Using the Internet to Fill a Void

[Diend]

A year ago, an old classmate of mine who I met at a Christian club on campus told me about why she became so pious. She said that because she grew up rich, she suddenly felt that her life was very empty. Today, I finally understood what she was trying to say as I notice myself using the internet, toys, games, and food to fill a void that was missing in my life since high school. Psychologists say that at a certain age, a child starts gravitating towards its friends instead of its parents. For me, this switch happened relatively late. It may be that because of this, I had trouble finding friends in high school and remember high school as something I would be afraid to experience again. Even though bad experiences happen to everyone, I feel that a lot of what I've been doing thus far has been trying to cover up the need for a group of friends who are not merely acquaintances.

 

[MikeyC]

Perhaps this is a time to fill that void with what it needs. You can even use the Internet to find friends. There's several friend finding sites out there, so what harm is there in trying?

I don't think high school is a good indicator of the friends you had and didn't have. It's a tumultuous time for many youths.

 

[Capsaicin]

I think using the Internet to fill a void can become a kind of cycle where you spend all your time on the Internet because you don't have any friends, you become isolated and detached from the world because you spend all your time on the Internet, and you don't have any friends because you're isolated and detached.

I don't feel as though the Internet is a very good replacement, especially forums and games. There's just no comparison whatsoever to the level of interactivity and the way people treat each other when it comes to forums and online friends, or online friends and real people. Online friends have value despite the limitations, but forums are a highly impersonal timesink and information hub.

 

[Silatuyok]

Internet forums like this one have actually taught me a LOT about how to interact with people in the real world. They have taught me to be respectful of others' opinions, to word any criticisms or disagreements in a diplomatic manner, and to have an open mind when considering another person's point of view. There are a lot of people I know in real life who could benefit from learning the type of etiquette that is promoted on sites and forums like this one.

 

[Livemylife]

I realize that I'm on the internet more when I'm depressed...I actually went back to regularly using my old Yahoo Answers account. I answer a large number of questions, many of which I think are dumb and offensive. It's nice to tell these people off, but I also think that I desire the stupidity as if it's proof of how much people suck. Although I will always believe there is truth to the internet trolls, I also think that focusing on them can't be good for me. I think I also use the internet as a really shallow form of socializing. Most of the time I just dump my opinion in a post and that's that.

If I had a life, even if it was just really focusing on schoolwork, I would be on the internet (including places like this) much less.

 

[Kiwong]

Even though I am a fairly solitary person, I have a need to communicate and connect, and the internet seems to be the place I am most comfortable doing that.

 

[Fighter86]

Probably, I used to come on SPW all the time when I firstly join, but much infrequently in recent years. I normally come on or spend much time on the internet because I feel lonely and sad, not quite sure how to ease the pain, so I get online to post, read some news and generally become numb to everything else and pass time.