In fairness to what I think is the spirit of the OP, I have seen instances of people online purposefully pretending to be someone they're not. Why? Who knows? Why does anyone do anything?
I'll attempt to answer these questions:
Why do people online pretend to be someone they're not? Because we're anonymous. Most people typically don't like being who they are (you can take me for example. In real life, I'm pretty agreeable, avoid conflict, am mostly passive, and have a tendency to agree with those around me just so I don't have to deal with them. On the forums, I tend toward the opposite. I'm assertive, only agreeable when someone isn't just saying crap they've parroted from other people, I have a tendency to invite conflict, I'm very active in my life and beliefs, etcetera. We're all pretending to be people we're not. The jerk online may have a heart of gold in real life and be your best friend. You just can't know.).
The usual reasons for "not liking who they are" is just your typical usual things. Lack of status and lack of respect.
It's how things like "Social Justice" work. Now, to be realistic, "Social Justice" is not new. It's been around forever. It's just usually called "Identity Politics". It works the same way Cults do.
There's a bunch of people who want to be seen as "good people" and want "automatic respect" for being those good people, so they buy into the cause. Religious, Political, Social, Moral, whatever. The cause itself isn't important, I'm only using "Social Justice" as a highly visible example in today's Western Societies.
"Identity Politics" typically requires you "signal" to other people of that group that you belong so that you can get the "built in" respect and status that group holds (or you perceive that group to hold). We call it "Virtue Signaling" these days, but it isn't limited to any one political group or any one cause. When the signaling fails, it's called the "No True Scotsman" fallacy (
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NoTrueScotsman).
"You aren't a member of our group because you don't believe all the exact things you are required to believe to be part of it!".
So, basically, all this "hubbub" just because people want to belong. They want to be part of a group. They want to be seen as better people than they know they are. They want the respect of having the "correct" viewpoint. Of believing all the "correct" things. Of holding all the "correct" morals. Aren't the "thought police" fun to deal with?
Most of humanity is "pack bonding". Not everyone needs to pack bond. Not everyone seeks to do so. But, we all need to socialize. I, for one, do not seek to "pack bond" and often avoid it when possible. However, I do need to socialize. I do most of that on these forums (even when nobody is listening or replies, it's enough for me just to be able to imagine someone has read what I thought). I am an exception to the rule. I have friends because those friends have chosen to pack bond with me. I haven't really bonded with them, though I treat them the way you would treat good friends, because I think it's important for me to give things back to the people who value my company.
Anyway, this "wanting to be seen as better than we are" is why people being hypocrites has become the Gold Standard for "ruining" people. Because none of us are being who we are. Even in our real lives, we're pretending to be people we're not. Just to fit in. To get along. To adhere to specific rules that we may not necessarily care that much about or even understand why those rules exist to begin with.
But, there's hypocrisy in even those rules. "Stealing is wrong" goes out the window when it is the only way to stay alive. "Murder is wrong" goes out the window when there are legal reasons to justify the taking of lives (self defense, justifiable homicide due to threat of life or continued abuse, someone is mentally instane, etcetera). These hypocricies are "justified" to many extents.
You'll find that's true of any group. Don't do X unless Y. But, if you do X without Y, then you don't belong. And, we all very much want to belong.
None of us want to be put out in the cold and alone. Not really.
After all, are you
really as nice as you portray yourself here? Have you really not maliciously hurt someone? Have you really never blown up at people for their annoying habits, their idiotic behavior, or their penchant for involving you in their problems? Have you really never lashed out irrationally at other people just because?
If you answer "I have never done those things", then I'd be inclined to call you a liar or "not human". Because, we've all done it. But, we all want to pretend we've never done terrible things. We all want to pretend we've never been terrible people. We all want to pretend we've never made mistakes, held the wrong opinion (as in, you can prove it's a detrimental and societally harmful way to think), or unknowingly hurt others.
We hold our sins deep within ourselves and leave them unspoken and unresolved. We pave over them with our new identities. Identities of "I am not a bad person". Probably why depression is on the rise. Nobody allows anyone to just BE HUMAN anymore. We all hold each other to such crazy high levels of moral obligations and don't allow people to make mistakes, and be wrong, or ignorant. We can't even allow ourselves to be wrong, or ignorant, or make mistakes. We can't even allow ourselves to be immoral from time to time.
That's the long explanation of why people pretend to be other people.
Why does someone feel the need to lie about their past, their experiences, their qualifications, their education, etc.?
Clout. Reputation. Respect.
Are you more likely to take my opinions on game design more seriously if I have published a game, rather than having never published one? Are you more likely to do what I say in game design if my game was universally popular, than if it had flopped?
People are prone to following "authority". They listen to authority. They dismiss anyone they aren't submissive to. Anyone they don't respect.
Also known as "Cassandra Truth".
Sometimes people just won't believe you. A common staple of Disney and children's films, where the Kid Hero stumbles upon an evil conspiracy or a criminal ring and their parents and the police refuse to listen. Nothing left to do but save the day …
tvtropes.org
These sorts of lies exist to make you inherently "more trustworthy" and to put you in a position of "authority".
It's also typically why I dismiss ANYONE who tries to use "authority" as an argument. Because, F You, this is the internet, you can claim to be anyone and have done anything, and just because crap worked out for you, doesn't mean you knew anything about it. Sometimes, morons just get lucky. You need to prove to me you're not a lucky moron. You aren't going to do it with a PhD real or imagined. You're going to do it by having to prove you're right.
There's a reason it's a common trope that "the people in charge are morons and disconnected from reality" is a thing. Everyone has had a boss who doesn't know crap. Or many bosses that don't. We've all had people in charge who are absolute idiots. So, with the knowledge that "most people in charge tend to be dumb as rocks", why are humans still prone to believing anyone in charge? Or anyone who claims to have expertise?
Because people are just prone to following authority and listening to it. It's easier to listen and follow than have to question everything and come to your own conclusions. Path of least resistance.
So, people lie about their past, their experiences, their qualifications, etcetera.
Plus, you also have that weird "gatekeeping" thing now.
"There's no way you can have an opinion on female reproductive rights, you aren't a woman, therefore you aren't qualified to speak on them!"
Yeah, it's common across topics, that form of gatekeeping. It's safe to dismiss anyone who spouts anything like that as a moron and move along, because they are. A person doesn't have to experience murder to judge people who murder. A person doesn't have to experience assault to judge people who assault others. A person doesn't have to lose a child to judge those who take the lives of children. If they did, there'd be a lot more echo-chambers and justice would no longer be blind, but based upon emotion rather than facts and logic.
Why do people publicly impersonate police until they get caught?
Power, mostly. Probably also the rush of "potentially getting caught". I'd wager it's a mix of exhibitionism and sadism.
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Hope that answers your questions.
