DISAFFECT refers especially to those from whom loyalty is expected and stresses the effects (as rebellion or discontent) of alienation without actual separation -troops disaffected by hunger. from http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/dissaffection
I've been thinking that the Internet reinforces disaffection in human beings, myself included. Alienation w/o separation, indeed. Are those human beings who replace real world physical interactions with keystrokes, microphones, cams and IM chatting already disaffected in themselves? Or does being in cyberland allow disaffection to sow seeds and germinate inside them until it displaces their sense of & need for the real?
Why do so many humans try to relate through an artificially electronic means of communicating? Sure, email works as an excellent proxy when it's inconvenient for my friends to respond, but it doesn't supplant the communication between my friends and I.
Yet some folks think that these cyber-relationships are real and treat them as such. "That's my online master/online sub/online sister/online brother/online friend." Yet they've never seen their smile, felt their skin, touched their hair, smelled their scent be it sweet or musky, watched them smile, cry or rage, or heard them speak of love, of life, of nothing at all or let themselves just be with said non-physical person.
e-comm stuff will never replace human affection yet we're all still at it. Some people value and prefer it over their "real" relationships. Does it augment our human experience? I'm not so sure. I've never met so many disaffected people here who are disconnected from themselves & their true essence. While that may be the human condition, this place doesn't necessarily help.
I am resolved to spend less time here and more time following my dreams and pursuing my passions out in the real world. But that's a cliche and not where I want to end this.
Augmentation not Supplantation...
