That place called "online." Part I. (By R.S.)



You know..
more and more I find this alternate dimension that we call
"online" to be completely useless and highly degrading.

> For one, it pisses me off. I always think of these incrediblely
intellectual thoughts to get out when I'm driving down the street, miles
away from any computer access, so I can't actually express them to the
world that's caught in this 'web' (and then I soon become tangled in
so many other things that I later have no idea what I was thinking when
I sit in front of my personal computer, in the comfort of my surroundings)
But, why would I do that, instead of call up a friend and have a meaningful
and interesting conversation?

> In that sense, what the fuck does it matter?
Who the hell is reading this? Yes, a couple of close ones to me.
But the ultimate point? The goal? The result? The benefits, positives?
Will I get a cookie? Am I going to win a reward for 'most sparkly, snazzy and scene weblog
since Asian Avenue?' Am I going to feel some sense of religious fulfillment for
expressing my inner thoughts that are my own anyhow, or get some life changing advice
from a random reader who probly has no shit idea wtf they're
talking about (the drugs they just did were probly good, though)?

> I've come to realize that there are very few positives to online endevours, and the majority negatives.
Place any one human in a room at day's end with a pencil, then tell them to write. They're bound by inherited flaw,
to dwell on negative and dark things in which they desire to "get out" in order to
feel better, less weighted down. Now stop, think..
Do you honestly feel any better when you
throw out your day's anxieties to an empty and highly uneducated world that
has no idea who you are? Doesn't it just piss you off even more that you spent
45 minutes doing nothing but focusing on the bullshit that happened to you at lunch,
the jerk that cut you off on the 101, the asshole customer that was so spoiled you could
have thrown up all over their Fabio wardrobe? Only to press "submit" and watch it swirl into the
land of "wtf just happened to my post."
My vote is in, and as the bumper sticker goes,
I'd rather be flying my Cessna.

> Why are there so many sad songs? Why are there so many cherities, books,
clinics, pills, rehab centers, military bases, premature deaths? For one simple reason..
Humans are sinful by nature.
The world is a depressing enough place as it is.
People bitch without being asked. People flip you off because they're impatient and
fed up, and express they're own insecurities with a physical gesture. People treat you
with disrespect because it's the easiest way to act. People, don't give a shit. And they wonder
why the guy they just flipped off (the 4th time for him today) went and shot himself in the head,
after getting fired at work for cussing out Mr. Johnson; the guy that slept with his wife and got her pregnant.

> My point, now, isn't that by giving in to this 'web' I'm going to color the wall with pretty
little pieces of brain tissue. My point is that these 'blogs' and 'spaces' are breeding centers for
damaging self-esteem, stimulating negative thinking, and justification of things you do wrong
in your life. And that's just the beggining.

> My point is that I'd rather not add to an already crowded and depressing society.
I'd rather not give myself the chance to help my bad mood flourish by hunching in the corner,
pouring out bad language and mental images into a world where everyone else
is too busy pouring out their own 'tales-of-my-mother-fucking-day,' to read yours at all.
I would much rather go out and think, "Hey! Look at how beautiful life
is, look how amazing the sunset looks tonight, look how lucky I am to have
the most amazingly beautiful and caring girlfriend I could ask for!"
Go do something unconventional.
Go crazy.
Yea, I'm talking insane. Go Jogging on that trail you always
drive by and think, "..hey, I'd really like to go jogging in there sometime."
Walk down the beach and just breathe.
Go tell your girlfriend you love her and give her a hug, start a fire
and read her a book (a happy one) on the sofa.
Go eat a serving of that food you just love, and marvel at the taste.
Go in your bathroom and look at yourself in the mirror and make outrageous faces.
Laugh.
Stop loafing and go finish that project you keep telling yourself you're going to finish.
Go play some basketball.
Plan a vacation.
Give that homeless guy on the corner a dollar.
It's all about Karma people, wether you believe in it or not.
Positive to positive, and negative to negative.
Don't ask questions, just get off the damn computer.
You'll feel a lot better about yourself if you spend 30 minutes
getting outside and doing something a little more productive,
as opposed to spending 30 minutes staring at a screen of "no one fucking cares."

> Now, I know what you're thinking. Don't be ridiculous, blogs are healthy and not everyone
is here to whine and groan. This is true, but what blog owner hasn't all too often
started an entry with a light heart, and ended it with nothing but an angry and frusterated outlook?
It's the affect this 'web' has on us people who don't have everything, and that's everyone.

It makes you wish you had a "better" life.
It makes you think you need that 50" plasma LCD shower mount TV.
It twists your thoughts and molds them into thoughts that are far from your own,
but that of a million other twisted and society influenced minds to the point of brainwash.
It makes you feel like you need to be accepted.
Ever have a small problem that just got you down, then you go write it out and
it turns into 30 paragraphs about "how much I hate that little -?"
"I wish I had bigger boobs."
"I wish I was as hot as that guy."
"I wish my friends were that cool."
"I wish my parents would just let me go out at 1am."

It seems everyone in this country is utterly obsessed with the internet.
It's become part of the media. Part of life. You can't turn anywhere without seeing
online dating ads, you can't turn on the radio without hearing about
how you can find true love at rapeme.com, just add a picture.
You can't meet someone new without them being connected to
3,000 other people on "Iamhotterthanyou.com."
If you go to a bar, forget cell phone numbers, as her for her Instant Messanger alias.

What is so divine and captivating about pasting your life on a server that
Osama Bin Laden can use as evidence against Bush in the infidelity case?

It's mainstream. It's "cool." Everyone is doing it.
And everyone is falling into a never ending abyss of constant pursuit
for acceptance by a world that doesn't even give a shit in the first place.

It's useless nature baffles me. The popularity it's gained.
The space in day planners for your personal webpage.

Excuse me while I go old fashioned for a bit, but
I'll be over in the non-internet cafe (do those still exist?),
having a cup of coffee.
If you feel like a punch in the face, ask me for my
online information and tell me you'll IM me sometime.

I've never been one for following the crowd.
And this is my movement away from it.
I refuse to be 'connected' to everyone and their grandma.
So long caring world, if you'd like to find me,
I'll be doing something valuable with my life and time.
And that is living a life of actions with positive results.
Oh.. that's right, you call that "offline."

-Its interesting. really.
Gentle reminder to not spend too much time in the virtual world too. (: