Forum Update! Plus Internet-Related Problems

[Chris]

Ok so I’ve got five finals and I’m sure many of you do as well. I hope everyone studies and doesn’t spend too much time on the internet. Speaking of spending time on the internet, I was stumbling around on Wikipedia the other day and came across an article about the Online Disinhibition Effect. Basically, it shows how several factors can cause a human being to have lower inhibitions while communicating on the internet. In other words, they do things online that they wouldn’t normally do in real life. It was interesting, and with a generation that spends so much time on the internet it may show where our psychological path is leading to. Do you think that Nerdfighters are more/less affected than others by this? About the same? With us generally being on the internet, what does that say about our behavior? Can it affect our lives offline? Just a few thoughts I thought you would find interesting.

Anyways, it’s almost time for me to go to work and so onto the forums!

It seems we have a Nerdfighter here that feels out of place and a bit concerned about the recent developments about hank’s controversial twittering. Let’s show that Nerdfighters are made of awesome, and can tolerate anything… even intolerance? I know it’s difficult to deal with racism or other kinds of prejudice, but the more we talk the more we get done.

On a lighter note, a Nerdfighter has thrown down the gauntlet on Star Wars Trivia. All you Star Wars fans out there should head in and show him what you’re made of!

Next, we have a Nerdfighter trying to Decrease Wroldsuck through youtube! Let’s see some feedback!

That’s all I have time for today! Remember to look to the skies for red balloons, and call that number when you see one!! Study hard, and remember to keep a healthy level of human understanding both on and offline.

[Christine M. J.]

I think it can be a good thing if it isn't used as a complete replacement to socializing face to face. I try not to use the internet as a replacement with real life socialization, just as an add on. By that I mean, I use the internet to find people with similar interests and people who will actually listen to me. We then we meet up in real life sometimes. Like my NaNoWriMo local write-in group. We met online and because we were in the same region we gathered together to write. Then several of us decided to continue writing on together afterward. Some of my greatest friends resulted from that. I've also met some of my other really good friends through the internet.

But then there's the ugly side with internet addiction where someone uses it to replace their real life and it pretty much ruins their real life relationships. A mild example is that there was this guy that lived really close to me in the same city that I met online. We'd text each other and email and we became really good friends. He mentioned some interest in dating me, but he was too scared to meet me in real life. It wasn't because he thought I was a creepy 40-year-old pedo, because our parents knew each other somewhat. But we never met once and then he ended up moving to another state for a couple of years and we lost contact.

So I think it can go both ways depending on how someone uses the internet.

P.S. Sorry if this doesn't make a lot of sense. I'm kind of tired at the moment.

[Chris]

So we can say that it might be a good thing that we have this outlet? Interesting. Does anyone think this will eventually translate into real-life conversation? Meaning; will we eventually drop the shyness as a result of the internet or even be able to find people who will listen more readily?

[Christine M. J.]

I know I'm a lot more talkative online than I am normally. It's not because I'm shy but just that more people actually listen to me online. But I think I am essentially the same person I am online as I am offline.

[Chris]

@ Ady:
Do you think that the internet has cuased you to be a better person in those ways? Also, if the internet's disinhibitionated people are where we feel most comfortable and welcome, what does this say about us? I can say that I'm much less shy on the internet, all about the inhibitions? Or something else?

@ Kuhi:
What doyou do differently? Shyness seems to be the most common dropped attribute.

[Austin]

The internet is a beautiful thing and I definitely find myself doing things online that I would never do offline, and the Nerdfighter community has helped me do lots of things offline that I... would never do offline! haha.