--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is tempting to say, as my friend…" description: "\"“It is tempting to say, as my friend suggested, that these online identities are caricatures of the real me. It is certainly true that social media can..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/226/derek-thompson-28118_friendship_it-is-tempting-to-say-as-my-friend-sugge_2411292.jpg" --- # It is tempting to say, as my friend suggested, that these… ![“It is tempting to say, as my friend suggested, that these online identities are caricatures of the real me. It is certainly true that social media can unleash the cruellest side of human nature.” quote by Derek Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/226/derek-thompson-28118_friendship_it-is-tempting-to-say-as-my-friend-sugge_2411292.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/226/derek-thompson-28118_friendship_it-is-tempting-to-say-as-my-friend-sugge_2411292.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/226/derek-thompson-28118_friendship_it-is-tempting-to-say-as-my-friend-sugge_2411292.jpg) > ““It is tempting to say, as my friend suggested, that these online identities are caricatures of the real me. It is certainly true that social media can unleash the cruellest side of human nature.”” [Derek Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-thompson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Social media can amplify humanity’s worst traits, turning online personas into exaggerated, harmful caricatures. **In simple terms:** Online personas can become exaggerated and harmful. Key Takeaway Beware how you present yourself online. Themes media media identity human nature digital behavior Mood cautious critical Type observational analytical When to use this quote - online harassment - political discourse - personal branding - digital marketing Key Concepts psychology social dynamics anonymity Questions to Reflect On - How does anonymity affect behavior? - What steps can reduce cruelty online? A Different Perspective Not all online interaction is negative; many communities are supportive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Social media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-media/) [Twitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twitter/) ## Related quotes > [Facebook and Google are battling over who will be our gateway to the rest of the Internet through 'like' buttons and universal logins -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/facebook-and-google-are-battling-over-who-will-be-our-gateway-to-the/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [The truth is, we're all cyborgs with cell phones and online identities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-johns/the-truth-is-we-re-all-cyborgs-with-cell-phones-and-online-identities/) [Geoff Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-johns/) > [“Posting dramatic charts or funny pictures is good and giving people smart reasons to believe what they already think is great.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-thompson/posting-dramatic-charts-or-funny-pictures-is-good-and-giving-people/) [Derek Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-thompson/) > [Calling someone a drama queen is so negative. Why not 'content creator'?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/calling-someone-a-drama-queen-is-so-negative-why-not-content-creator/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [“DIGITAL TRUTH DIGITAL LIES • Searches • Social media posts • Views • Social media likes • Clicks • Dating profiles • Swipes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-stephens-davidowitz/digital-truth-digital-lies-searches-social-media-posts-views-social/) [Seth Stephens-Davidowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-stephens-davidowitz/) > [I don't like social media. I hate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mallika-sherawat/i-don-t-like-social-media-i-hate-it/) [Mallika Sherawat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mallika-sherawat/) > [Social media has become a dark place, and the sites need to clean up their act if they want people to keep using them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-reid/social-media-has-become-a-dark-place-and-the-sites-need-to-clean-up/) [Susanna Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-reid/) > [“No Hate Speech Online is a social media netiquette rule. Return hate in kind (ness) for proper netiquette. Love Muslims alike.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chiles/no-hate-speech-online-is-a-social-media-netiquette-rule-return-hate/) [David Chiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chiles/) > [The one thing I absolutely hate about social media are the people who abuse it. Whenever I see a person who constantly posts negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazmin-garcia/the-one-thing-i-absolutely-hate-about-social-media-are-the-people-who/) [Jazmin Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazmin-garcia/) > [I'm so scared of social media and if I could delete my pages I would, and I think I will one day. But one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-ortega/i-m-so-scared-of-social-media-and-if-i-could-delete-my-pages-i-would/) [Jenna Ortega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-ortega/) > [“I would have been trying to pitch a concept about my community to someone that most likely was not a part of that community.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-tyler/i-would-have-been-trying-to-pitch-a-concept-about-my-community-to/) Lamar Tyler > [I do have opinions. Fortunately, I neither Twitter nor Facebook. My daughter forbids me to go on social media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-lipman/i-do-have-opinions-fortunately-i-neither-twitter-nor-facebook-my/) [Maureen Lipman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-lipman/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) ## More by Derek Thompson > [“Posting dramatic charts or funny pictures is good and giving people smart reasons to believe what they already think is great.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-thompson/posting-dramatic-charts-or-funny-pictures-is-good-and-giving-people/) [Derek Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-thompson/) > [“The trick is learning to frame your new ideas as tweaks of old ideas, to mix a little fluency with a little disfluency—to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-thompson/the-trick-is-learning-to-frame-your-new-ideas-as-tweaks-of-old-ideas/) [Derek Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-thompson/) > [“Picking a few hits requires a tolerance for many bad ideas, mediocre ideas, and even good ideas cursed with bad timing. 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What they’re buying is not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-thompson/some-consumers-buy-products-not-because-they-are-better-in-any-way/) [Derek Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-thompson/) > [“It is the simplest phrase you can imagine,” Favreau said, “three monosyllabic words that people say to each other every day.” But the speech…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-thompson/it-is-the-simplest-phrase-you-can-imagine-favreau-said-three/) [Derek Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-thompson/) > [“The line from psychologists is, if you’ve seen it before, it hasn’t killed you yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-thompson/the-line-from-psychologists-is-if-you-ve-seen-it-before-it-hasn-t/) [Derek Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-thompson/) > [“People have all day to talk about what makes them ordinary. It turns out that they want to share what makes them weird.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-thompson/people-have-all-day-to-talk-about-what-makes-them-ordinary-it-turns/) [Derek Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-thompson/) > [“The mark of a good book is that you're happy to come home to it. The mark of a great book is that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-thompson/the-mark-of-a-good-book-is-that-you-re-happy-to-come-home-to-it-the/) [Derek Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-thompson/) > [“In the psychology of aesthetics, there is a name for the moment between the anxiety of confronting something new and the satisfying click of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-thompson/in-the-psychology-of-aesthetics-there-is-a-name-for-the-moment/) [Derek Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-thompson/) > [“In 2012, Spanish researchers released a study that looked at 464,411 popular recordings around the world between 1955 and 2010 and found the difference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-thompson/in-2012-spanish-researchers-released-a-study-that-looked-at-464-411/) [Derek Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-thompson/) > [“It is not merely the feeling that something is familiar. It is one step beyond that. It is something new, challenging, or surprising that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-thompson/it-is-not-merely-the-feeling-that-something-is-familiar-it-is-one/) [Derek Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-thompson/) [Explore all 19 Derek Thompson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-thompson/) ## More Friendship quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“ever day Maureen is Selfish To her friend and Family One she get mad at her friend and family and She need to Grad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-andeson/ever-day-maureen-is-selfish-to-her-friend-and-family-one-she-get-mad/) Maureen Andeson > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Friends are like stars you can't always see them, but you know they're there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknwon/friends-are-like-stars-you-can-t-always-see-them-but-you-know-they-re/) Unknwon > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/) [Hoodie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoodie-allen/) > [If you love some one for who they are not for there body or how many friend so when you say I love you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/if-you-love-some-one-for-who-they-are-not-for-there-body-or-how-many/) Unknow > [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. She, of all of my friends, had seen the parade of sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-my-best-friend-from-college-was-silent-for-a-long-time-she-of-all/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [You smile upon your friend to-day, To-day his ills are over; You hearken to the lover's say, And happy is the lover. 'Tis late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-smile-upon-your-friend-to-day-to-day-his-ills-are-over-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“way. A true friend isn't the one that agrees with everything you say or do. 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