Confessions of an Online Addict

I saw this cartoon and instantly related to it. Message board addicts like myself really need support groups. It has been so hard to sever ties with online friends but not at all hard to walk away from toxic relationships in the real world. Someone should really do a study on this because it is absolutely fascinating. Looking back, I’m amazed at how effortless it has been to develop friendships with people that I have met on various message boards. Although I hear about so many horror stories, I have met and/or spoken with some really cool people. I read somewhere that like 30% of Americans say they know someone who has used a dating website and about 30 million people say they know someone who has been in a long-term relationship or married someone he or she met online. While I’ve never used a dating website it has been so easy to form bonds with people whom I "font with" everyday in various discussion forums. I met one of the best friends I’ve ever had on a message board. She’s like a sister to me and I am so glad that we have each other to talk to and vent with. But on the opposite end of the spectrum are those crazy pseudo relationships that I have developed with men. You would think that after the first time I would have learned my lesson. I don’t know what it is about me that makes me want to fix every monster disguised as someone who just need to be loved. I don’t know if it is because I got to know (or so I thought) these people via message board private messages, emails, and phone calls and felt I knew their life stories. Or maybe it’s because I "saw" them everyday online. It could be that a part of me wanted to believe in the fairy-tale, I don’t know. In any event, it seems as though friendships develop at a much faster pass online and can quickly spiral out of control. If that friendships is with the someone of the opposite sex, whenever it comes to an end it is hard to achieve closure because you still cross paths on the boards that you "met" on. It is really insane. Anyway, although I have had a couple of men who wanted to make me their online harem honey, the genuine friendships that I have formed far outweigh the bad experiences. I have been fortunate enough to talk with and meet some very nice, very normal men and women and for that, I am thankful....Thank you Lord that I didn’t end up in a pine box after some of these meet ‘n greets.

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