A valentine in the Digital world

<>There is nothing that surprise me more than the constant stream of absurd Internet culture. It just gets stranger and stranger with each passing year. I can only imagine what type of crap will be floating around in cyberspace in 10 years from now. I bet it will make the bannaphone old hat. Individuals with incredibly obscure interests and talents find large online communities where they can be appreciated. These basement geniuses never cease to amaze me. The creative potential is astounding. Is this the culmination of human civilization? Each one of us indulging and developing our creative abilities with the support of a global network of like minded individuals? We burn away our creative potential in cyberspace and fuel its monstrous growth and development.
Message boards,

Deviant Art
Forums,
Mailing lists
Blogs
MIRC
ICQ
MSN
MMOGs
NewsGroups

The internet has begun to change everything. I know there is a history and sociology of the internet that is its infancy. These fields of study are only now beginning to gain the attention of the academia.

This brings me to the point of today's little entry. There is a large population of people who live online. I know this to be true. I have seen it. For these people, their digital life is more real than reality itself. ("What is real?" April 22 2004) Working, Sleeping, eating, are only a means to an end. A persona, a handle, a Nickname, most of us have one. Hundreds of hours are spent living a 2nd existence in cyberspace.

One of the purest examples of this phenomena comes about on valentines day in the digital world. Love is in the air. Citizens of the digital world send eachother tokens of affection.
Nothing says I love you like a high quality drawing of you're character and you're online mate sharing an intimate moment. On this special day.

Who are these people? Are their feelings for eachother real? Is this healthy? Behind that giant bull, and the undead girl are real people! People who have real emotions and feelings and are trying to find a place in this world to fit in. Perhaps this is a sign that our society is unhealthy and hostile, causing people to seek friendship elsewhere. Escapist delusions and fantasy have often been an escape for certain individuals. I often wonder if the digital world is the best place for them. The fantasy becomes more real each day, more powerful, more natural. Millions of lives swept up in an interactive hurricaine of binary code.

So... A happy valentine's day to the ditital world! All I see is the true face of internet addiction.

I have a feeling things is only the beginning.