Does the face or chosen avatar affect your first impression or reaction to someone's post?

Unless I click on the avatar to see it bigger, I can’t see the pictures, so I usually don’t know what the avatar represents. If I do know what the avatar is, I usually don’t care. Although if I realize it is a picture of a dog, I usually smile to myself.

I enjoy the creativity, avatars that are not from the jelly pool and actual peoples faces.

When I first joined last month I used a pic of myself, infact several…but noticed very few others show their real faces, so I felt a bit intimidated about sharing mine. haha

I like to change mine around every week or so…just for the hell of it.

I take avatars with a grain of salt but over time you get used to and recognize the avatars for the person they represent and what you come to expect from them with their comments. Some avatars keep you guessing while others are quite obvious to their purpose and some are down right disturbing! lol!

You do get amendments to making a bad first impression, but usually this has to get round the fact that the person may not want to speak to you/know you etc which means you have to put extra effort in (which may additionally seem off-putting). However it is possible to counteract the stereotype adorned by the first impression with increased contact. So situations where this would be possible without having to physically confront the person could be at a workplace/school or if the other person is friends of a friend.

Cliffnote: You do get a second chance with first impressions, but the first impression effect is so strong that its damn hard to get around it and will always take time.

Personally I ignore avatars mostly, except to know where a post starts. If I see a person I assume its the poster but I don’t really think that affects me that much. Mostly I want to know what they are saying before I pass judgement. I feel that two sentences of response is more informative than a small 40×40 picture. I guess in this case a picture isn’t worth a thousand words.

I confess that I sometimes make a judgment, sometimes based on the A, sometimes based on the handle.
Generally, I end up being right.

Okay…say ‘Hi’ to my face before I stowe it away again! lolol

My eyes go to the avatar first, and i like to see a beautiful, funny, or interesting pic, but now that i think of it, someone’s name can ‘impress’ me more then the photo.
In general.
There are avatars/Flutherites who i really like to see in a thread, because they usually talk sense.

@Zen_Again, are you really asking this question? If so, can you do us the courtesy of resetting your profile again so we can at least make believe you are a n00b? I hate to be a douche, but seriously.

@kevbo I’ve run out of the Zen + names so I’m going to stay with this one.

I think a persons avatar is an extension of who they are inside.
Some, with the ridiculous fake noses and mustaches make me laugh. I mean, dpworking must be a hoot in real life.

you mean those AREN’T fake????

I generally don’t have a strong impresssion of an avatar at first; it’s after I get to know someone and their posts that I am happy to see their picture pop up. Right now, there are two squirrels and that is messin’ with my head because I keep thinking it’s jbfletcherfan when it’s not. I do find it disconcerting when I have come to know and like someone and they change their avatar.

It’s an image I associate with a screenname on my monitor and little more.

I like avatars. If one interests me I click on it to see it bigger and read the profile, maybe even check out a few answers.
If I really like someone’s answer I click on the avatar to see what it looks like. Some, like HungryMan are very strong visually. Least enjoyable are the jelly pool because then you don’t necessarily know who it is.

I don’t really pay attention to most of ‘em and rarely have I made an impression based on one.

They scare me! LOL

Avatars are the last things I look at when responding.

@Coloma I remember your first one Coloma. I clicked on it. It’s nice seeing some faces. If Dpworkin came in as a generic jelly I wouldn’t recognize him until he insulted me. CyanoticWasp uses his pic. And Dark Scribe—i think men are more likely to use their own pics. Blondesjon uses a pic but I’T AIN’T HIM! I saw him on the radio!
That’s a special talent of mine

I answer most questions from my iPhone. The avatar is pretty small. To be honest, I rarely look at it.

Since I’m still fairly new, though, if someone interests me after I’ve read a comment or two from them, I’ll make a point to look out of curiousity. But it’s always content first.

@anartist

Yes…and LOOK! @netgirl does too!

Okay..I propose everyone show some FACE! lol

C’mom….cough up a quickie facial flash everyone!

@Coloma I do like seeing real faces. But I know some people don’t like revealing anything that outs them to the world.

Am curious as to what @Zen_Again loks like.

I’d like to be able to say it doesn’t matter to me…but it does. It’s a reflection of what someone wants the world to see about them. Well, okay, not the world but the Fluther world.

My first impression usually isn’t that far off the mark, so I’m not sure what that says about me. I don’t think bad things, usually. It’s more like ‘oh they like dogs’ or ‘they have a quirky sense of humor’, that sort of thing.

Now you see me and NOW YOU DON’T and then maybe

@chyna No-one has seen me and has lived to tell about it. But I’ll give you a hint – I do resemble my avatar.

@Zen_Again Then you are very attractive. I thought you would be.

I tend to notice name choices first and then if the selected image seems to match up. My first impression rarely changes, of course, this doesn’t mean I am ever right.

@chyna blushes

I choose my avatars for the specific message I wish to convey. I don’t know if my avatar conveys what I want it to, but there it is. The name and the avatar belong together. I don’t know what people make of the current combination, but I do know they miss the past avatar. I miss it, too, sometimes, but I don’t know if I can be that person these days. It’s dangerous.

Well, now y’all know why I give such squirrley answers! ;-)

But have you seen the pseudo-you @jbfletcherfan ?

@jbfletcherfan I remember when the avatars weren’t enlarged and I used to think yours was a gorilla.

@janbb you mean the one who posted today with MY avatar? Yes, I saw that. :-(

@chyna yes, I remember you saying that. TOOOO funny.

Yeah, you want me to round up the penguin posse and flipper him?

@janbb that can be plan B if it comes back. I posted an unhappy post about it.

@chyna

Funny..I have done that too, looked at an avatar and thought it was something completley different in it’s micro shot and then was surprised to find it was something else entirely!

I only look at the avatar and screen name if I want to reply to a specific answer. I hardly ever notice them otherwise.

@YARNLADY Even if they are really strong?

I am so used to jan’s blue penguin with a book—when she was someone else i was very disoriented.

I have my screen Plussed up as far as I can because I can barely see, so the avatar’s don’t really show up, except as colorful blobs.

Goodbye me, hello kitty!

Meet Gadwicke, son of Smethwicke of Mt. Aukum lol

@Coloma talk about a penetrating stare!

Aside from thinking, “oh cool avatar!”, not really. When on another social site we had “bluefaces” and some people kept that avatar instead of loading up a graphic or pic and I found several of them fascinating, never worried about the avatar.

You know, the avatar is so small that there has been times I thought it was a picture of one thing, and then when I clicked on the persons profile page it was actually a picture of something else. I don’t really make any assumptions about their opinions, but if their picture is of a woman I would assume I am speaking to a woman, and if a man a man. I admit that the user name sometimes causes me to picture the person in my mind. Still, neither really causes me to make assumptions about what their opinions will be, I barely notice either, except for some of the regulars here in the collective who I see daily. I think augustlin had to point out to me that sarcasm was probably being sarcastic with me on a thread a few days ago, I did not even notice his name.

Yes a little I like your Picard avatar but hate reading the ones from another person with say “butt-cheeks” as an Avatar.

My un-favorite is that malevolentbuttlick….seriously, thats baaad!

@talljasperman Thank God he switched it, eh!?!

I’m absolutely judgemental, completely prejudice, and generally, totally wrong.

I used to think faye’s avatar was some kind of PETA campaign picture, until I clicked on her profile and saw it up-close. Totally got the wrong impression on that one from afar!

Oh great. Now I’m checking out everyone’s avatars, just because. * sigh *

I just checked out holden’s avatar. ^^

My avatar is a lamp. How can you not love lamp?

No, avatars do not affect my first impression of someone.

It can and has. I wonder what impression people get from mine.

If you really want it, here it is. Look quick, cuz I’m gonna change it back soon!

@Yetanotheruser

A daring pioneer!

Sometimes I can change my avatar with my mood, or sometimes it just doesn’t matter. It’s just another outlet of creativity.

Now I really want to resurrect my old avatar, especially for those that never knew me before.

@wundayatta Resist! You have metamorphosed into the new, brighter, happier you. Loved the old avatar, but this is the new you.

@wundayatta I loved your ass.

@janbb The avatar or the real thing? :)

@chyna :-)

Avatars are interesting, and I suppose that the choice of avatar that someone chooses may say something about that person where psychology is concerned, but that kinda analysis is much too general and I doubt anyone who does use the avatars as a would be legitimate form of barometric insight on the user takes the time to formulate the kind of analysis that such a thing would otherwise require.
I don’t judge avatars and then relay that to the user, or use the avatar in any way to fashion a first impression. It might show somehting about personal taste, but it’s just too vague. :/
As I say they’re interesting, but for as important as they are in that scheme they might as well just be a blob of colour besides a buncha words.

I’ve heard some funny things though, although I think this might be just constant, therefore slightly legit but prolly not, online observations…that several types of people use certain types of avatars…
For example, nice and friendly people would use avatars of animals. But I find that to be bs, unless I happen to run into every exception to the rule.

I suppose there is something of truth in there…people who use themselves as avatars, or people who use colourful ones, animal ones, movie avatars, nature avatars. dark coloured ones, who knows…I’m sure there’s something there, but I think it’s heavily outweighed by someone’s words and online behaviour instead, even for something as dramatically important as first impressions.

Alrighty…gotta go, but before I do so, I will leave you all in the presence of the blue goose guru. lol

@Symbeline so, I need not be scared by the chainsaw ;-)

there I go again…Back to the bigfoot!

@liminal Indeed. I don’t even own one. :D

@Yetanotheruser

I have a neighbor that SWEARS we have a Bigfoot in the neighborhood…dunno, but I have heard some mysterious heavy breathing outside at night, and cumbersome shuffling sounds..I think it’s a bear…hoping so anyway. lol

I use a person’s profile in conjunction with their avatar sometimes to decide whether or not they’re too snobby to interact with on certain posts…lol i’m an insecure bitch :P

@wtfrickinfrack
lol…well at least you are conscious of your insecure bitchiness, so no surprises ey? haha

@Coloma true lol! But all those other insecure bitches better not get insecure or bitchy with me… that would be totally snobby ;)

@Coloma
I wasn’t going to tell you, but it was me!

@Yetanotheruser

So it was you that ate my chickens the other night!

Poor Umpqua & Pachanga…:-(

@Coloma But I was HUNGRY!

Sorry for your loss. If it is any consolation, I honored them and showed them all due respect before I bit their heads off! They were delicious.

@Yetanotheruser

I’ll be watching for you, lol