People who take the Internet too seriously

The Internet. It's a magical thing; I mean, who wouldn't be fascinated by a piece of technology that, with a few clicks, connects you with millions of people and a plethora of information that would take a kajillion years to go through, even with a super fast computer? I know I am. You can talk to people on the other side of the globe, find hilarious jokes, and even post your opinions on blogs like this one for complete strangers to read.

Ah, but the 'Net is a double-edged sword. For every one person who uses the Internet for things like art, music, and porn, there are a hundred thousand other people I've noticed who take it way too seriously.

I mean, it's one thing to post artwork/stories/etc. on sites like deviantART or fanfiction.net for other people to look at and criticize. How does one become a better artist/author/other? By listening to the constructive criticism of other people and learning from one's mistakes. That is perfectly normal, in my opinion.

However, one does run across the person who thinks that everything on the Internet is to be taken seriously and reacts as such. I know this sounds like an extreme case, but it happens. Rather than take everything they read/see on the 'net with a grain of salt, they take everything personally.

Perhaps the biggest example that springs to mind is Internet bullying. Since the advent of social networks like MySpace and Facebook, plus the fact that accessing the Internet is easier than breathing nowadays, we have seen a spike in Internet bullying, but what is it? It's basically what happens on the playgrounds of school, except over the Internet. Insulting messages, inappropriate pictures, all of it is intended to do the same thing as bullying, except a million times faster and seemingly more effective; however, I don't wish to make this blog about Internet bullying.

In this age where Internet access is commonplace, the line between the 'net and reality seems to have blurred. People "fall in love" after meeting in an online community, nerds think they're "ZOLTAR, MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE," and two people can have an online grudge against each other simply because of a few foul words that were exchanged between the two.

I call to mind a forum that I frequent. I can't tell you how many times I've seen members take things way too personally (I used to be like that) because they spend a majority of their time there. Hell, I've "gotten into it" with another member there over a thread that I made; he called me "immature" and made a special place in his signature for insulting me (I feel stupid for doing so, but I did take the bait and did the same thing).

Over the last few days, I came to a realization: THE INTERNET ISN'T REAL (of course I know that the Internet isn't real, but I mean as far as this blog goes). While I do enjoy talking to people I meet online, I really shouldn't care if someone thinks I'm stupid or immature, simply because the opinion of that one person doesn't represent the opinion of everyone who uses the Internet.

I think part of the reason that people take the Internet too seriously is that they don't have this objective view of it. I'm not saying that I'm better than anyone on the Internet because I do, but it makes me more able to deal with stupid messages like the one I mentioned earlier on in this blog and the like because I can step back and say, "Hey, it doesn't matter because I can delete the message." I think that, sometimes, people forget that they have a lot of power over what they read/see/hear on the 'net. Delete buttons, search engines, and such are designed to let the user control their content for the most part, and forgetting that one has this power can blur the line between the 'net and reality. Yes, harassment is an issue no matter what form it takes, but places on the 'net where people can be harassed usually have some sort of "authority figure," such as a moderator, to take care of that. That's what they're there for, and usually, they know the appropriate steps to take if harassment occurs.

So, peoples of the Internet, I implore you; stop taking everything the Internet so seriously. It's just the Internet, after all.