And for me, it's a subject that'll never get old because I'm one of those annoying bastards that have to know how it all works. I need to see the machinery moving behind the shiny outer shell, and although I do say so myself, I've become very, very fucking good at it. So good, in fact, that sometimes it can be a curse (see previous post on 'closure' for more details there) being able to read between lines and see situations emerge from seemingly random, innocuous events. Of course, that happens in real life as well as online; knowing the real truth inside someone's heart, especially when you're close to them, is fucking hard to deal with sometimes.
Some years ago, I wrote an article for Helium.com which you can still find here if you're inclined, outlining the telltale signs that indicate online infidelity in a partner. Let's just say It's in my nature to analyse - to pull something apart to see how it works - and that's what I did with my own experience back then, and am still doing to this day with every new one I encounter online. But I'm older and wiser these days. 20 years of experience has taught me that this Never Never Land is just that; a fantasy kingdom where we can be whoever and whatever we want to be, where certain elements of our personalities are automatically suppressed and certain others are enhanced. Our sense of self is easily lost in among the pseudonyms and usernames we adopt, and we may find ourselves interacting with others online in ways we'd never dream of in RL (that's Real Life to you, newbie).
Years ago, I used to join newsgroups and 'lurk' - which was a way of describing those who chose to listen and observe, but not interact. Being a 'lurker' was frowned upon by those 'active' members who gave it the status of voyeurism (Yeah, like I'd wanna watch any of you miserable fuckers in the shower...). The categorisation of 'non-active' members in this way seemed almost designed to shame them into becoming active participants, but many of those that bit and dipped their toe into the Newsgroup ocean soon wished they fucking well hadn't.
Why? Because Newsgroups back then were littered with the type of people your grandmother might refer to as 'fucktards', These were the hardcore posters who ruled their particular group with an iron keyboard and had no problems shouting you down in ALL CAPS and proclaiming you to be the stupidest twat on the planet at the slightest provocation. You couldn't argue with their twisted logic, you couldn't make them see past their own vast sense of self-importance. Every Newsgroup worth a shit had at least two warring camps, each one headed by a Tribal Bullshit-Chief. Trust me - the evenings I spent lurking around alt.magick and groups of that ilk were fucking masterclasses in text-based savagery.
What's my point? That some things never fucking change, my friend. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it merely changes form. Such is the case with negative energy - once channelled through the Newsgroup underworld, now through 'social networking' sites. I'm not entirely sure the term 'social networking' sits well with me, either. There's very fucking little that can be said to be 'social' about 'em and people don't really 'network' - they just pounce on one another in an endless Battle Royale of twattery and intellectual one-upmanship. One false slip of the key on Twitter can get you 'unfollowed' by scores of previously loyal asslickers. I've seen celebrities get accused of being boring, whiny, petty - essentially, being human. And they care, bless them. One or two have publicly tweeted a sad little 'I don't care if you don't like me' response to being lambasted by a bunch of people who chose to follow them in the first place and can just as easily reverse that decision. Then of course, you have those whose aim it is to offend as many people as possible, and retweet or repost the abuse they receive as a result.
I sometimes wonder if these people have caught on to something the rest of us haven't quite yet...but I know one thing for sure. Showing humanity online is the same as showing weakness - and there's always someone out there ready to rip you to pieces for it. Happy browsing.
JH
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