A Few thoughts on People and the Internet
Posted By Kathleen David on March 30, 2010
Peter and I have been catching up on the episodes of “House” that we have on our DVR (How did we deal with the problem of too many shows at one time before DVR?) and the last one we saw was about this young lady who put all her life out on the Internet for all to read. She was played by Laura Prepon from That 70s Show fame who really needs more work or a new series because she is just that good. There was the usual misdiagnose before the real problem appears. (I swear they could have a show based on all the malpractice suits that must be filed against House for all the mistakes before they come up with the real problem.)
At one point one of the doctor’s comes into the room and Frankie and an Internet buddy are sitting there with their laptops open looking at their computers. They aren’t talking to each other but the young lady sitting on the chair is reading what Frankie is typing from the hospital bed. The lady even says, I have to go but I’ll comment later. This just makes no sense to the doctor but I know that this sort of behavior goes on all the time. I have seen it in action. Also Frankie consults her Internet readers about what she should do at one point in the story and her boyfriend is horrified because the answer will affect no one but them.
People like Frankie exist on the Internet and are becoming more prevalent. Some Internet bloggers seems to live only if they have so many readers/followers. (I swear it is worse with tweeting and facebook.) And some create situations to keep people reading or say things that they might not say except it’s the Internet so it is OK because no one will really be able to find them (which is not true). The idea of polling the mob to figure out what to do in one’s life is not that far out there these days. I have seen people consult groups of people they barely know about haircuts, hair color, clothing choices and, rather scary to me, tattoos and they take the advise from total strangers.
Recently I had yet another encounter with one of my least favorite Internet citizens. This person needs a serious clue by four as to how asinine they sound on the Internet and that they have a bad habit of beating a dead horse until everyone walks away is disgust and then declares victory because everyone stopped arguing with her. “Arguing” includes giving them anything that is contrary to how they say the world is run or should be run by their standards. If really pushed into the corner by someone who is new to the group and trying to really be helpful, they pull out a list of reasons why they can’t really listen to this because they have all these health problems compounded with various social anxiety disorders that they know they have because they read the symptoms on the Internet. When really pushed on it, everyone is being mean to them and they know what is wrong so why should they see a Doctor? Now they are hiding behind that stupid idea of “fail” because they don’t agree with others in the group. So I am just ignoring the thread they are on which is sad because there was some other good discussion going on within the group but my mental health is more important than the Internet.
I think it would be easier if people like that could be dismissed as a troll but I know they are not. They sincerely believe what they are spouting. I honestly wonder if they would be able to say it to the faces of the people they are putting down in real life or because of the ease in which people seem to be able to say whatever is on their mind, they can only say that sort of stuff on the Internet. There was a guy who on the Internet disagreed with Peter and had the stones to talk to Peter at a convention and, according to Peter, make his argument very rationally. They shook hands and agreed that that was a topic they would never agree upon. That guy is in the minority. He is willing to talk about what he believes both on and off the Internet.
I am too. Those who have met me, or knew me before the Internet revolution, will tell you that what I write here or anywhere else is something I would say in person. I am pretty much like my writings. Maybe I am a little more polished and well thought out on this blog but I can take more time to mull through things that in conversation I have to say at the moment. But the beliefs I say here are the beliefs I carry around with me. I believe myself to be an honest person and try to live an honest life both here and in the world around me. I just wish more people would do the same rather than having that odd Internet persona and then how they are in the real world.
I am grateful to the honest.
