The cat’s out of the bag. Not everyone you meet online is real. Not only that, the entity you thought was your soul mate has turned out to be a cartoon creation for some new fangled product. You’ve been targeted and lured by the practice of “Fake Avatars”.

Is it ethical to purposely lie on the Internet?

Fake accounts, fake avatars and fake friends. It’s actually nothing new. I never believed half the stuff I was told in the adult chat rooms from the 1990’s Internet.

(Did I just say that?)

Today, marketers and web designers are using non-reality to create traffic, design web sites and sell products. User personas aren’t real people, but they’re based on actual demographics data and case study findings. We may present a certain version of ourselves online depending on what we’re doing online and who it’s for.

But, are there dangers to playing pretend?

Cre8asiteforums takes a lively look at the latest buzz in Fake ‘avatars’ In Social Media, Is it Ethical?