Du'ers is this You? Going it alone

[flashl]

Going it alone

Rather than looking for their perfect match, one in four Americans say the Internet can serve as a substitute for a significant other, according to a poll released on Wednesday.

A survey on the role the Internet plays in people's lives by Zogby International and communications consultancy 463 Communications found that 24 percent of Americans said the Internet could replace a partner for some period of time.

The percentage was highest among singles of whom 31 percent said the Internet could be a substitute -- with no difference among males and females.

The researchers said the online survey of 9,743 adults conducted between Oct 4-8 showed that some younger people viewed the Internet as their new best friend.

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[billyoc]

1. I'm only using the internet for sex. nt

[shadowknows69]

2. Not a substitute for the SO but

I do spend a lot more time with y'all then I do my local friends.

[patricia92243]

3. Sometimes there is no other choice. If there is no SO at the time, the computer can be a good

friend.

[dweller]

4. don't have a SO

but do have a computer/net.

only lately though, have come to realize, it doesn't really like me either.
;(

dp

[Buns_of_Fire]

5. Hey, if you're going into the kitchen, bring me a beer, willya?

By the way, you put the toilet paper on backwards again. I fixed it. What's for dinner? :-)

[Tyler Durden]

9. LOVE Firesign Theater references.

[MiniMe]

12. Don't forget the burp and the fart

:rofl:

[KharmaTrain]

6. For Some This Is As Good As It Gets

Around my house, my wife is glad when I'm hold up playing around here or other online haunts...at least she knows where I'm at and when she's online I know she's not out spending money :rofl:

I have several long-time online friends who use this as their social contact with the world. One person is extremely shy and this medium gives her a chance to come out of her shell. She's connected with many people and her life is a lot busier and fuller now due to her online adventures. Another is a divorced friend who helped re-establish his own "identity" and social life on a message board. It became his refuge from a relationship that had long been crumbling around him and helped him from going crazy. I can cite many others I've encountered over the years...all who have found great comfort and companionship from being online.

This medium is the most intimate and direct form of communication so far created. The online world has created a gateway for many that never existed before and has improved many lives in the process. Thank goodness for places like DU and the many good people here who have provided hours of comfort and sanity in a world gone mad.

:toast:

[Raejeanowl]

15. Not Around Here

When I'm online, I'm all too often spending money.

[madokie]

7. its all in the balance

[Th1onein]

8. The internet kept me from committing suicide after my son died.

I went to online chat rooms for people who had lost their family members and I was able to share my grief, but yet remain private. I was extremely suicidal and I know that I would have checked out without the internet.

[Blue_Tires]

10. a lot of truth in this...i can certainly relate

[zalinda]

11. Hell, if it wasn't for the Internets, I wouldn't get out at all

No SO and none on the horizon, so here I am.

I do think some of the rants here are worthy of the proverbial cigarette though!:blush:

zalinda

[flashl]

13. IIRC, a study suggests that Americans are lonely

because most of our time is at work then we find ourselves isolated in our apartments, condos, and homes.

[MadHound]

14. Wow, talk about a skewed study!

A poll take to find out if the Internet could serve as a substitute for human companionship is given online. What about the other half of the American population who doesn't have access to the Internet? I suppose they don't count, eh?:eyes:

[alarimer]

16. It is sort of like that for me

A lot of friends are online. I have some friends from online that I have never met in real life. It's funny- I always worry when I do not hear from them for a while. I have one friend I used to talk to every day online. We just never got around to meeting but now I never see him online anymore. I wonder what happened, if he is okay, or maybe if he just met someone.

[Raejeanowl]

17. Mixed Feelings

I want to be completely casual about it and suppose that our "internet lives" are not that significantly different from gentler, earlier times when people carried on lengthy correspondence, rarely or never meeting the recipient(s) of their literary attentions. Those letters were anticipated, treasured, re-read, shared with friends and family, sometimes published for historical records.

But I see as many or more divergences as parallels, especially when we're talking about the human contact factor. It's wonderful that an otherwise isolated person might make contacts, but doesn't it also serve to further isolate? Is it too easy a redemption from loneliness in the same way that a bottle or drug grants defers pain while stockpiling the probability of more? Do you ever really get to know someone? Do you endanger yourself more than enrich? Are you bored or in avoidance? Ah, and the BIG question: Could you be "cheating" anyone of anything, even if cybersex is not involved?

I think the internet can either be a gateway to the world or a wormhole into your own private hell if you don't discipline yourself and keep those cobwebs dusted out. I am highly concerned from a mental health standpoint about relying too much upon-for example-DU, any other forum, or email correspondents, as one's "community" in preference to the world close at hand, so the suggestion that some are unconcernedly using it to replace or escape the REAL reality, to live alternate lives, or to substitute for a life partner, is chilling.