about this whole experiment?

I'm in touch with a friend with whom we tortured our 5th Grade Teacher (and need to track down for apologies), another who was prolly slightly more bullet proof when we knew it all, a HS crush unrequited who is an amazing friend, cyber friends whom I adore and more, etc., etc., and MOST obviously "Family"....even and especially "extended"....(It's so nice to peer into what they share of their lives and know them better)...

It's an amazing time! Me: Online and chatting on predecessor to M2 7/2006 (late bloomer)....11/2006 I went to Amsterdam/Berlin as a DIRECT result.

It seems organic in certain ways, yet not. What are we doing here?

Good morning handsome :))...I cannot tell a lie, I came to find love...and I did that...Even though we are no longer a couple, our relationship lasted over two years and we landed in that sweet spot where ex-lovers go when they want to remain good friends...Thank you higher power...As a couple in a LDR, we both stayed in cyber...We did it to feel closer to each other, we did it to ease celibacy time, we did it to "continue" networking and building friendships, we did it because we could ...I, like most, went through all the stages involved in the discovery of a new and exciting social venue...I still remember vividly the manic excitement I felt when I discovered the bar scene ...Clubbing became a passion, slowed down to a fun way to connect with my posse and raise a little hell, settled into a routine, and finally died a natural death...Sometimes I wonder if my online experience will play out the same way... If it does, I know I will roll with the changes just like I always do, but until then I will continue to participate and be grateful for this fabulously "in-depth" means of "connecting" with the world...

So to answer your question, "Is it natural?"...Yes, absolutely... For most of us I believe it is a normal, healthy experience...I admit to being aware of the negative side effects of "computer addiction" and readily confess that I find much of it heartbreaking, but one cannot deny the truth...For now, the good still outweighs the bad...What will happen when (or if) the scales begin to tip the other way is anyone's guess...

As usual, great thread mi amigo!

Oh my Goshkies Yes, Leigh...thank goodness for a higher power. Sometimes the din and need to compartmentalize is so loud. It's so wild ( talking about THESE days) when 10, 20,,30,...maybe even 40 years of life come rushing at you in a way that our fore fathers and mothers could not have even realized.

Some of this stuff is hard to process without the luxury of dropping out on some un-electrified Polynesian hammock for 3 months or so!

Goshkies Beach, you betcha!...What's a predecessor?

In a way I miss the old days before internet and everyone having mobile phones but it's like what Leigh is saying. In my twenties I was going out to pubs all the time and hanging about with the younger crowd and people that I grew up with. My thirties were completely different and I moved away from where I used to live and the people that I used to know. Tried to make a relationship work but it didn't and I was single again at forty and feeling like a right sad old bastard. Last year when I came on here it was another turning point for me. I started meeting women again and I also felt able to contact my ex again (which I did through Facebook) and it was good to get to know her again and resolve the issues that I had with her that were making it difficult for me to move on with my life.

I've met two girlfriends through this. One of them contacted me again and I did reply to some of her messages but as far as I'm concerned that's just over and I can do without her trolling me with emails and all of her BS. The other one isn't talking to me anymore and I don't know if she ever will but I've got to just leave that now and try to put it behind me. That's just the way that it goes sometimes and people that you went through stuff with don't want you coming back into their life and dragging up the past.

*nods agreement*....Hi TS, you are lookin mighty fine today!

internet has murdered real love.I wish i can find the old schooled damsel

If that's true, why are you still here Uche?.....

to behold beautiful people,like you and try my 'luck'

I agree with ^^^
This
I feel some have gotten lazy when it comes to courting and getting to know each other.
Online dating has become what fast food is the Sunday dinners :( a pale comparison

We are here spanky, because we are smart.
We found that the tool of knowledge that was handed
to us can be adapted to social needs.
But it is all so new.
People come on here, embarrassed.
For being here.

But they find, if they say, they reap all the benefits
of selecting friends from a huge pool of potentials.

You can meet them in the flesh, you can never see
them again.
All your choice.
How many times in life is the choice all ours?

You can also get to know them over time, at your pace.
In an environment that is conducive to connecting.

The moon is in our yard now.
I enjoy it every day :-)

I like to be where people are looking for the same things as me. You'd think hanging out in a singles site would bring me love eventually, In my case, It has brought me friendships that no matter how long I've been away, I'm always welcomed back.

Hi ((((Bear))))..So true, I, for one, love seeing you here!!

^^^ A fine Southern gal... Leigh!

Pucker!!!
Happy to see that Canadian bacon :-)

I bought my first computer in 1996 and immediately established an AOL account. My interest was in exploring all of the information that I was hearing was accessible. As a young man, no surprise I had a particular interest in a specific form of media, porn.

I quickly discovered chat rooms, instant messaging, and e-mail. It was fun and exciting to be able to meet and communicate real time with people worldwide. It became quite consuming and I was spending a lot of my free time online. I made a few short term friends whom I never met F2F. After the first year or so the novelty wore off and it's only more recently that I've returned to actively cyber socializing on a quest to make new friends.

The cyber realm has certainly become a significant factor in our social evolution. For some it becomes an obsession, for others it's just one tool in their kit. Of course there's still a minority of traditionalist hold-outs that resist most forms of progress, specifically in this case technological progress.

I agree with soufie, the cyber realm offers options and choices that can be used to complement and enhance our lives.

Strait up! canooky still want nookie

I think maybe you have to get a little meaner with the hags..lol
Yeah you might not want to listen to me.
Welcome to mingles

I resisted this new communication technology for a long time.
Never even had a cell phone until about 2 years ago.
I still don't really know what the hell I'm doing.
But that's what makes it fun.

Hi Techno
Big hugs!!