Jay Cronley: Internet no place to escape loneliness
BY JAY CRONLEY World Staff Columnist
Sunday, January 20, 2013
1/20/13 at 6:01 AM
The Internet collects the lonely, attracts them like a magnet, claims them like a black hole in space.
Life existed before the Internet.
So what did all the lonely people do before they could turn on a machine and plug in a picture somewhat more attractive than the real-life version and find company simply by virtue of being alive?
Back before virtual company, which is Internet company, many of the lonely people probably tried to improve their places in life.
Lonely by death, lonely by environment, lonely by personality, lonely by profession, lonely for whatever reason, a person could try to get out of that bind by joining a group, by learning something new, by meeting people in person.
Cyberspace sadness: Now there's the quick attempt at a fix, the Internet, which leads to a unique malady, Internet loneliness, the solitary figure outlined in middle-of-the-night darkness by white lies from the screen.
Whereas the Internet has many life-improving uses, such as baby-sitting, SpellCheck, weather radar, the collection of adorable animal photos, medical tips, and simple shopping, it has become almost sacrilegious in nature, almost evil, when it comes to serving as a place to meet people.
The Internet as a meetinghouse cesspool has been documented by big companies like State Farm and its TV commercial where a pretty girl goes off with a liar claiming to be a French model.
Funny, huh. What's the sequel, her funeral?
People looking for company on the Internet can probably do no better than this: your counterpart.
Con jobs: How could somebody like a Notre Dame football player have been conned by some Internet rats into thinking he had a girlfriend for three years?
By the same offbeat foible of humanity that causes smart people to invest fortunes with crooks and wind up too embarrassed with the loss to own up to it.
Virtual relationships don't sound like the worst things to come down the Internet. I could have stood a couple of virtual divorce proceedings.
Moods cause crazy decisions. I once loaned a guy $200 cash at the horse race track and never saw him again. The parent companies of the last two vehicles I have driven have gone out of business. Etcetera.
People do things that will never sound reasonable.
All the lonely people should join a club composed of real people.
Internet dating service drop-outs should be all over town.
Original Print Headline: Internet no place to escape loneliness
Associated Images:
|
