Tight vs Loose Play

[loser64]

I am wondering if I could pick everyone’s brain. I have been thinking about the early stages of a MTT (say the first 3 levels) both online and live, in particular what makes someone a tight player vs. a loose player.

I understand some givens such as position and how the rest of the table is playing; plays a big part in ones hand selection. I am curious, however, with different lengths in blind levels and the smaller chip stacks in online play how much of a difference it make in your starting requirements/aggression level.

Does online play cause you to play tighter and wait for a big hand and then loosen up, or to play less strict hands and hope to get lucky.
I would really appreciate everyone’s thoughts.