A follow-up question, I suppose. My sociologically curious mind wonders how many of us actually prefer online interaction to face-to-face human contact with people who exist in your physical life.
For me, they are two completely separate worlds that intersect each other, and I am the common denominator that represents the glue. I am sufficiently satisfied with real life, sure, let’s go with that. Both of the worlds are pretty full/robust in their own right, and with a few exceptions, the internet persona relies on its basis in the real world’s foundation that created it. I existed before the internet did, and when I began interacting on the internet, the sum total of my existence and my experiences form part of what I present online. There is also a very strong, tangible aspect of deliciously anonymous barrier-building that allows me to project my vivid imagination as part of my online persona, yet it juxtaposes with the real me. For instance, if I recount a true-life story from my past one minute and joke around about fictional escapades the next minute, the latter doesn’t negate the former, they are merely different in their origins, not in their veracity. Additionally, that same anonymous barrier assists me in not going beyond the fourth wall*, meaning that I don’t mix the two worlds by making contact with people offline whom I have met online. The Prime Directive** must be adhered to at all times and at all costs.
* Look it up.
** Look it up.
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Livvie 