Why do people use pictures that aren't themselves for their avatars?

I do it because my avatar looks so much nicer than I do. It doesn’t scare little kids.

Great Question!

Anonymity.

I, of course, really do look like a cookie in real life.

I use a picture of myself because I want people to associate a real living breathing person with the words. I didn’t use a picture of myself when I first started coming on Q&A sites, but I do now and I like doing it. I like people being able to see what I look like.

I want an avatar that espresses me (pun intended), so using a cup of coffee works well. It also doesn’t help that my skin tone may or may not resemble a mangled bee.

I do actually look a lot like this.

@Zen_Again… Great avatar! You sure look nice in that uniform.

In the past, posting the real me was a disaster. People often read my neutral facial expression as a sign of aggression, or something similar. I think an avatar of something I like reveals more about me then my real face would.

Besides, a leopard is strong and beautiful. And this expression of this one appeals to me. :)

@CyanoticWasp Thanks. Engage.

What @cprevite said.

I love old Hollywood. Joan Crawford (although, crazy) looks rather hot in this photo. No wire hangers ever, @elizabethmae! No wire hangers EVER!!!

It’s the privacy aspect of it. I, for one, don’t like my face floating around on the internet, especially not when associated with my last name, which is part of my username.

I’m pretty conflicted with things like this. I never use a picture of myself; mainly I think it’s because I don’t want people to associate my thoughts and ideas with a certain face and lifestyle. It’s kind of hypocritical of me though, because I’m always curious to see what others look like. Sometimes it’s nice to use a photo of a person who represents your ideals better than you ever could.

This cartoon explains my reason.

I use this because the vase was my maternal grandmother’s and the flowers are from my daughter’s beautiful garden.

I’ve used pictures of me in the past, but I prefer not to do so. I come here to be anonymous. It kind of defeats the purpose. I do enjoy seeing other people’s faces, though. To each his own.

Edit: The avatar also fits the name, so.

Because I f*ckin’ love coloring!!!

I do it because I can be much more creative if I’m not using a pic of myself.

P.S. Get a good look at me while you can!

I did have a drawing of me (well, a good part of me) up last week. Complete with cute yellow star accoutrements strategically placed.

This is my picture…..

@uberbatman Well played, Sir. Have a GA

i took the picture too if that counts for anything :P

@J0E guy, without clicking on your photo, I thought that it was a picture of either John Lennon, old Bob Dylan, or perhaps Julian Lennon with a short do.

Great photo.

This is me, but I wonder why some people want the anonymity online. Is it because they don’t want someone close to them to find something out or what?

Because it’s an Avatar silly! Didn’t you see the movie? Anything else is just a picture.
I have had a picture of myself a lot, but changed back to a water color painting that I had commissioned today because I felt like expressing another side of myself.

Not everyone can be as nice looking as I am.

It’s me in my photo. That’s the Thames. I actually didn’t know it was being taken at the time (by my dad). I look so serious.

There is also a few real cuties here that are young and sweet, and maybe a little ornery, and they got tired of being hit on.

I prefer anonymity on the Internet. I’m just cautious that way.

I would much rather use pics of my real cat instead of a silhouette of a generic one. However, this site is not set up to use pics from iPhone.

To answer the question though, i think my choice of avatars says a lot more about me than a picture of myself really would.

I have several pictures of me I like, and I know there is no such thing as anonymity on the internet, as the result of being cyberstalked by a convicted stalker – so here I am.

@jmah That is what I thought too. I agree great picture @J0E

I tend to use my picture for reasons similar to @DominicX reason. I am a real person and I want people to feel that way when they communicate with me. I love seeing everyones real face and usually I am completely off in how I thought they would look.

I use a picture of myself. Just ‘cause it’s me… I don’t really have any other reason.

Of course if my ass looked like @daloons, I’d use that avatar, too.

I would be completely and utterly bland and boring if I had my real photo up there. If anyone ever finds out who I am, I’ll have to leave the country for some place the internet doesn’t go. Hmm. Antarctica anyone?

I am constantly surprised at how many people think that is actually my ass!

[Edit] I swear I wrote this before @pdworkin wrote his.

I have asked some intensely personal questions and answered some questions with truth and directness. I wish I had been more circumspect in some cases but I am pretty open and honest. Having my picture in place of my avatar would make me feel even more exposed.

As I develop trust in certain individuals, I might exchange identifying information or a picture suited to the level of friendship that develops.

Because I am a penguin!
I usually have a picture of a penguin on here cause it’s what most people recognize me by. I use pictures on other sites. But I’m not very photogenic; I don’t have thousands of pictures of myself like most people do. I think it’s creepy.

@uberbatman I agree. On Fluther, the choice of a creative avatar sends me a deeper message than I usually receive by looking at a real photo. I also enjoy living in my fantasy world where I make up my own faces for people here. This is a site where it’s not the face we care about—it’s the mind.

I kind of like my current avatar. I don’t know what it is, though. I guess it’s abstract? I chose this before I learned how to add my own graphic symbol/image, but I no longer feel the need to represent myself visually anymore. Just let my words represent me. That’s why I’m here anyways.

Oh, and what @editingdiva said too.

@Siren It is a jellyfish it is kind of what Fluther is all about! :)

edit: Well not really all about, but it is important!

I like Jellyfish. They’re cool.

Because I don’t like having to stare at my face on my computer screen all the time. It’s bad enough to have to look at it in the mirror once a day.

Besides, I miss Gracie and want to see her wrinkly face. She died of lymphoma two years ago. At least she and I had that one thing in common: wrinkles. I don’t have as much hair as she does, though.

@sjmc1989: Oh yeah, that’s right. I forgot. Thanks. Well, I like it anyways. Nice visual. Good enough for me.

Because you don’t need to know all my business.

I don’t know. I just can’t stand these people who use pictures that almost might be them or some obscure celebrity. I mean it’;s bad ebough when someone mimics Jeff Goldblum’s bathroom…oh hey ..uhh… awkward but It’s effing confusing when they use an opposite sex as well. I’m fucking sick of it bitches. Sick you hear me. SICK!!

Thanks for the lurve guys, but I just read my post about the cuties and realized how my grammar sucked. I must be tired. I would surrender the lurve for that one if I could.

@Judi
I can finally see what that avatar is..

@SeventhSense ; That’s another reason I decided to give it another try. Isn’t it pretty? I have the original in my living room.

@SeventhSense “I mean it’‘s bad enough when someone mimics Jeff Goldblum’s bathroom.”

I couldn’t agree with you more. I can’t stand people who do such things. Jerks.~

@SeventhSense Feeling a little hostile tonight? Watch out everyone he hasn’t taken his meds… :)

I always thought @Judi avatar was a picture of a cow bent at the knees. Wow was I wrong!

@sjmc1989
You little devil I gotcher meds..
...speaking of bending at the knees,,,I mean i need to exercise

@SeventhSense It always turns perverse with you!

I like the idea of not associating the way someone looks with the personality that is being presented. We place too much value in appearance. Plus, the other pics used for avatars express something, as well.

@sjmc1989
Whaatt? Oh I mean..oh you thought…noooo.. I need to do some deep knee bends that’s all. I see how you might have misunderstood….god..you are a horndog

@tinyfaery I must admit, I’m awfully curious as to what you look like.

(blush)

@Judi
Did you paint it?

Unless you want everyone to be able to connect your identity offline with your identity online, you don’t use yourself as your avatar. Its just not that smart unless you’re really open with your identity which isn’t that smart.

@SeventhSense ; no, but I liked a similar painting the artistt did and comissioned it the way I wanted it. The floating balls are a subtle trinity. It’s called, “Juggling Thoughts Trinity.”

Nice.

So people take me seriously, instead of looking at my goofy mug.

We all know shiny toast is srs bsns.

Let me be the first to coin the phrase “as serious as toast.”

maybe I’m not the first?!

I actually prefer the baked goods avatars. They are crunchy goodness.

@SeventhSense @sndfreQ I knew I liked you two.

I use the Town Dog as my avatar because I think she is the most beautiful dog I have ever seen and yes I am extremely biased! but she really is gorgeous

@rooeytoo When did Town Dog get those cute little blue ribbons?

@YARNLADY – Jeruba suggested she might look pretty in blue velvet so she has had them on for a day or two!

Thanks for all the great questions you guys! I wish I’d been here to participate more in the conversation but I asked it then ran off to my weekly trivia night. My team got second! (by 10 points, which sucked because the top prize is a hundred bucks)

@avvooooooo “Its just not that smart unless you’re really open with your identity which isn’t that smart.” I don’t think it’s that bad to be really open with your identity. Obviously I’m not going to give out my address or phone number but I like being able to be myself online, the same self I am in person. It doesn’t feel like a stupid thing to be. It feels authentic and makes the online experience more real.

I’m still me online; I just look like my dog.

@Blackberry, have you never seen America’s Most Wanted?

I don’t use a picture of myself because I’m trying to pass as human.

@ratboy – and are you having success?

um. I meant to say “great answers” I may have had a couple beers tonight.

My avatar photo is of a guy named Nullo :D.

@rooeytoo: I don’t know. Am I?

I want to use something that reflects my personality but is not me. I think its fun to be something else that you really arn’t and to reflect parts of your personality in an avatar. I always use pokemon as my avatars because that reflects part of my kid like personality.

My avatar is a picture of me.

I tend to get a lot of weird looks in public, being a blue apple with facial features and all.

I chose my current avatar because Rocko’s Modern Life was friggin sweet.

@ratboy – lookin good

@elizabethmae Have you never done anything you are ashamed to tell your friends and/or family about? Is there nothing you’d like to talk about but you don’t want people you know to know about? Can you really be so pure? Or do you just not want to talk about that stuff? Anywhere. Ever.

I like kittens.

@uberbatman; What about a commissioned oil painting of Vladimira?

@elizabethmae Fine. Never say anything about anyone you know, about work, about anything else. What else is there to say when you take away everything that if someone who knew you saw they might be upset about? Not much.

Internet privacy is a big deal. Sorry you don’t get that, but most people do. Anonymity if a layer of protection that most people value.

@gailcalled: Can I get one of those???? I would change my avatar.

@Siren @gailcalled Okay, so I ‘gotta’ remember to turn on SafeSearch next time before googling Vladimira on Google images!!

@sndfreQ @Siren: Uberbatman is the expert on fierce, fighting, peacock mantis shrimp. She used be called Vlad, but apparently Uber knew how to sex him, and he is now a she.

@gailcalled: I think your description would make a grand oil portrait. Perhaps a grandiose one like the ceiling at the Sistine Chapel.

@sndfreQ: I did not google this image what did you see?

@Siren: You get one guess. It involves a whip and stilettos, I surmise.

However, I wouldn’t want to meet the real Vladimira on a dark night.

@avvooooooo You don’t have to be sorry that I “don’t get that” I do get it, to some extent. I understand that internet privacy is important to some people, but because it’s not as important to me so I was trying to understand it better. That’s why I asked the question.
As I mentioned before, my contact information, address, etc are important for me to keep private but my photo is not. This was just about photos. That’s it.

@daloon I don’t think I’m ashamed of myself much. And I don’t think that makes me “so pure” I think that just means that I don’t feel ashamed and I probably don’t do many things that are considered shameful. By me at least.

@elizabethmae Its not your photo alone, its your identity. How people can identify your internet posts. If you have your name and photo on them, you are identifying them as yours without a doubt. Its not really that safe or that smart to give out any information like that.

So, people who have their picture as their avatar are dumb now?

Okay. rolls eyes

If you don’t want to use your picture, fine, have a cookie. But all this shit about condemning people who do use their picture and/or name is fucking ridiculous. I can be open if I want to. It’s what I like to do and it’s what I’ve been doing for over 3 years.

I talk about people I know all the time. I talk about my family, my friends, my boyfriend, my life, all the time on here. And people know my real first name and what I look like. So what? My friends and family are not on this site. I’ve been coming to Q&A sites for three years and no one even remotely connected to me has ever discovered me. If they do, fine, so be it. I don’t live a double life, here. But the chances of it happening are very slim.

@DominicX Less safe. No separation of real life and online. If you don’t mind being unsafe, that’s one thing. If you don’t know how unsafe, its another.

@DominicX well said friend.

@avvooooooo Online is a part of real life.

I wouldn’t say this is a fake avatar, but I do have a reason behind it, as I think most avatars have whether they are the person or not.

@DominicX Just fyi, someone just posted another user’s real life address here just yesterday. Its not a slim chance for some people to find things out. The internet is full of freaks and no one knows what they’re capable of.

@gailcalled: Is it a dominatrix crustacean? I’m just going by the photo you provided, and the whips and stilletos. lol

@Siren: @sndfreQ thoughtfully took the time to search out the non-shrimp Vladimiras; talk to him.

And although that shrimp is scary, it is small, I think. @uberbatman is our resident expert.

@gailcalled: That’s okay. I’ll just remain ignorant on shrimp, Vladimiras and sadomachism —and how they are all related.

Dont call my baby a sadomasochist :P And so you dont remain so ignorant on z shrimpy, a fun fact :) The mantis shrimp possess both the most advanced eyes and the fastest strike of any animal. (its club swings at upwards of 55mph and hits with a force equivalent to a 22 cal bullet) ^ ^

@gailcalled yea shes kind of small, only around 5in right now. She should grow up to 8 when full grown.
btw i woud love mes an oil painting :P

is she tasty?

@Siren evidently they taste far better than lobster. They eat them in some european and asian countries.

@uberbatman: That is blasphemy. (Tell V I said so.)

As you can see my avatar fits my IQ. I have used Herman for a nickname for much longer than I have been online. (I would tell women that ‘My little man’ was HER man) I originally started using him for my yahoo account when Yahoo had limited storage. I used him for storing jokes and cartoons that I found so that I could have free space in my main email account. When my Mom was 70 she asked me “Who is Herman?” Without really thinking about the question, I grabbed my crotch and said, “THIS is Herman”. It wasn’t until several days later that I realized she just wanted to know WHO was sending her emails.

@herman714
Chuckle, for grabbing your junk in front of your mom.

@SeventhSense LOL Mom was an RN and she was well aware that men give names to their weenies.

@herman714
Is your name Garp? (semi obscure reference)

@herman714: Priceless! I lurve the avatar too.