Originally I was delighted by the internet because it was a chance for people to be honest. Normally in face to face interactions so much is held back. But on the internet, while perhaps speaking anonymously, there was a chance to finally get to The Truth. Not to mention bringing minorities or 'iconoclasts' together from across the globe.

Unfortunately it turns out that 'The Truth' mostly consists of hate and for additional reasons not too many 'iconoclasts' have been brought together. And furthermore I've finally come to feel like interacting with people online is like having paint chips for dinner. That it's not nourishing. It's not healthy. It's the desperate act of someone who feels like they're just not getting enough face to face interactions... And I feel like every interaction that occurs online is not 'real'. That I can interact online with people for decades and still they don't 'know' me. I still wouldn't 'know' them. And that thus, ultimately all online interaction, beyond exchanging technical information, is utterly meaningless. A waste of time.

That furthermore in the act of trying to formulate a reply to someone, through revising, etc, determining what one wants to say and never actually saying it outloud, one can start forgetting what one even actually said. And with thinking of it all ultimately as paint chips for dinner one cares less to even try to remember so that eventually one has no idea what they've previously said. So everything is quickly forgotten. And knowing you're just going to quickly forget a thing truly makes it meaningless. So it becomes meaningless twice over.

At the same time, taking more time to think out what you want to say, (while to an extent clearly a good thing) ends up going way too far. One gets into an antagonistic exchange and instead of it usually passing relatively quick in a face to face interaction, one spends days, weeks, slowly formulating replies in their head and imagining the negative responses. One wastes days stuck in ugliness that's all just in their own head. Which is awful and after a few years one has had about as much as they can stand of it.

But going back to not really being 'known' in online interactions, wait a second, there are people I've interacted with face to face off and on for decades who haven't got a clue who I am. So perhaps each type of interaction has it's flaws and good points and online interaction is useful and not necessarily any worse than face to face?

No. There is important information that one can only get from a face to face interaction. It's just that most people are too stupid to get it. Bluntly put, a stupid person can't interact with a smart person and really understand or 'know them' very well.

And of the internet, it hasn't brought 'iconoclasts' together so very much. Why?

Because the ones who are really interesting, who in face to face interactions have to censor themselves, who then come to the internet to supplement their crappy face to face interactions won't then ever have a face to face interaction with whoever they're being more honest with. Because it would be scary to be 'real' with someone they haven't been properly censoring themselves with.

To be honest face to face is dangerous. Very dangerous. And so this honesty they've exchanged anonymously with someone who lives far, far away and has nothing to do with their 'real' life, they can't make it become 'real'. It has to stay unreal. It has to stay meaningless. Because they can't be honest face to face. And they have been honest with this person. Thus there can never be any face to face.

The above two paragraphs are somewhat overstated but I think do play a role on top of the normal fear everyone has. And perhaps people who are just more introverted to begin with go to the internet more in the first place, thus one is more likely to be interacting online with a shy person.

And so not so many people really have been 'brought together' from around the globe.

Occasionally sitting down and thinking out your thoughts while alone and putting them in writing is a really good thing. I'm glad I have this blog... (At least until the fascist takeover utilizes the compiled lists...) Also having a technology by which people from around the world can become aware of each other is a good thing. But very quickly it does go from a good thing to just paint chips for dinner.

Most technology can be put to good or bad uses. Television for example doesn't have to be such a bad thing. But it is. It's one of the worst things to happen to humankind. So then also, the internet doesn't have to be a bad thing. But it mostly is.