The Cheers #11: Life - MSN Messenger nicknames- from where do they come? It is like asking where your real name came from, or why your parent chose such a name for you. However, my part is only to share the research I did find regarding why people keep such interesting and odd nicknames on the MSN Messenger.
The first thing I analyzed was freedom; everyone is free, so one may pick whatever name they feel suits them. Second and more importantly, invisibility plays a role in these nicknames. They allow people to have the mental satisfaction of not talking to someone face to face; this encourages people to use names that may be innapropriate, such as words which should be read in reverse order to be understood as a swear word.
Sometimes you find that nicknames are an excellent transformation of human thoughts into words. This is demonstrated in the following. In the last Cricket World cup, the final match was between India and Australia. Australian batsman Ricky Ponting played beautifully in that match and scored a century, not to mention beating the hell out of Indian bowlers. That day, when the match finished, a friend of mine (Because Pakistanis have special antagonism with Indians) went into the Indian chat room with the nickname: Ricky Ponting. That said it all.
It is common to see people changing their nicknames on a regular basis; this is because of special events that happen in one's life each day. When one wants to share it with others, they make it their nickname.
Some people (like myself), promise themselves not to change their nicknames for their whole lives. Maybe this is because their nickname is a reminder of an important even, or maybe it is an indication of what one wants his/her life to become.
It also happens that once in a while, one gets too impressed with a movie or animation and picks a character or movies name to communicate their like for that movie. As an example, a student of mine who possesses an inferiority complex about being ugly has chosen her nickname to be I love Addams Family.
Love is another reason; it leads people to express their welded feelings to the attached. Things which are difficult to say by mouth can b
