Perfectly Imperfect's blog: "Just some ramblings"

A friend of mine posted a MuMM asking if everyone online is fake, or if there are real people out there. I left a lengthy comment on the MuMM and have decided to carry it over to a blog.

I think the internet gets a bad rap when it comes to whether the people who spend their time in chat forums are real or fake. Everyone is real, obviously, but not everyone is telling the truth. People can lie just as easily in person as they can over the internet, in my opinion (and experience). It may be easier and take less time to prove or disprove the lie in person though. Some people get online purely for entertainment. They don't care to create "real" bonds of friendship, and couldn't be concerned less with hurting someones feelings or what the repercussions may be due to their callousness. It's just a fun way to pass the time and cure boredom, or make them feel better about themselves by whatever means they find.

Other people take it more seriously, and truly care about the people they call friends, paying no mind to the physical distance that may separate them. Just because you can't reach out and touch someone at that exact moment, doesn't mean you don't care for them like any other person you call a friend. Some people are honest about which type of person they are, and others are not.

I guess that is where the difficult part comes in; figuring out which type the person you're talking to is. Being honest with yourself (and the people you encounter)and what you're looking for is just as important as realizing that not everyone has the same intent when it comes to being online. I think it's fair to say that people deserve a certain amount of trust, but a reasonable amount of distrust is not uncalled for. On one hand, questioning every word you're told will make everyone involved crazy, yet at the same time, believing everything you're told is insane as well. Somehow you have to find a balance between the two.

I have learned that every "friend" in our lives serves a purpose. Whether they end up being a lifelong friend, or someone you knew for an instant that helped through a particularly difficult time in your life and then you or they moved on.

I think I have rambled on about this enough for now..lol..so I will stop here..if you took the time to read this, feel free to leave a comment.