Linda's Soapbox
Editorial by
Linda Johnson
Are Online Relationships Real?
Well, my online friends, this is a topic that hits close to my heart.
My family and friends are always worrying about me because more and more of my life
exists within this box. They keep telling me I should get out
more. They say I need a life. I tell them I HAVE a life,
it's just different from what they have.
What do they have that I
don't? Well, let's explore that.
They have lots of people in
and out of their homes. But not as many as me. Right now,
as I write this, I'm talking to thousands of people. (Difference is I
don't have to clean my house when you "visit".)
They have
relationships that require a LOT of maintenance. Not me. I
have many more friends than they do, but mine don't interrupt me when I'm
talking. Mine don't care what I look like. Mine don't judge me by
anything other than how I treat them. And, mine don't chastise me if
I'm late.
They have obligations that keep them running frantically in
circles....this appointment, that date, that interview, that meeting.
Not me. I just saunter up to my computer with a hot cup of java and
relax, reading the thoughts of others.
So, ok. I agree we might need SOME kind of human interaction
and can't do all of our communicating through a keyboard. So, I DO
have a job that requires that I get out of the house and interact in the
"real" world. But, is this the most fulfilling part of my life?
Not hardly. Most of my best experiences of late have been with
people I know via the Internet.
Take the Fleet for example. Most of these people I've never
even seen, however, they feel like true friends to me. Friends
that live all over the world. Friends that I never would have met
had it not been for the Internet. Friends that come through for me
when I need help. Granted, I would love to meet them in real life.
The thought of listening to Hal Cardona play the tuba or sharing
girltalk with Tina Clarke or letting Corey Seaton show me the wilds of
Australia or listening to Cap'n Patt's tales of the sea are indeed intriguing ideas. And, I believe someday I
might actually do this. But, even if I don't, these people remain
very real and dear to me. Because I do KNOW them. I
certainly know them better than the guy who lives next door to me and
with whom I have nothing in common.
Perfect example: Recently I
had the pleasure of meeting Vic Ferri in real life and he is about the
coolest guy I've ever met. And because we have learned so much about
each other in this box, it was like meeting someone I had known forever.
Actually, I WAS meeting someone I already knew really well. Another
example is Hal Cardona: I came to trust him so much through the
Internet, that I paid him to build my newest computer. My family
thought I was nuts. "You don't even know him!" Yeah right.
They are all eating those words now that they've seen the computer I have,
compared to the one they bought at Gateway from a "real" person.
So, my
answer to the question "Are Internet relationships real?" is a resounding
YES, YES, YES. And don't let your families and "real" friends
convince you differently. Just because you can't "see" someone,
doesn't mean you can't care for them. The Internet allows you the
opportunity to know someone for who they are and not for how they look or
how they dress. In some ways, the people you know on the Internet
are more real than the ones you pass on the street.
Happy Computing, my
Internet friends!
Linda
Linda Johnson is a
college instructor of all of the Microsoft Office Programs, as well
as Adobe PhotoShop and Windows. She also teaches online distance
learning classes in Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word at
Eclectic Academy. She has worked helpdesk and teaches
and lectures at many local businesses and tech schools in her area. Support this
newsletter by checking out Linda's eBooks, MS Word MAGIC!, Book
I: Fonts, Fun & Formats and Book
II: Table Wizardry,
How
To Get Started As a Software Trainer, and
her newest series of MSOffice
eBook Tutorials and CD
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