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When I first came to the internet on Monday, April 30, 2001, I knew
next to nothing about the computer and even less about the internet itself. That simple fact made me prone to mistakes and,
because my lack of knowledge made me naive and vulnerable in regards to the people on the internet and their ways, it also
made me easy prey.
People have a handicap here on the internet:
They cannot see the person they are talking to. They cannot see the truth or the lack of truth in their faces and eyes. Nor
can they hear the truth or the lack of truth in the inflections of a person's voice. That within itself makes a person less
safe and as pathetic as it might sound and as pathetic as it actually IS, there are those who come to the internet for the
sole purpose of "messing with" people. (Don't think that I am overdramatizing here. I only wish that were the case.)
Many of those who come to the internet for that
purpose are mainly kids with a lot of knowledge about the computer, but not about life and how it should and should not be
lived. They are comprised of those with a high IQ and a low standard of discipline and of those who come from troubled homes
and/or who have troubled hearts and minds. Of course, some of those kids are just, quite simply, mean.
Those with the high IQ and the low discipline standards are just hiding
behind their computers because the internet is very likely the only place they have ever felt any real power and significance.
Those who suffer from troubled lives, well, they are mainly just striking out as a result of being struck at themselves or,
at least, feeling like they have been.
None of this is to say that all of the kids on the internet are bad.
To the contrary; there are many good, fine kids on this internet and I myself have been fortunate enough to have encountered
quite a few of them here. In fact, I can proudly say that I have many of them as regular contacts of mine. We share with each
other our hopes and dreams, as well as our fears and regrets. I cherish them each and every one. Why, some of them even refer
to me as their "internet mom" and, when they do, I literally beam with pride and joy.
There are, of course, adults that come to the internet with less than
admirable intentions also. Most of the adults, however, are not so much interested in messing with people's computers as they
are with just "messing around". Like those who choose the internet to pull pranks on others, they are attracted to the internet
by the anonymity.
Surprisingly, online sex is a growing pastime of many of those who
come to the internet because online sex is thought by many to be "safe sex". However, despite the anonymity and despite the
inability for one to see and touch the other, people still get hurt here just as they do in real life. Sadly, hearts
get broken here and, in some cases, hopes and dreams get shattered here as well.
Consider: A person here on the internet can tell you anything about
themselves and their lives and, unless you know them in real life as well, you have no real way of discerning what is fact
and what is fiction. It really doesn't matter how often or how long you talk with a person here either; people have been known
to keep up false images in real life for extended periods of time and, because of the handicap that I mentioned before, a
false image is even easier to uphold here on the internet.
Whenever possible, I tell newcomers to the internet this: "Do not
trust anyone here, not even me. No matter how much or how long you might remain in contact with someone here, unless
you know them in real life on a day-to-day basis, you do not really know them. Even if you should meet in real life someone
that you originally met on the internet, that is still not enough reason for you to let your guard down and give that person
your complete and total trust. After all, those meetings are planned and, therefore, controllable. In order to really know
what kind of a person someone is, you simply must know them in real life on a day-to-day basis and, even then, it is
sometimes hard to be sure."
Incidentally, just as I have stated on my profile at many of the websites
that I go to, here is my motto on cybering: "I do not cyber. No, I do not want to watch you on your webcam. Reach down and
touch yourself on someone else's time but not mine. Thanks and take care." ;-)
"More words! I turn the page and more words! I can't stand
it!
There's another page with more words! Always, MORE words!"
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