solis

First Contact

Is the new "sense" that the Internet stimulates in us actually our emotional need for human connectedness? Our desire to be social, interact and feel a sense of belonging with other fellow humans of similar mind to ours? As TV may drive away boredom, does the Internet drive away loneliness?

I have had my first experience with online socialisation. It has occurred on a chat room and has been a revolutionary experience. I am still marvelling at this strange and new mode of socialising.
I did not grasp the concept until my second night in the chat room. Some of the people I had conversed with the night before were there again. But this time they were not just anonymous usernames. I recognised them - and they remembered me. Some things were said about the conversation the night before. There was continuity. I suddenly felt an emerging sense of connectedness. It dawned on me slowly and with a wondrous sense of discovery. I had met some other people in the world. They had met me. It was as if I had been roaming around the Internet for years completely alone, feeling like I was exploring a dead world. Only full of places to shop, to do my banking, to read news - but totally devoid of any real people. And then I stumbled upon a group of fellow travellers - a friendly tavern in the middle of a dark wood - who welcomed me in and made me realise that I was not standing alone on the face of an uninhabited world. People existed here - as real as if I had gone down to my local pub and been invited to sit with a group of friends as they chatted and enjoyed themselves.
I am still getting my bearings in this new world. I don't know if I am entering something that will be good for me or bad - but I do know one thing - that I want to find out more about it. I am enjoying this process of discovery and have a sense of excited anticipation of what I will find here.