Skip to main content

The illusion of fantasy in online interaction

I'm curious to see a study regarding what I'm about to share and how accurate it is. It's been difficult for me to date since I moved to Ohio from Nebraska. Upon moving here about 4 years ago, I didn't know anyone. I've been working at home, so it's difficult for me to really meet people out at work. I don't go to church. I haven't been greatly involved in the community. I'll go out on weekends, but it can be difficult going to bars by yourself or with family and meeting a woman. So I resorted to this free online friend-making/dating site to try and meet some people. I've only really been active these past 4.5 months, I'd say. I've made a couple of "okay" friends - meaning we might comment on one another's Facebook pages, but that's about as far as it goes. The longer I stay on that site, the more I'm beginning to realize a few things, such as it seems that most men are on there just for sex and most women are on there just for attention. I've learned something else along the way too. It seems that many times people just join these sites and start talking with one particular person (or more) as an escape from reality. Without hearing this person's voice, seeing them face-to-face, they can kind of treat them like their fantasy - like a character in a romance novel. They can daydream about this person to help give them a more positive outlook on their day and even life. At the same time, they never have any intent on meeting this person. To them - they're just nice words on a screen and nothing beyond that. Unfortunately, the longer they talk and share complimentary and flirtatious words, the more apt the other is going to be to garner some sense of feeling for them and want to evolve the relationship...and unfortunately for them, they get their feelings hurt after such an admission, either through a direct rejection or being ignored.

I can completely understand wanting to escape reality for a while. This is one reason why people love film, television, music, art, literature, etc. However, what these people seem to fail to realize is that there is a living, breathing person on the other end of the screen - a person with a heart, with feelings, with the capability to love and also hurt. I wish more people would realize that, stop being so selfish and if they have no intent to evolve a relationship, to stop leading people on into believing it's going to happen.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Boycotting jukeboxes because of TouchTunes

I love music and enjoy hitting the bar(s) over the weekend, so naturally, when the mood strikes me, I've never been coy about playing some songs on the jukebox. This past Thursday, a friend of mine turned 50, so several friends of her's, including myself, all met up to celebrate the occasion. At around 9:30, a friend of mine and I both chipped in $5 to play some songs on the jukebox. Four hours and 231 skips later, we gave up on hearing the songs we had selected, and went home knowing we had just wasted $5. This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened to me (and many others), and due to that, I'll be boycotting jukeboxes. Why? The scam known as TouchTunes. You see, here's how the plot typically breaks down. A person (or group of people) downloads the TouchTunes app on his/her phone, consumes one too many adult beverages, and due to this, has less care for spending extra money to hear the songs of their choosing right NOW. That's the thing with TouchTun...
2 comments
Read more

A closer look at the Scramble With Friends power-ups

I am unashamed to admit that I'm a nerd. My idea of a good time is playing a word game like Boggle or Scrabble. Thankfully, I (and many others) can play such games via Facebook and/or my (our) cell phone(s). While it seems that cheating has become more commonplace in these games (Words With Friends in particular) than San Diego has had nice weather, I've yet to give in to that craze. One element present with the game Scramble With Friends (Boggle) not present in Words With Friends (Scrabble) are legal boosts called "power-ups," which cost a number of tokens from the 15 available. I've now tried all five power-ups, including the latest one which costs money. So, in case anyone's curious about playing the game or giving these power-ups a gander, here's a rundown of them all: Freeze - I think this is probably my favorite of all the power-ups. With the freeze, time stands still for a matter of seconds, which allows you more time to find words and improve...
Post a Comment
Read more

Film Critic Steve Rhodes Has Some Issues

Normally, I don't "bash" movie critics, because what's the point? We all have different tastes in film, so who am I to say that their tastes are wrong? But, I just bumped into a critic online the other day, and I really have to wonder about him. There is not much consistency with what he likes and doesn't like. Check that, he dislikes anything with George Clooney, he either strongly likes or dislikes films dealing with politics, and he typically enjoys Arnold Schwarzenegger films. Keep in mind that this is a major film critic. This is not a guy like me who writes blog reviews after I view a film at the theaters. Also keep in mind that I'm very open-minded when it comes to films. I enjoy: comedies, dramas, science-fiction, action, suspense/mystery, horror, romantic comedies, romance, foreign, independent, satires, amongst others. It takes a lot for me to sit down, watch a film, and dislike it. There are only a few films where after the credits start rolling, I...
1 comment
Read more