LJ is an enlargement of something we do in RL too often. We have others watch us and look back in return. It's the first step in communication. Part of this play with looking and being looked at is that we don't know how we are percieved. That's what hidden. We see the painter paint "us" (since we personify the model), but we can't see what he's painting. We can't see how we are percieved. That is constant in RL and on LJ. There is a constant reciprocity, but we don't know where it leads to.

But people like to be watched. That's why LJ can enlarge it. We like to play that game, but also to play the game of mystery. Are we all attention seekers in our own way?