Does the Internet ease the pain?

[~Natsumi Lam~]

Just wondering if i am the only one...

Sometimes i go on the internet to forget about what i am worring about or if someone has really hurt my feelings. The internet kinda makes me forget about the hurts and worries and numbs the pain for a season. Sometimes i go online to make it all go away.

DO you do that to? Get into the internet world and forget about the troubles of life.

Is there are good and bad to it?


~Natsumi Lam~

[Anna Mae]

Hmm... not really. In fact (maybe this is just because I'm weird), the first thing that comes to mind is that you sound like an addict. If you replace 'internet' with 'drugs'...

"Sometimes i go on drugs to forget about what i am worring about or if someone has really hurt my feelings. The drugs kinda make me forget about the hurts and worries and numbs the pain for a season. Sometimes i go on drugs to make it all go away.

DO you do that to? Get into the drugged world and forget about the troubles of life."

But that's just me. Don't take it too seriously...

[uc pseudonym]

Not really. I find when I'm disturbed in some manner the best thing to do is meditate (obviously I mean western meditation, not eastern) or read something theological. Generally I find that the internet feels hectic, divides my attention and only exacerbates the problem if it does anything at all.

[bigsleepj]

Only if I chat with someone on a Yahoo Instant Messanger - otherwise...

...there is no lonelier place
than the shoddy 'scapes of cyberspace....

[Ichigo_89]

Only if I chat with someone on a Yahoo Instant Messanger - otherwise...

...there is no lonelier place
than the shoddy 'scapes of cyberspace....

I agree with Big J on this one.

[Fsiphskilm]

The Inter

[Scribs]

The internet can be good and fun, but if you are using it as a form a escapism, this may not be the most healthy thing. You need to find soem real world people to help share your pain, and to get you through whatever troubles you are having. Also, Prayer is very important.

[Kaori]

I have to agree that the internet is definitely not a solution for real-life problems. I believe I recall reading somewhere that spending time online actually tends to make people feel lonelier, and that makes sense--online activity is simply not an adequate substitute for real-world relationships.

[dragonshimmer]

Actually, I used to be that way. I used the internet as a form of escape from my life for about 9 months of my life, and all the while, life kept going on outside of my door. I think it's different if you have nowhere to turn...for some people, this is all they have. For most of us, when we stick to the computer like glue, it's a conscious choice to ignore the world around us. I did that. Then one day I realized that as much as I care about my forums and journals and AIM and YIM messengers...sometimes you need PEOPLE, you need something of substance. At one time, the internet was an escape for me, but it quickly became a web of entaglement. Personally, I found/still find it hard to deal with the fact that there are people all over the country that I care deeply about, but I'll never get the chance to really do anything for them or help them that much. I started to find that it hurt entirely too much for me to continue keeping up. So my place of peace had become a place of hurt and doubt. The internet is addictive...it draws you in. I'm on a LOT during the day because I have a REALLY slow job with nothing else to do, but I try to avoid letting the net comfort me now when I'm upset and not at work. I try to get out and do something else.

I in NO way think the internet is a waste of time for everyone. I think that changes from person to person. I've met some amazing people and made some incredible friends who I hope to keep in touch with for a very long time. There are a few I will probably get to meet at least one day. God has used people to reach me through the internet, and He has also used me to reach others. However, speaking as someone who got completely caught up in the online world and began to ignore the outside world...if it's possible, I think it's really important to not run to this every single time something goes wrong. That's what God, family and good friends are for n_n

[agasfas]

I don't really use the internet to escape. Perhaps a lot of my music that's on my computer, but not really the internet itself. If I'm feeling pain, loneliness or whatever I ususually find it best to step outside for a while. Be in the fresh air, feel the breeze and just move around. Though I can say that sometimes I use AIM to talk to some of my friend about things, but aside from that, not really.

[the_lizardqueen]

I always struggle with the fear of internet dependency. At the end of the day, as much as I might enjoy surfing the CAA, I've basically been stationary in one room for an overly long period of time, staring at a screen. And that freaks me out. My online time is also complicated by the fact that I tend to stay in touch with my real life friends and aquaintances through email. So I often run the risk of spending way too much time online. I think that my internet usage has become more reasonable over the years, especially since I found the CAA. I now do about 90% of my surfing on the CAA or DeviantArt, which cuts it back a bit and the quality of my interactions is better. Conversations tend to be way more meaningful around here.

I definitely agree with the points that everyone else has made, especially Volt and Dragonshimmer. And agasfas is right, nature can be far more comforting than a webpage ^_^

[Debitt]

the only way the internet can be an "escape" for me is when I can get in touch with friends to talk to - it's hard calling my close friends, because we'd get charged long distance for talking too much, so instant messenger is a better solution.

[Felix]

Not reeaaaallly. I mean it's always good to talk with my close friends and hang out and stuff, it does help me forget and/or work through something hard in my life. I'm glad I have the kind of friends for such things.

[Alice]

Sometimes.

For me, chatting tends to make me feel better if I'm sad or depressed.

I don't have a lot of real life friends I can go to, so I find this to be a real blessing.

[ShiroiHikari]

My friends are online, so yeah, the internet helps me out a lot. It's not without its bad points, but for me the good outweighs the bad.

[JediSonic]

I'm with UC on this one. The internet is hectic and stressful. If I want to escape, I read a book. But I read anyway and rarely want to escape. It scares me if people use the internet as an escape, but i know it happens. How many potential suicides have been to the average online forum?