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I think the internet and communities like TFP can be a boon to those of us who are socially inept or just very shy in real life. The opportunity to pick topics of interest and respond only to those, and the ability to carefully choose and edit your words produces, for me anyway, a sense of security, a sense of control that I don't feel in other situations. I'm careful not to let it interfere with my relationship with my wife and sister, but I have found that I'm about a dozen times more articulate here than in real life.
I don't doubt that the internet becomes an obsession with some, to the point that it can greatly interfere with real life, but that doesn't necessarily mean that a person who is having difficulty relating to others in real life is having that difficulty because of the internet. It could be the other way around. It could be that a person turns to online communities because she is very socially awkward in real life, and the distance and time and relative anonymity serve as a social lubricant. I've put things up here that I've never shared with anyone in real life other than my therapist, wife, and a friend I had who died not too long ago.
Do some of us use the internet as a crutch? Sure. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing. If you've got a broken leg, a crutch may be what allows you to stand and to walk.
Gilda
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I'm against ending blackness. I believe that everyone has a right to be black, it's a choice, and I support that.
~Steven Colbert
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