But I've realized that the majority of people still don't think that way. Children like to pretend that their parents don't have sex and parents like to pretend that their children don't have sex. Likewise, employers like to pretend that their employees don't cut loose and do embarrassing things after work.

One of my friends, in the early days of social networking, got fired from a teaching position because his employer saw a picture of him smoking pot at a party. Surely he was not the first teacher to ever smoke pot, and I'm sure his employer knew that. But the moment the employer could no longer pretend her employee wasn't a stoner, she fired him.

Now that I think about it, maybe Ryan's world is NOT ideal. Maybe it's good to be able to pretend our co-workers don't have lives. It's comforting. I can't help but agree with the previous comment that "The only reason that the younger generation wants to blend work and social life is because they don't have enought time for a social life due to work commitments." That, if anything, is what needs to change. The more time you have to go home, take your work mask off, and rush the football field, the less it matters what your employer thinks of the "real you."

But we aren't there yet.

Anyway, here's what bugs me: People who make themselves different from everyone else, then are shocked that they are treated differently. And the online world makes it bot easier to show your differences and for people to see them.

Hey, if you want to wear a tattoo, or dye your hair purple, or wear low-cut blouses, or post pictures of yourself mooning the camera, that's fine. It's your choice. There are lots of places where that is normal of even expected (I don't care one way or the other).

However, if it's different than what everyone else is doing, you must expect that people WILL treat you differently because of it. You'll be an outsider. If you are prepared for that, and can handle it (or even enjoy it), that's great!

But don't complain that you aren't accepted. Don't whine that your straight-laced boss seems to treat you differently after he sees the online pictures of you at the strip club. Or that your very liberal coworkers don't seem to include you in office discussions after reading your passionate post on an pro-choice webpage. Or that coworkers of the opposite genderin seem to leer at you (short of sexual harrasment) after they see a picture of you half-nude at Mardi Gras.

The problem is that SOMETHING we do is considered different to SOME group of people in our lives. We ALL present different aspects of ourselves to different groups of people. We present one face our parents, another face to our friends, and a different face to our coworkers (and sometimes a completely different face when we are alone). At work, we keep things professional. We avoid topics that can be controversial, in order to keep our workplace relationships pleasant.

But posting stuff online under your real name defeats all that. I don't see much difference between telling a off-color joke on a web page (and signing it with your real name), and telling that same joke at work. If it's there, someone will find it. And you can't blame them for acting differently around you if they do.

YOU have control. Exercise it or accept the consequences.