No need to hang out with walrusi, Freddy. I'll stir things up over here right now!!!
You would all be surprised at how much email I get relating to cyber friendships, and, believe it or not, folks, romances!!!! I know America on Line is doing a survey on how many people have had cybersex, and whether it is morally wrong. This tells me that the very way we meet people and form bonds with them may be changing for some of us.
And I hear lots of comments about how intense this medium feels, and how two days in cyberspace feels like weeks in real time--that everything is moving very fast. And how some of us take web life very seriously. Are we losing our grip on reality, or is this the new reality? Is it a veritable revolution in the way we form relationships, since now instead of meeting someone locally or perhaps randomly, we encounter people we have more in common with, no matter how far away they are? Do great distances create seemingly insurmountable obstacles? How can we solve these problems?
Can falling in love with someone's words, ideas, thoughts and feelings be the beginning of a real life together? How do you get there from here? Oh, sorry, I forgot--cybersex of course!!!! Can cybersex seem real? Can it cause intimacy to grow in the ways it does in 3D relationships? Does it feel wonderful, or frustrating?
I also notice on some threads that there is a lot of random and wanton body part groping--the women seem more forward than the men--and references to stocks like VVUS, which has a product which seems to cure male erectile dysfunction. (Let me say right here that this is not a call to come over here and show Miss Penni and me, who seem to be the only real girls hanging around over here consistently, your equipment, guys!! No foreskins hanging out again, okay?)
Anyway, parts of SI seem to be more like meat market bars than stock threads lately. I wonder if this really excites people, or even satisfies them, or if some of us who are a little more reserved in public are embarrassed, or feel violated to be chased around SI by people with sex on their minds?
Anyway, I would be interested in having a refined and civilized discussion about relationships which begin on the net. This is not just about hot internet love, but friendships as well. It seems like some of the guys I know are forming real bonds with each other, and no, I don't think for a moment that everyone is gay who is doing that, although again all are welcome over here, so I'm not making a value judgment. Freddy Quinnelly is NOT available, though, guys, he's made that quite clear! But I hear he's absolutely adorable--what a loss!!!
Anyway, I wondered who would like to say anything about this complex subject. I don't expect the people who are at it hot and heavy via email to have time to post, so I guess that leaves more than a few people out. But surely someone has thoughts and feelings about this, and would like to share them.
Christine |
