Why don't people like to say what their first names are?

Question

I don't get it. Just saying your first names isn't giving out any personal information. A million people can have your first name. The person you are talking to could probably know a bunch of people with your name or no people with your name.

Also, just giving out your state isn't bad either. I live in Virginia. I don't find that giving out too much information about myself.

I think some people go way overboard with the "don't give out personal infoooooo!" thing..

Answer 1

well its amising how much people can find out about you if they tried.
for instance, i could tell someone my name is Emma, I'm 18 and i live in Australia.
They could find me on myspace, facebook, deviantart and livejournal, and that way could find out my city, my highschool, my university and what i look like, as well as the name of my friends. As well as what my car looks like.
Then its pretty easy to track me down at uni, they could then follow my car home, and find out exactly where i live.
If people are intent enough, they can find you.
But I'm not really worried about that.
Hi, I'm Emma, I'm 18 and i live in Australia.
Pleased to meet you :)

Answer 2

It's probably not that they think giving out their first name is dangerous, it's that not everyone wants to be associated with their "real" name. People often use the internet as a chance to get away from the hectic life-family-et cetra world, and don't want to be reminded that they're just Bob from Podunk. Secondly, many cultures consider it very rude for a stranger or casual contact to even ask their first name. In Japan, for example, calling someone outside of your family or VERY close friends by their first name would be scandalous.

Further, traditional European (and by extension, formal American) etiquette demands that a persons name is whatever they tell you their name is. If they say "Hello, I'm Jon Smith," then they should be referred to as Jon Smith. If they state that they are "Mr. Smith," then they are Mr. Smith, and if greeted by the phrase: "hi im DeltaMastaPwnz," then you address them as such. It's really poor form to pass a bad judgment on someone simply because they have different standards of privacy or familiarity than you do.

Answer 3

there are these internet trolls out there, they can follow you around without you knowing, so you have to be careful about giving out any personal Info. For Example, people on this question you are asking already know your name is Tori and you are from VA...

Now a Troller can kind of follow you around to different questions, search all of your Q & A's and in other questions or answers you may reveal other info about you.. .like maybe you are 16, and you are in school, you may answer or make a comment or post a question like.. "I'm home alone doing my homework b/c my parents wont get home until 6pm."

Or then you could make a comment about how your and your friend are going to "Central Park at 2pm" and post a question like "What should I Wear??" Now a stalker/troller could be familiar with VA, know where Central Park is and go there at 2pm and know what you are wearing and be able to locate you, esp if your Avatar closely resembles what you really look like IRL.

Its a scary internet world out there, you have to just be VERY careful about what you say and how you say it.

There are alot of nice people on here i'm not saying that at all, but you need to just be aware of what you are writing, saying and asking.

p.s. I am using the word "you" in a general sense, not specifically related to you. :o)

Answer 4

What difference does it make to you?

Well, I will tell you why. There are lots of bored people out there with not much to do and with little bits of info that you give out, they can piece together who you are. I prefer to be anonymous, for me that is the fun of this whole thing. I don't want people from work to see my answers and make a judgement. I just like answering questions and maybe helping people a little and not worrying about what anyone thinks of my answers because noone knows who I am.

Answer 5

Yes this is true to some extent. However saying some things leads to other things and can make a predator feel comfortable and use this knowledge to get more pertinent information from young or unsuspecting victims. It is always good to be careful on line.

Answer 6

I agree. It's not like you're the only Tori in Virginia, right? Are you? By the way, I'm Jennifer and I'm from North Carolina.

Answer 7

I've been wondering the same thing myself. I'm Diane from Massachusetts. I think this info plus ages should be included on our avatars. We could watch out for younger members that way. Nice to meet you all!

Answer 8

There are sickos on the Internet. There is nothing wrong with being careful. If they don't want to give out their name, what's the problem?

BTW, I'm Catherine aka Kiki.

Answer 9

Hi Tori, I'm Kim from Tennessee.
Pleased to anonymously meet you!
: D

Answer 10

Yeah, lots of people go overboard.
Giving out your first name, state, age isn't going to do anything.