life online, how do you most often read that?
They are trying to show they are decent and sincere, even if it is risky.
They enjoy the attention and the drama of showing what others might hide.
They want their life to match a certain ideal of openness and romance.
They are turning their feelings into a story they can hold and re-read.
They are building a recognisable profile that may help them socially or professionally.
Q9. People who avoid social media
How do you mainly think about people who deliberately keep a very low profile or avoid social media?
They are trying to protect a private core of themselves from outside judgment.
They are refusing to play a game that they secretly find amusing or absurd.
They are rejecting the idea that a life must be elegantly displayed to be real.
They prefer to keep their stories inside, or share them only in small circles.
They may be limiting their access to networks, but also avoiding certain controls.
Q10. Trends and challenges
When you see people joining in with online trends or challenges, what do you pay attention to first?
Whether they are doing it to fit in and look like “good” participants.
How funny, inventive, or shameless their version is.
How carefully their version is styled and consistent with their usual image.
How they weave the trend into their personal story or daily life.
How such participation might affect their visibility and connections.
Q11. Online dating and profiles
Thinking about dating apps and online profiles, which aspect seems most important to you?
The difficulty of being honest about yourself and still looking respectable.
The playful side of exaggerating or hiding facts to make things more interesting.
The search for someone whose profile matches a very specific personal ideal.
The way people create idealised versions of relationships in messages and photos.
The unwritten rules about class, education, and future plans that appear in profiles.
Q12. People who “cancel” others
When a group of people decides that someone should be “cancelled” or excluded,
what do you mainly focus on?
The way a person’s attempt to be decent may collapse under one mistake.
The aggressive enjoyment some people feel in attacking and making jokes.
The sudden break between someone’s previous image and their new label.
The new narrative that is built about them, sometimes very different from the old one.
How quickly institutions and platforms move to distance themselves.
Q13. Talking about success
When people talk about “success” in the modern world, what do you think about first?
Being seen as serious, trustworthy, and morally acceptable.
Having the freedom to live pleasantly, without working too hard or obeying every rule.
Having a life that looks refined, tasteful, and emotionally meaningful.
Having a life full of strong experiences and stories you can tell later.
Having solid status: money, security, and the right connections.
Q14. Rules of “good behaviour” online
How do you mostly react to constantly changing rules of “good” or “correct” behaviour online?
I worry about how to stay decent and not be misunderstood.
I find it interesting to see which rules can be bent or mocked.
I focus on keeping my own standard, style, and inner logic within that noise.
I notice how these rules shape the stories we are allowed to tell about ourselves.
I see them as new forms of social control, defining who is in and who is out.
Q15. People who always “keep it light”
Some people stay ironic and light about everything in public. What do you think is happening there?
They are afraid of being judged if they show how serious they really are.
They simply enjoy life more as a witty performance than as a heavy confession.
They try to keep their public mood in harmony with a certain stylish image.
They are protecting a private inner story that they do not want to share.
They know that lightness is rewarded by audiences and institutions.
Q16. Long personal posts
How do you usually read very long personal posts (for example, on Instagram, Facebook, or blogs)?
As attempts to justify oneself and stay morally clean in front of others.
As dramatic monologues that are sometimes theatrical and self-indulgent.
As carefully crafted texts that try to make a life look meaningful and coherent.
As necessary efforts to shape a personal narrative in a confusing world.
As ways of negotiating with a wider audience that has power over them.
Q17. People who “rebrand” themselves
When someone radically changes their image or “rebrands” themselves, how do you mostly see that?
They are trying to escape a past that feels uncomfortable or shameful.
They are bored and want a new, more entertaining role to play.
They are moving toward an image that better fits their inner ideal.
They are starting a new chapter in their life story and inviting us to watch.
They are adjusting to new expectations from employers, markets, or audiences.
Q18. Your own social media caution
When you think about your own behaviour online, which sentence comes closest?
I am careful because I want to be seen as serious and decent.
I like to have some fun with rules and appearances, but not get caught.
I want my online presence to be in harmony with my personal ideals and taste.
I think of my posts as parts of a larger story I am telling about myself.
I see my online behaviour as part of building or protecting my position in life.
Q19. What worries you most about visibility
When you think about becoming more visible (for example, more followers, more attention),
what worries you most?
That people will discover something that makes me look less respectable.
That I will feel forced to be less spontaneous and playful.
That I will have to maintain a perfect image all the time.
That my life will become a story for others, not just for myself.
That I will be more tightly watched by institutions, employers, or authorities.
Q20. Where you feel most pressure
In your own everyday life, where do you feel the strongest pressure related to image?
To appear serious, responsible, and morally correct.
To appear interesting, witty, and never boring.
To appear refined, emotionally deep, and aesthetically consistent.
To appear as someone whose life is meaningful and full of stories.
To appear as someone with a promising or stable social position.
Q21. What you notice first in a social scene
When you enter a new social situation (online or offline), what do you usually notice first?
Who looks serious, reliable, and worth trusting.
Who is relaxed, funny, and seems to ignore some rules.
Who has a well-shaped style, way of speaking, or personal “brand”.
Who seems to carry a private story or secret that you could discover.
Who clearly has influence, status, or control over others.
Q22. Modern world in one sentence
Which sentence is closest to how you feel about the modern world?
It is hard to stay honest and respectable under so many eyes.
It is full of absurd rules, but also full of amusing freedom.
It demands a clear personal style and story if you want to be visible.
It pushes everyone to turn their life into a narrative for others.
It quietly organises people into levels of power, access, and status.
Q23. What you would change
If you could change one thing about how public life works today, which would you most want to change?
The fear of losing respect because of one mistake or difference.
The pressure to constantly entertain and perform.
The obsession with perfect images and “beautiful” success.
The demand to turn every experience into shareable content.
The invisible gates that separate those with access from those without it.
Q24. How much the world feels like a play
When you think about the modern world as a whole, how close does it feel to a theatre of roles and masks?
It feels like a play mainly because I have to protect a serious self behind appearances.
It feels like a play because so many people enjoy performing and bending the script.
It feels like a play because images, styles, and ideals are always on stage.
It feels like a play because everyone is telling and retelling their own story.
It feels like a play because invisible directors set the rules and decide who may appear.