The internet, as I may have said before now, is a Very Big
Place.
Many, many people live here.
It's likely that if you become part of any online
community that you will find yourself becoming involved in relationships as
strong as any you have or have had in "Real Life"?
Just as in Real Life, relationships online come in all
different types. There's the
annoyingly poor-me type flirt who gets on your nerves just by saying
"Hello", the person who knows everything and who you can count on to
know the answer to your question, the harried, stressed one who will, in spite
of his tiredness, make time for any problem... as long as you ask him to.
And just as in Real Life
there are the few people with whom we just click. Some of these people cross the
line and become Real Life friends, and some
remain known only through what they choose to share online.
Online romantic relationships can be some of the most intense
a person can ever experience. This intensity is heightened by the many frustrations
that come with online communications; time zone differences, lack of money to
fund long periods online, unreliable equipment cutting conversations off at
moments of crisis (or at least of import) all add to the frustration which
helps to build a relationship of this type up.
People seem to feel more able to talk about their real, personal
feelings, about anything you might care to name, online than in Real Life. It is
quite possible to find one's self in intensely personal conversations within
minutes of meeting people in online situations - conversations that would not
take place in Real Life for weeks or months after meeting.
There's also the fact that many of the people who spend
long hours online are the people whose Real Life lives are somehow lacking. Lonely
people, quite often, ripe to fall into deep emotional involvements.
How do online romances begin? I don't really know,
anymore than I know how Real Life romances begin. Two people feel attracted to
one another, spend more time together, and fall in love. The feelings are just
as deep and just as real as those felt in relationships where the people
involved are able to touch one another physically.
And the people involved in these love affairs are just as
vulnerable to hurt as those in Real Life love affairs. It is far far easier to
misunderstand the intention behind a written word than a spoken one. Arguments
can blow up out of nowhere and nothing, leaving both people feeling shaken
and confused. In a Real Life relationship it is usually possible to go to
visit the loved one and talk the problem out, or at least telephone. In an
online relationship it is likely the problem will remain unresolved for a long
period of time - often 24 or more hours will pass before both parties can come
together again and begin to resolve their differences.
Online relationships also contain much more scope for deception
that Real Life ones. While it is possible for any person to cheat on their
partner, only in online relationships is it possible to cuckold someone at the
same time as making love to them.
In short, online love affairs are just as genuine as Real
Life ones. They have the same highs and lows...
In fact, online relationships of all types mirror Real Life
relationships... but happen harder and faster.