Today's little musing is about the concept of reality in today's fast-paced technological world. Why are so many people using the internet, and especially DV?

Today, I read  a very nice article  in The Sunday Times. It was about blogging, and how blogs have givena voice to people who want to be heard, but feel they cannot talk to people in the 'offline world,' i.e the real world, where we eat, sleep, work and do those ordinary things which make up life as we know it.  I decided to breathe life back into my blog because it's the only place left where I feel I can express my thoughts, whether people want to read it, or not. What do bloggers get from writing blogs?Well, catharsis for some, and usually it's the only outlet where they can speak freely about topics which they don't feel comfortable discussing in real life. There is safety in being able to write on the internet without work colleagues, friends and family finding out. 

What is real right now at 8pm? Mmm, I'm feeling upbeat and cheerful. I'm trying to be articulate in the way I write and if I re-read this blog entry in the future, I want to remember something nice about it. Hence, I want to share my thoughts about reality on DV.

The first thing to say is that this is the only hair forum I use where so many people actually meet in real life. I've read about your meetings in different Czech cities and seen the photos. I noticed this on the Sari forum and the old Pan Prstenu room I used on the Xchat website long ago. People are disconnected in some way to other people in their village, town, or city, so they flock to this alternate reality, which is not that alternate and different.  At least with DV, people are who they say they are, and they look the same way in real life as they do in their profile photos. It was quite a different experience when I used American/British websites.  

As a very naive 21-yr-old, I believed everything I read on the internet and it never occurred to me that people might create false identities, including gender. This summer, I was reminded of the dishonesty of the internet when I had a few bad experiences on that big evil - facebook. Nevertheless, DV is much better. Words shared on the forum, chat, profiles and emails give people the chance to make connections, and it's beautiful to watch these human relationships form. Nothing's perfect, of course, so it's inevitable that some people may have their disagreements with others, but on the whole everyone abides by Aha's laws :-)

 We interact with each other, if mostly by using our keyboard, mouse and monitor. Does that mean the quality of our online interaction is less real than sitting face-to-face with someone in a pub, or bar? What makes a bond between two people real? Isn't it mostly the words they exchange? Isn't that the essence of strong bond?Communication, communication, communication, as psychologists might say. I know that my experiences online are very important to me, as I feel that I have more freedom. Everyone in real life is "so busy," but at least with DV, people choose to log in, they choose to read, or write, and they choose whether to interact with another person. I know that lately, I have felt very grateful to enjoy some interaction. I don't want to take anything for granted because that would lessen the quality of my experience, and lessen its value.  It's strange, sad, but very true.  Why am I expressing my opinions on a website dominated mostly by women? 

 Well, my real-life is not so different. I am the only man in my class at university and when I am in hospital, I am always the only man [except the occasional male doctor]. The only difference is I have to play their game, which means, smile, smile, smile, and tell my female colleagues what they want to hear, or rather not to say anything at all. 

 To finish, I want to say that we're all ordinary people at the end of the day, and that is probably why an online community, like this one, is so successful. We connect, we disconnect, but I do believe that when we return to our real lives, we do remember each other, and the people whom we have grown to like, respect and admire. 

I don't want to embarass anyone, or break anyone's trust by revealing whom I admire and respect, but the reason I continue using this cyber-community is because there are many interesting people here, who are genuinely nice and most important of all, I love the way everyone is so supportive. I look at people's profiles and read the kind messages, and I am sure it makes the owner of that profile feel warm inside knowing that a stranger took a few moments to read, or look, and leave a positive comment. 

I'm looking at my screen, and about to log out, but DV is a part of me, and I am a part of it, and that is giving me a reason to smile :-)