Probably a question for the younger men; how real is the online world for you?

12 comments

1. I use reddit to kill time now and then. It’s about as important to me as candy crush or anything else you pull up when you’ve got 5 min to kill.

   I don’t have insta, Facebook, Twitter, whatever

2. I don’t engage much, like, I have a Facebook and I think I last wished everyone a happy new year in 2019, my last Instagram post was 2020 but I scroll through my feed (mainly sports, gym, food, music related) fairly often, but once I’m with people or working/working out or doing things I consider of real value, then I can forget social media pretty easily. So, it’s pretty much “occupy me whilst I’m on the toilet” type activity

3. Nah, I don’t have social media nor do I use OLD.

   Doesn’t even exist to me.

4. I know it’s not real and I don’t care about internet points on any platform, but I’m pretty much addicted to the internet so I spend more time than I’d like to admit on here. I can stop spending so much time online if I make an effort, but it really is an effort for me. It’s so easy to spend hours switching between Reddit, instagram, YouTube, and porn.

   But yeah, all the real stuff happens offline with my friends and family. I forget most of this stuff once my phone is locked; it’s just a way to kill time and prevent thinking/boredom. Ideally I’d leave it behind and learn some things and develop some hobbies

5. I live irl mostly, so very little

6. The only real thing on the net is the content I post. Im not saying its always 100% accurate. It is just that the effort I put into it is real.

   What people do and say is 90% bullshit aimed to either tear someone down or make themselves feel better.

   Relationships built on the internet are mostly a farce. They only become real when the parties come face to face.

7. I try to think twice about online, as I wouldn’t say it’s either real or not real, which anyone who ever ordered anything on amazon can testify to.

   So yeah, life partly does take place online. But I don’t use social media besides forums really.

8. Interactions on Reddit are interesting, they are more real than other social media sites, still, I don’t consider this reality. At the end of the day, it’s just packets of data in a screen, so once I turn off the screen, I move on with my day.

9. My real life is mostly what I see on YouTube, social media and here. The real world is where I work, study and work out.

10. If you use the major social media outlets where you can’t even control what info comes across your timeline, then life can often feel more grim than it is.

    Once I let everything go: Twitter, FB, Snapchat, IG, (TikTok came after I quit socials), then life became so much more enjoyable. I don’t regret it at all.

11. Stream of bits I forget about when the screen is turned off. I might get immersed occasionally, but the real life is out there….

    (I’m looking out of the window whilst I said that. You can’t see it. Just imagine it.)

12. I would say online is pretty real to me. Social media is a place where I can distill my thoughts and get them off my chest, which helps keeping me on balance. I also spend a lot of time on Discord; most of my day to day social interactions are with people online and I’m closer to some friends online than most friends or family offline.

    I probably could stand to care less about stuff online, but I get caught up in my head too much offline so ironically spending an unhealthy amount of time online is still healthier than cutting it out.

    Edit: On reflection, it’s possible that I find online life to be more real than offline life. Which isn’t great but isn’t a super shocking revelation to me.