The Allure of the Online World

It has been years since Ive been online. I remember the excitement of logging into AOL via dialup. It seemed like forever before the you've got mail would ring through my speakers. You could practically cook a meal in the time it took to log online! And sometimes, I did just that as my computer desk was in the kitchen in those days. Times have changed though and dialup was replaced by high speed internet and AOL chat by Myspace and Facebook. But one thing that hasn't changed, is the allure of the online world.

At the tip of one's fingers, a new friend can come into your world like rain falls in the Amazon jungle. Dating sites abound and there are plentiful faces to choose from like being in a candy store with unlimited choices. And for those doing local online dating, it is like having a See's candy box all to yourself. You can reach in look for the candy of your liking, taste it and toss it back in the box if you don't want a soft center and you'd rather have a nut and chew.

The problem with the ease at which one can find a new 'friend', is that it creates a very disposable mentality. If the person you are with wears the wrong cologne or says something off color, bam time to get a new candy from the box. However, one should not be surprised as this all goes with the American philosophy of everything being disposable. In the old days it was major work to try and find someone of your liking. That meant perhaps a trip to the bar, perhaps a trip to the park with your dog, or perhaps hoping by luck and happen stance you'd meet 'the one' in the grocery store. Not today, merely log online and one can find someone in any country in the world.

I have learned one major thing about this online world and that is we make people out to be who we want them to be. Almost like a favorite pet that we decide to clone. We can turn them on, we can turn them off, we can LOL til the cows come home, we can be risque with conversations and discuss our deepest darkest fantasies and even 'cyber'. But regardless, this world is truly fantasy until one meets and goes through the trials and tribulations of real life ie, work, housework, traffic. Only then does the wit and charm and looks all add up to true compatibility. My friends have always thought me crazy as I am a hopeless romantic and believe that I will meet my prince charming someday and that he just may be online somewhere in this big world. They tell me they will believe it when they see it. Well, I have met someone online who is an amazing man and only time will tell. In the meantime, I shall remain in the allure of this crazy, powerful online world where the mind is king.

"Love all, trust a few. Do wrong to none."