I have beem online for about 15 years or more. At first I liked making online friends. I know online is online, and it's not real. But it was a nice way of meeting people with different interests throughout the world. I'm married, so I am not looking for a date. Just friends and chat. (I have always prefered female friends.)
But I took a step back, and I am questioning if it was ever worth the effort. Even after discounting that a percentage of the people I talk to are fakes. Everything seems to fall into 2 categories.
1) People who seem like real friends. You chat with them for over a year. And then you go to send them an email and their account is closed. And months and years later, you never hear from them again. Like, even if they became homeless and lost their computer and ISP, couldn't they tell a friend to email their friends and explain it? It happens a lot when you lose contact.
2) People who have chatted with you for years (in one case 8 years), and then all of a sudden they ignore your IMs and emails. You sit there and wonder. Did I say something wrong? Why does my friend hate me so much? Why can't they just give me closure and TELL me why? It's not that I even want to continue being a friend. I just want to know why they stopped liking me.
It seems that now instead of chatting with my friends, I sit in front of the computer, listen to the radio, and read the paper. I watch my ex friends sign in and out on my buddy list, and I wonder why they won't talk with me.
Anyone else have these experiences? Or is it me?
But I took a step back, and I am questioning if it was ever worth the effort. Even after discounting that a percentage of the people I talk to are fakes. Everything seems to fall into 2 categories.
1) People who seem like real friends. You chat with them for over a year. And then you go to send them an email and their account is closed. And months and years later, you never hear from them again. Like, even if they became homeless and lost their computer and ISP, couldn't they tell a friend to email their friends and explain it? It happens a lot when you lose contact.
2) People who have chatted with you for years (in one case 8 years), and then all of a sudden they ignore your IMs and emails. You sit there and wonder. Did I say something wrong? Why does my friend hate me so much? Why can't they just give me closure and TELL me why? It's not that I even want to continue being a friend. I just want to know why they stopped liking me.
It seems that now instead of chatting with my friends, I sit in front of the computer, listen to the radio, and read the paper. I watch my ex friends sign in and out on my buddy list, and I wonder why they won't talk with me.
Anyone else have these experiences? Or is it me?
15 years