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See, people think that online things aren't real, but can't it be said truthfully that the feelings and emotions and friendships developed through online contact are real? Does that mean that we're in a society that is developing a new phase of reality?
i've actually met more people in person through my online contacts than i ever would without those connections. i'm pretty shy in person and somewhat of a hermit, so i find it difficult to just go out and meet people. online, i can hang out on my favorite websites (livejournal, facebook, FORT), strike up friendships, and some of them move to face to face meetings when they're driving through town, or i'm driving through theirs.
I have wondered that same thing - especially when trying to explain the internet to my mom, who just couldn't grasp the whole thing. I think, if nothing else, it's an amazing and interesting social experiment.Quote:
Originally Posted by NickNack77;3475257;
I've had the same experience as BFD has had. Though I'm not shy (I'm pretty outgoing and outspoken in some ways), I just don't go out and meet a lot of people. I work in a small office and go to a small church and attend a small writer's group, and that's about it. I've met some nice people, but no one who has much interest in the same things I do. My neighbors smile and wave, but they're busy with their own lives, and again, they don't seem to be interested in the same things I am. We are only close in a geographical sense, and that has been largely a matter of accident.Quote:
Originally Posted by barefootdyke;3475309;
On the other hand, the online world is organized by interests rather than geography. I find people who have the same interests relatively easily. It's much easier to strike up a conversation--and perhaps more significantly, there's really no sense of rejection or embarrassment when one fails to strike up a conversation online. There's not really an awkward moment.
So, like BFD, I've gone on to meet (in the real world) more people from online contacts than I ever would have met from real-world contacts.
I don't think it really matters how we make initial contact with people. We don't know much more about a person we initially meet in a bar or at work or at church than about a person we meet online. After the initial contact, you start getting to know a person and your relationship grows.
The precautions are pretty much the same, too. It's really not a good idea to trust anyone with the things that matter in your life until you learn enough about them that you can get a sense they are trustworthy. Take the so-called "Craigslist Killer" up in the Boston area, for example. The fiancee, who got to know her man in the "real world" thought she knew he was a wonderful guy--he was going to be a DOCTOR after all. Surprise, surprise, she didn't know him as well as she thought. Granted, this is an extreme example, but people are deceived by "real-world" people almost every bit as easily as they are by online people.
Granted, with people you only know from online, there's not as much of a way to tell if they really are who they say they are, but you can come to learn who that person really is just as you would any other person.
There's an interesting poem by Walt Whitman (one of America's two greatest poets, along with Emily Dickinson) called "A Noiseless Patient Spider" that goes like this:Quote:
Originally Posted by J.D.;3476177;
A NOISELESS PATIENT SPIDER
A noiseless, patient spider,
I mark'd, where, on a little promontory, it stood, isolated;
Mark'd how, to explore the vacant, vast surrounding,
It launched forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself;
Ever unreeling them--ever tirelessly speeding them.
And you, O my Soul, where you stand,
Surrounded, surrounded, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing,--seeking the spheres, to connect them;
Till the bridge you will need be form'd--till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling, catch somewhere, O my Soul.
Granted, it's an odd thing to write a poem about a spider.
But when I think about what's he's saying, it's something like this: he sees this isolated little creature who is patiently, tirelessly sending out a small part of itself, trying to make a connection. And he sees this is like his Soul, which is also seeking a connection, hopeful that the anchor will hold, hopeful that its gossamer thread (isn't that a beautiful image of our soul's desire to connect?) will catch--somewhere.
So it seems that, in an odd way, a great poet from the mid-1800's is talking about the soul's desire to find a "web" that connects people together. And today, the "worldwide web" does connect us together--all people. And it's our minds and our souls that are connecting. At least, it's not really a physical connection--it's a connection that transcends the physical world, in a way greater than before. I think it's true to say that never before in the history of the world have people been able to connect with each other so easily and so quickly as they do today, using the internet as their main tool.
Thus I meander to my point, which is this: I think the internet is much more than an experiment. I think it is the fulfillment of an age-old desire that humanity has had to connect with each other. This ability to connect is a very powerful thing, and it can be used for good or evil according to what desires lie in our souls. However, in the end I think this ability to connect will make us, as humanity, much better than we were before.
(and sorry for posting twice in a row--I thought both BFD and JD had interesting comments and couldn't figure out a way to "quote" them both in the same post.)
If you want to delete yourself from Facebook here's a way to do it.
Web 2.0 Suicide Machine: How to Quit Facebook, Twitter - TIME
I just delete those that irritate me instead. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Unklescott;3801481;
I'm not into the Facebook world yet, on a personal level. I do have a facebook account which I use for sleuthing and not in my real name. ;) I'm thinking of setting one up for business purposes.
I would like to know what are some of the things I should do, and some of the things I shouldn't do. Maybe by posting tips, we can all learn more about the social networking world we live in. :nod
Wow, this is a bigger bump that I would have thought.
I have a dilemma. What do you do when someone sends you a friend request on FB and you a) don't want to accept it because you don't really know the person but b) it's someone you are acquainted with through business and it might help you in that arena?
Someone I don't actually know except through a few emails, sent me a friend request and I don't know what to do about it. I'm inclined to let the request sit there for a while, but I eventually have to do something about it. I'm considering accepting it and then making the majority of my posts not visible to her. I use my FB for friends, so I don't generally accept requests from people I don't know. I don't want virtual strangers seeing pictures of me and my family/friends or knowing all about my life. I know some people use it for networking or don't care who knows what about them, but I keep most of my profile private for a reason.
I'm sure I'm over thinking this A LOT, but I can't help it.
What I do is put people like these into the "Acquaintances" category. My default settings are for "Friends Except Acquaintances."Quote:
Originally Posted by Critical