Nowadays, the Net is considered as a place where people can communicate with each other quickly and efficiently. Billions of chat pages, blogs, and myspaces are now in circulation and we have then two clicks away. However, I cannot help but wonder: Are we exchanging personal relationshiops for virtual ones? Are they on the same level?

Last night, surfing the Internet, I came across two desesperate comments: “I found on the Net the friends I never had, a place where I can feel free and where I can be what I would like to be and I cannot because of my shyness” and “Some days i can be chatting all night long but in the morning I cannot even sit up”, this shows the 100% addictive nature of the Net. Making up a new life and being what we always wanted to be is wonderful, but when the moment comes to face reality, depression is the most common effect on this kind of users. On the other hand, what sort of solutions do we have for this problem? We cannot get rid of the bigger communicatuve advance ever, being conscious of the potential dangers is fundamental for a good usage.

Although it sounds ironical, every single ADSL pack should include some indications about the dangers of getting hooked on the Net and its psychological consequences. Hence, I declare my own war on fighting the secondary effects on blogs, myspaces, and chats. Let’s be level-headed!

Sources: http://hipersociologia.org.ar/papers/zelenersp.html