Sad fact

[micechasekittens]

I know some people who have such an easy time meeting new people and seem to thrive on nonstop people interaction, yet they also can't be away from their facebook for a few minutes. I had a coworker who was the sort to make sure to like every picture and make updates how delicious her lunch was. Needless to say, we didn't click at all.

When depressed, it is easy to waste hours on activities that are fairly passive and low energy. Some people gravitate to the television, games, or the internet. I used to play games a lot growing up as it was an escape for me. Hours were spent holding left on joystick and pressing x to level up in jrpgs in the psx era. I also can't handle being deprived of the internet for any long length. If the net is out, even if I don't want to use the net, I'm still worried as it is a safe place to talk behind this screen. My posts tend to go on the long side but if you met me in person, I would be terribly shy and quiet. Though do to lack of good in person interaction, I can ramble a lot which some people find endearingly cute and others find me to be unbearable. Though other times I will shut down completely if I was interacting with more than one person at a time. Like Hanako, I would have preferred to spend the festival inside with a friend talking or playing a board game (I <3 risk and settlers of catan -why such boring box art?-, but hate games where I have to act zany in front of people).

What was I talking about again? Oh yeah, I have to push myself to do active hobbies like playing piano and writing even though I love them. Depression saps the energy out of me so it is easy to do such activities like browse the net all the time.

People were depressed before the net and will continue to be so in the virtual reality age.

[Daitengu]

This forum is so beautifully annoying. Just when I was handing myself an ultimatum to leave, glimmers of hope appear.


The inherent discussion, brought about through the catalyst of Lilly's neutral ending, is thus: Are extremely tech-savvy people usually(not always) lacking in real-world social relationships? More importantly, is the opposite true? People who form real, Lilly-like relationships, are they often(once again, not absolute) less informed on the usage of the internet? (Obviously people who work in such industries are exclusions) These are made on the basis that more time spent=more proficient. Then, if both are true, then considering the fact that internet as a powerful tool of communication when in capable hands and that relationships(no matter real/virtual) is built upon communication, isn't it ironic that those who need the tech doesn't know how to use it while those who know how don't have a need for the tech? Or is this some kind of world-balance, "bestow one with one gift and deprive him of another", you-cant-get-the-best-of-everything theory at work? Is it justified then???

This is what I thought could be inferred from my OP.

In that case. I think people who do isolated things too much in general tend to be lonely. Be it art, novels, traveling salesmen, Programmers, park rangers, etc... I just think there's a larger proportion of lonely internet users simply because it's easy(generally), widely available, and there's the shallow connection with others. Plus one can always find 'something' distracting on the net. Anything not done in moderation tends to be rather harmful or even deadly, even oxygen. But yeah, it's a balance thing, too much and other areas starve.

To those who replied things such as Lilly can't Skype or long-dist relationship doesn't work for Hisao X Lilly, I'm not trying to offend anyone, maybe you guys replied too rashly(which is sth I am guilty of too), but that wasn't the kind of discussion I was hoping for.

EDIT: I missed 2 buses while typing all that through my phone's pathetic virtual keyboard. Damn.

Meh, Just means misunderstood intent. Happens to me too. It's why I'm not a writer, too much wandering around to give just one meaning. Works in my head but becomes a cluster fek when I try to put it out there.

[Iggy]

One of our software testers is completely blind yet uses a screenreader to do his work, which isn't different from that of the other testers (myself included). With the exclusion of occasionally telling him where stuff is or how something looks like there is little difference in social interaction.

[Chronopolize]

I can (damn well) relate to the people in this thread. I think its a correlation. I mean if you are in a full social relationship, then it makes sense that the internet will not be immediately on your mind. That's not to say you can't be proficient at it. It just the ROLE the internet plays in your life will be different if you are largely a lonely person. Like was said earlier, it's a low commitment activity. More importantly perhaps, being at the state we are, it is on familiar ground and maintains status quo. I wonder though, the people who are on facebook "24/7". What is the relationship between people like that, and us? Facebooking, and even "hanging out" doesn't seem to have a value in itself, though I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to at times. It's not that I don't have friends close enough to do just that, it's just as person,I've never been much of a go out person, and at the moment we don't hang out. Status quo.

The reason why I'm lonely is somewhat few friends, but it's more of lacking a good friend to talk to, about things emotional, philosophical, satirical, and intellectual that I just want to share and discuss. KS highlights that, as KS is a game where it's common for one to have lack of RL persons to discuss it with. And so that brings us here. I think it's a spectrum as well, just because you feel socially comfortable and content, doesn't mean there aren't things which you'd like to (and have no real other place to) discuss on the internet. It's just where you are on that spectrum, and the role the internet is to you.

Oh yeah, I have to push myself to do active hobbies like playing piano and writing even though I love them. Depression saps the energy out of me so it is easy to do such activities like browse the net all the time.

This too.

[newnar]

I can (damn well) relate to the people in this thread. I think its a correlation. I mean if you are in a full social relationship, then it makes sense that the internet will not be immediately on your mind. That's not to say you can't be proficient at it. It just the ROLE the internet plays in your life will be different if you are largely a lonely person. I think lonely Like was said earlier, it's a low commitment activity. More importantly perhaps, being at the state we are, it is on familiar ground and maintains status quo. I wonder though, the people who are on facebook "24/7". What is the relationship between people like that, and us? Facebooking, and even "hanging out" doesn't seem to have a value in itself, though I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to at times. It's not that I don't have friends close enough to do just that, it's just as person,I've never been much of a go out person, and at the moment we don't hang out. Status quo.

The reason why I'm lonely is somewhat few friends, but it's more of lacking a good friend to talk to, about things emotional, philosophical, satirical, and intellectual that I just want to share and discuss. KS highlights that, as KS is a game where it's common for one to have lack of RL persons to discuss it with. And so that brings us here. I think it's a spectrum as well, just because you feel socially comfortable and content, doesn't mean there aren't things which you'd like to (and have no real other place to) discuss on the internet. It's just where you are on that spectrum, and the role the internet is to you.

Oh yeah, I have to push myself to do active hobbies like playing piano and writing even though I love them. Depression saps the energy out of me so it is easy to do such activities like browse the net all the time.

This too.

9001 brofists

[ivegottogodosomthing]

The internet is a fantastic tool in the sense that it allows people to interact in ways which would be nearly impossible in the outside world. You can play chess with someone across the world, share an opinion with millions in the blink of an eye, and have an intellectual conversation about something as taboo as "cripple porn" without being looked at strangely. In all those senses, it is extremely beneficial for humanity. Problems arise when negative activities which would normally be difficult are enabled through the ease of the web. Some examples of this are child pornography, (debatably) illegal music/film piracy, and as is on topic with this discussion, nearly isolating yourself, and replacing the outside world with the warm safety of the web. Those of us who aren't exactly social beings use the internet as sort of an easy way out of dealing with society, whether our reasoning is social anxiety, fear of interaction, or simply laziness. In this sense, we create an artificial reality, and consequently gain vast amounts of knowledge towards the internet.

Introverts in say... the 1950's had essentially 2 choices: stay inside all day and read, or attempt to face their fears and awkwardly interact with others. I say the fact that we are no longer forced to make this choice is certainly a good thing. You could argue that the way the internet enables the shy is negative because it enables us to isolate ourselves, or you could argue that it's positive because it lets us interact without going out of our comfort zone. That will always be a hotly debated topic.

However, to answer your original question, the fact that introverts have greater knowledge of the internet is simply social evolution. Unless someone has a strange, abnormal interest in computers, there isn't much reason to invest lots of time into the world wide web unless it benefits you. In the case of introverts, the way it benefits us is obvious; with the web, we can have our cake and eat it too.

Sorry for misinterpreting this thread's purpose originally. As you alluded to, I may have read the question too quickly.