Well. Now isn't this nice? Some idiot went out and spent a shitload of money on a stupid survey. The survey was about how the more time one spends on the Internet, the less socially active they are. Two words: NO SHIT! Hell, I could have told them that for fuckin free. The survey claims that we become less socially acceptable. Hate to break it to em, but the reason we are on the Net in the first palce is because for various social or physical problems, we aren't socially 'acceptable' in the first goddamn place. Hell, I've been on (and off) the Net for about a year. I have always had problems with people telling me what to do and basically been on the 'fringe' of society for my viewpoints. So when I get on the Net, what so I find? I find *SO* many other people just like me. So I spend a good majority of my time online. I don't find anything wrong with that. It's my life. I don't need some person telling me that I should go out and pretend to enjoy myself in 'real life' when inside, I'm counting down the minutes until I can get back online. I personally don't consider myself pretty (others tend to disagree), so I don't go out. And when I do go out, I find myself wishing that I could make people disappear (i.e. ignore). People honestly drive me crazy. I've noticed the ones that are socially 'acceptable' are often concerned with the most trivial, boring, and sef-centered things they could possibly think of (of course, occasionally you will hit the jackpot and find a resonably intelligent discussion in which you can participate). People look at me like I just grew a third arm or something when I suddenly start talking about a discussion I already had with my friends on the Net.

Real life for me is not a pleasant option. In real life, I am superficially outgoing, but no one ever gets to see underneath the surface. On the Net, because of people basically being anonymous bits of data, you have to get past the surface and actually see the real person inside with out making judgements based on apperance or anything of the like. I've noticed that in real life, people make snap judgements based on things that they can see and/or hear (like clothes, hair styles, and accents). So I say, fuck real life. Real life sucks. On the Net, especially noticable in the chat rooms, we can be anyone we want to be. We can be more free. We can be ourselves. We don't have to pretend to be somebody we're not.

Everyone that I've known for any length of time expects me to be hyper and happy all the time. This again is just the superficial. When I am away from people, I return to my rather depressed self (yes, this is why I'm on the Net). When I am not happy and hyper around people that 'know' me, they continually ask me what's wrong. Maybe nothing's wrong. Maybe I just don't feel like pretending at that moment. But then, I put the mask back on and everyone stops worrying. Sometimes the thought of being on the Net is my only incintive to get up and out of bed. Real life just doesn't hold the same appeal. I never jump out of bed ready to hang out at parties or go do something with people. I like time away from real life. So, I turn on the computer and lose myself in file transfers and chat. I hang out with people that do make me feel pretty and special and wanted. Real life people can't do that for me. In real life, I feel that I am merely 'tolerated.' Now let's weigh the options: special, wanted, and pretty versus tolerated. Which one would you pick? I thought so. No one likes being tolerated. I certainly can't stand it. So, being of this opinion, I choose to spend my life with file transfers, chat rooms, and everything else that goes with the Net. Screw real life. Real life is what drove me to the Net in the first place. I've finally found my place in life. And it certainly isn't hanging out at parties, making idle chit chat and wearing a 'happy mask.'