Belonging

[kvnchrist]

What is it about the internet that seems to draw so many people to It? Is It more satisfying or Is It more safe as opposed to dealing with real people in an everyday environment. I've been apart of the debating community, for a very long time. I have served as both Mod and Admin of several sites, and It Is the posters who, to me are more intriguing than what they posted. There are some that are so lost in a world they can't relate to, and come here to try to find themselves. There are those that seek acceptance or recognition for things that set them apart from the rest of the world.

 

Does this life give us the feeling of having relationships, without the attachments of face to face relationships. Does the internet give us a place to create fantasy lives that we can control instead of having to find real relationships that we can't?

 

Are we, as human beings loosing some of our people skills and are the younger people, not gaining these skills, by dealing with disembodied avatars instead of looking into the eyes of other people?

[myrmaad]

It's certainly more convenient to converse from my favorite spot. My home is my castle.

 

I'll quote my husband, but he's not much for the internet anyway: "I'm trying to get rid of the friends I have." Actually, it's easy, he just lends them money, and then we don't see them.

 

As for the rest of your questions, I don't know. People are messy. Relationships are messy. It's nice to keep a distance where you can simply turn them off and leave. A lot less effort to "delete" than nosy neighbors.

[JimboUK]

Humans are social creatures and the Internet has given us the opportunity to socialise and interact with others like never before. Has the internet replaced real relationships? possibly it has for some but for others it's just another means of communiction. The rise of social networks has enhanced real world relationships, imagine using Facebook without any real world experiences to share with real world friends, it wouldn't be much fun. Twitter also brings people together, flash mobs and demonstrations are good example of that, look at the huge part social media played in the Arab uprisings.

 

Those that shy away from the real world and stick to the internet probably weren't very social in the first place, the world has always had loners, now those people at least get some interaction with others.

[kvnchrist]

Actually, it's easy, he just lends them money, and then we don't see them.

 

 

Oh, your husband knows some of my relatives. LUCKY YOU :whistling:

[kvnchrist]

Yea, but doesn't the fact that so many people are now setting down to do their socializing also have, in a large part negated the effects of getting up and getting out. Look at the obesity problem with our young. I don't know about other parts of the world, but in America, there is a huge issue with this.

 

As far as loners, I was once in this category and had to find out I actually liked myself before I could start dealing with other people.

[JimboUK]

Yea, but doesn't the fact that so many people are now setting down to do their socializing also have, in a large part negated the effects of getting up and getting out. Look at the obesity problem with our young. I don't know about other parts of the world, but in America, there is a huge issue with this.

 

As far as loners, I was once in this category and had to find out I actually liked myself before I could start dealing with other people.

 

Did people get up and out before? People tended to vegetate in front of the TV, a pastime that involved no social interaction at all. TV viewing figures have dropped as Internet use has increased, I doubt the two are unrelated. Anyway the pubs are still full at the weekend, the roads don't have less traffic on them and town centres still have plenty of people in them, I don't see any evidence that people are staying in more than they used to.

 

These days it's not a choice between going out or using the Internet, you can do both. There has been a huge increase in the use of social networking via mobile platforms, at least three quarters of my tweets are sent while I'm out.

[myrmaad]

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/SeaBlossom/otherstuff/crap/th_laptop_in_park.jpg

[kvnchrist]

Yea, but doesn't the fact that so many people are now setting down to do their socializing also have, in a large part negated the effects of getting up and getting out. Look at the obesity problem with our young. I don't know about other parts of the world, but in America, there is a huge issue with this.

 

As far as loners, I was once in this category and had to find out I actually liked myself before I could start dealing with other people.

 

Did people get up and out before? People tended to vegetate in front of the TV, a pastime that involved no social interaction at all. TV viewing figures have dropped as Internet use has increased, I doubt the two are unrelated. Anyway the pubs are still full at the weekend, the roads don't have less traffic on them and town centres still have plenty of people in them, I don't see any evidence that people are staying in more than they used to.

 

These days it's not a choice between going out or using the Internet, you can do both. There has been a huge increase in the use of social networking via mobile platforms, at least three quarters of my tweets are sent while I'm out.

 

Fair enough. Then what do you think is causing so much social unrest, such as the recent school shootings and the rise of the obesity rates in industrialized nations.

[myrmaad]

Fair enough. Then what do you think is causing so much social unrest, such as the recent school shootings and the rise of the obesity rates in industrialized nations.

 

I contend the main cause of obesity is the cheap abundance of non-foods like sugar and fructose corn syrup in conjunction with the rise of the convenience lifestyle as well as the requirement to work for a living doing repetitive tasks for long hours each day.

 

The three of these things together conspire to suck the life out of health and vitality, and most people need to strategize ways to be healthy. It's easier just to give in.

 

As for the rise in violence, it's more a matter of hearing about it more via mass media than an actual rise in human violence. In my opinion.

 

Let me clarify:

 

Instead of Farming to raise food, which requires a high rate of physical activity, and instead of chasing after food, and instead of running away from predators as well as other violent humans in the neighborhood, we now spend most of our time captive at a job where we have limited physical activity and when we do get some physical activity it's almost always repetitive and thus not very effective for burning off cheap carbohydrates.

[JimboUK]

Yea, but doesn't the fact that so many people are now setting down to do their socializing also have, in a large part negated the effects of getting up and getting out. Look at the obesity problem with our young. I don't know about other parts of the world, but in America, there is a huge issue with this.

 

As far as loners, I was once in this category and had to find out I actually liked myself before I could start dealing with other people.

 

Did people get up and out before? People tended to vegetate in front of the TV, a pastime that involved no social interaction at all. TV viewing figures have dropped as Internet use has increased, I doubt the two are unrelated. Anyway the pubs are still full at the weekend, the roads don't have less traffic on them and town centres still have plenty of people in them, I don't see any evidence that people are staying in more than they used to.

 

These days it's not a choice between going out or using the Internet, you can do both. There has been a huge increase in the use of social networking via mobile platforms, at least three quarters of my tweets are sent while I'm out.

 

Fair enough. Then what do you think is causing so much social unrest, such as the recent school shootings and the rise of the obesity rates in industrialized nations.

 

Obesity can be put down to only an abundance of cheap terrible food as already said but also it's a result of both people in a relationship working, in times gone by the wife would have time to prepare a proper meal while the husband was a work, now both work and just don't have the time/energy. Violence has always been with us going right back to cavemen bashing each other other the head, the only difference is they didn't have 24 hour media deperate to fill their time.