I Support Lying on the Internet
Apparently this is a "hot take", but I honestly think more people should lie about themselves on the internet.
To be clear, I don't support stuff like teens lying about their age so they can use adult-only websites, people lying about being part of marginalized groups so they can argue about politics on the internet, people purposely spreading misinformation, etc, etc.
What I am saying is that you don't have to share anything about yourself that you don't want to, and if someone asks you directly, sometimes it's okay to lie about it. Think about it, do you want someone you know offline stumbling across your site/account to immediately know that it's you? Or worse; do you want to make things easy for people who could potentially doxx you?
"But I'm not doing anything wrong, I have nothing to hide!" Unfortunately, you can be totally innocent and people can still do this sort of thing to you. Employers can fire you, or not hire you in the first place, just because they didn't like some innocuous post you made. Sometimes people become targets of harassment campaigns solely because they're a visible minority on the internet, even if they're not super involved in politics or a major public figure. It really doesn't take much.
So, saying you're 23 when actually you're 21? Or that you're birthdays in June when it's really in April? Totally harmless.
Lying about what state you live in, or not sharing it at all? That's literally just good OPSEC.
Using a different name or pronouns than what you use in real life? Honestly, I encourage it. Not even just for security reasons, I just think that everyone should feel comfortable with how they present themself online. Like I said, as long as you're not trying to weasel your way into someplace you shouldn't be or are trying to score internet brownie points, who cares?
On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog.
Being vague about your gender/sexuality? You don't owe anyone that information in the first place. If a stranger online directly asks you about it, you have every right to be suspicious of them.
Stop giving ammo to people who could very easily ruin your life!!! Stop using your real, full, legal name on your profile with your selfie as the profile pic!!! Stop posting photos with the EXIF data and geotag still attached!!! You could literally get yourself killed!!!