I’ve went back and forth with it. I started online way too young. On some websites, my friends I knew irl were on there. So I was myself. then I found other sites where I didn’t know anyone, so I went a more anonymous route - still being myself but you may not know my name or face (like now/here). Then I befriend strangers on those sites and got more comfortable, so I’d share first name and photos. But that ended up being bad as I ended up in multiple bad situations due to that. One online friend I had when I was 16/17 started hitting on me and insinuating we would meet up, he was much older (40s/50s). Then I had a different stranger a few years later that I was never friends with but just someone who noticed me, grow an obsession with stalking me, harassing me, pretending to be me, threatening me, etc. And I had an online friend that crossed boundaries I set and then messaged me every day for years after I made it clear I was uncomfortable and didn’t want contact. So, that’s why I do not share my identity on here. It sucks, but the few rotten ones ruin it. Of course I’ve also had plenty of really great friendships online too, but I can also do that more privately without risking past stalkers and abusers to come back into my life. that’s just a few reasons although I could honestly list more.