On virtual community

Or why the Internet is usually a lousy place to meet people.

Besides the Internet pedophiles and ephebephiles who go into chatrooms seeking victims, the majority of people using the Internet to chat and meet other people through Facebook, My Space, Xanga, and so on are teenagers or young adults (that seems a reasonable judgment, don't you think?).

Conversing with people through instant messaging and email and so on, without any shared experience in the "real world" is... rather pointless, unless one is so detached from the activity, being wary of forming any sort of emotional ties. As an spiritual work of mercy, perhaps the Internet can be a good tool, but perhaps it would be a better use of time for most people to address the needs of people who physically close to you, living in your community. There may be a need for the internet for the apologetics and other such apostolic works, since the state of catechesis here and in most other countries I suspect is rather low. But who really makes use of such resources, besides those who are already orthodox, or aspiring to have greater knowledge of Sacred Tradition? The best way to introduce people to Christ is through personal contact, as Opus Dei and the other new movements are aware.

As for trying to meet friends through the Internet... how can the Internet facilitate the building of mutual affection and respect, loyalty, trust and reciprocity if it is "consequence-free"? Without the physical contact necessary to prove character in ways other than conversation, is it not more likely that chatting through the Internet can turn into a self-centered way of relieving loneliness? On the other hand, would it not be a sign of that there is some sort of problem if one were to form some sort of an attachment through the Internet? Not necessarily a moral problem or a psychological problem, though those are more obvious.

Obviously this does not apply when friends make use of the Internet instead of the phone or a date [in its broadest sense] to converse, though other means of communication might be preferable.

It seems natural for people to desire to actually meet those they have encountered in virtual reality. But do they go in with an attitude that they would walk away from whatever sort of friendship they had cultivated at that point if they were disappointed by reality? I suppose that is more likely to happen for those who have unrealistic romantic expectations.

Ah well, once I find a real job or a life these sort of questions will become irrelevant...