Great topic. I've been thinking about it too. I want to use your "this post is not about you" disclaimer if I might...
I don't think that Drama necessarily comes from an unmediated personality either. I think this medium can, for many, encourage heights of Drama that they would never reach on their own. The "dramatic" personality can be just as much of a construct as the "restrained" personality you talk about, both because they're still holding some things back, and in the other direction because the culture and the medium may push them to excesses beyond what they actually feel.
For example, they may deliberately be fishing for stuff to post about, and they may not care about the things they talk about nearly as much as they seem to. Or they may be consciously using their LJ to blow off steam and exaggerating because it feels good. Or they may be using it to try out a concept or a way of thinking. Or they may be attention-seeking, or looking for reinforcement from friends, so they push things a bit.
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I don't think that Drama necessarily comes from an unmediated personality either. I think this medium can, for many, encourage heights of Drama that they would never reach on their own. The "dramatic" personality can be just as much of a construct as the "restrained" personality you talk about, both because they're still holding some things back, and in the other direction because the culture and the medium may push them to excesses beyond what they actually feel.
For example, they may deliberately be fishing for stuff to post about, and they may not care about the things they talk about nearly as much as they seem to. Or they may be consciously using their LJ to blow off steam and exaggerating because it feels good. Or they may be using it to try out a concept or a way of thinking. Or they may be attention-seeking, or looking for reinforcement from friends, so they push things a bit.