True feelings and public face (honne and tatemae)
Overview
Honne and tatemae are among the concepts used to explain social psychology in Japan. Honne refers to the true feelings and opinions inside a person, and tatemae to the attitude and words a person shows to keep social harmony. This two-layer structure is often described as unique to Japanese culture, but in reality it can be seen in other cultures too, to some degree.
Switching between true feelings and a public face is a way of making social life go smoothly. If you said everything you thought exactly as it is, your relationships could fall apart. But with nothing but a public face, you can end up feeling suffocated because you can't show your real self to anyone.
How a question box shakes up the two layers
A question box blurs the line between true feelings and a public face. Because the sender is anonymous, it's easier for them to throw out the true feelings they usually hide behind a public face. "What do you really think?" "Honestly, what's the deal with X?" Questions like these quietly ask the person answering to drop the public face and answer with their true feelings.
For the person answering, this is a hard choice. Answering with your true feelings meets the sender's expectations, but that answer is visible to all your followers. If your true feelings are far from your public face, you risk losing trust because people think "that's not what you usually say." An answer in a question box calls for a delicate sense of balance about where to land between true feelings and a public face.
The value and the danger of true feelings
Sharing your true feelings in a question box has value. Answers that are all public face rarely move readers. Answers that make people feel "this person is telling the truth" lead to trust and engagement.
But opening up your true feelings also comes with risks. True feelings you let out in an emotional moment can later become a digital tattoo that you can't take back. Your skill at running a question box depends on judging when to share your true feelings and when to keep to your public face. Answering everything with your true feelings isn't what makes you sincere. What running a question box asks of you is being able to choose for yourself how much of your true feelings to show.