Relationships are a difficult thing to quantify. In years gone by, the man would find a woman attractive, so ask the womans father if he could court said fathers daughter. This always left me wondering if the lass in question had a choice in the matter or if it was simply a case of bribing the hottest girls father with gratuitous amounts of alcohol.
Sadly, things change.
These days, love can be found everywhere. From the local pub, to the shopping market, to the most unusual of places: An online environment.
With the prevalence of MMOing in todays society ( Even my mother knows what WoW is, quite the shock I must tell you. ) our social interactions have reached a new plateau. The grinding and teamwork involved in successfully levelling in an MMO requires you to spend a lot of time with the people you are playing with. Of course, the elder generations react to this with fear, after all, if it is not something they understand, they do not wish to acknowledge it. However it does raise a point: Is it really less healthy for Jane and Bob to meet in an online environment, where all the emotions they feel are based upon cerebral, emotional contexts rather than physical, than for them to meet in a bar where they may very well be inebriated and / or just plain lonely?
While the internet predators are cited as a reason to avoid the internet, are they really any more prolific in this avenue than any other, or is it merely that those on the internet receive more publicity? Before the internet was invented, predators existed. It is a sad subset of our society that finds itself subject to urges that the majority of us are incapable of understanding, or simply being so amoral that they do not recognize the wrong in what they do. The author does not feel this is any more of an issue online than off.
One of the main issues stated for internet predation is the anonymity of an online interaction. Yet are we any less anonymous in our day to day lives, face to face with loved ones than we are online? We all have our masks, our makeup, our illusions to hide what lies underneath, for whatever reason. People lie to you and prey on you face to face as much, if not more so than on the internet where it is far easier to shed ones masks and be truthful, without the additional issues of admitting ones inner self in a face to face manner.
The author has numerous friends who have met in MMOs and found love, forging life long commitments out of shared experiences. Does this make their love any less real or important than one formed from a physical attraction in a dingy pub? I have known people from all paths of life, with beliefs so opposite to my own as to cause me to question my stand on issues who, in a pub or a shopping market, I would never have traded a word with. Is it not in fact better to broaden our horizons in all aspects of life, even up to and including our love life, than to allow prejudices to bar us in?
While there are many guides to love, life and happiness, the author does not feel it is something anyone elses words can answer, but a question that must be asked of yourself. Do you have an open heart or will you remain closeted in darkness, fearing the light?
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