Electronic Addiction
Those of us who live in the online world realize that the electronic world is as real as the outside world where the sun shines, birds twitter, stars shine and where human interaction happen on daily bases. And just like we can shut out the outside world so can we shut ourselves away from the online world but for most its an imprint of us left in the cyber world that we always are pulled back to.
We read news before it hits the next days papers, download music or episodes, talk across state or international lines and most of the times either we pay pittance for it or all these services are just plain free.
Those who are addicted to the online world know that its all about freedom. There is a hacker in all of us net users, its more than about reading the mail, passwords, usernames or online communities- its about being plugged into the pulse of humanity and thats just so fabulous.
Its about being a bit of an exhibitionist, well at least those of us who blog or write just for the passion of it suffer from. We write not to impress but to let lose the inner beast and find ourselves suffering the consequences when the real and electronic world collide.
Many lead secretive parallel lives in the online world, there are emotions vested in online relationships, entire personalities built in sites that when destroyed cause sort of a online death by the maker and the followers. There is much grief felt and understood but only by those who live the electronic matrix.
The freedom granted by the online world is addictive since it is an anarchy of sorts- where people can take up whatever persona they want, dip into the pool of virtual knowledge as far as they like or evolve or debase themselves entirely. Its the taking away of this unruly freedom that causes much pain to the psyche.
No barrier; here is the wild west where with our words we can drive another absolutely insane or pull another away from self destruction. Here is where we truly know ourselves- this is sort of an enlightenment- place where humanity exists in electronic reality in all its beauty and shittyness.
Posted by
Deepti Lamba on May 6, 2008 12:25 AM 
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Comments
Nice write up. You have amazing power to write stuff which is difficult to explain ....i am sure u r good at relationships/understanding human psyche.
Posted by: Abhi | May 7, 2008 11:15 AM
No doubt there are many benefits but I question this statement of yours:
" its about being plugged into the pulse of humanity and thats just so fabulous."
There is so much more humanity through very simple things outside of being online. Just a little while ago, three tiny girls, like 3 or 4 years old came up to my door as I was headed outside to do my laundry.
THey asked me, with laundry basket in hand, what I was doing. They asked if i had a puppy, and then a cat.
Just that little interaction was the highlight of my day (and yes, I had led a pretty boring day - online). They started following me to my car and i said I had to leave, and they should go join their group of friends.
They had big smiles on their faces as they were talking and it made me smile.
Humanity isn't so much on display online as the exhibitionist, "I and my opinion are better than you" flavor of humanity.
Of course, there are exceptions. I think the world would be better off if a lot of what's available on the Internet, in fact wasn't.
That's obviously not a popular opinion online because people online have a lot invested in being that way.
- Temple
Posted by: Temple Stark | May 8, 2008 09:27 AM
Abhi, I try to understand people nowadays but where I mostly fail is me attempting to psychoanalyze my own neurosis;)
T, yes physical human bonding is very important but a lot of like minded online friendships kept me company while I lived a somewhat lonely existence in the US;) I am a net junkie.
Posted by: Dee | May 8, 2008 11:56 PM