I've been socially isolated all my life and only socialized online. My only friends growing up were people I met on Xbox live. As I got older, that became people on forums/message boards. I literally met my first and only Gf in online chat rooms. When I wasn't socializing online, I was doing something alone online.
Literally my entire existence from age 7 has been online. Anybody know that feel? I'm already working as a programmer so I can spend all my adulthood online too.
I had internet in my home at 17yo if I remember correctly
Underage.
Reported.
From about 12-13 years old, yes
>Working full-time as a programmer
>Underage
Get a load of this faggot. I'm 20 btw.
I've learnt most of what I know from the internet and have used it as my major form of leisure and entertainment since I was at least 5 years old.
I'm too old for that. I remember life before internet
Me. I had no friends in school so I spent a lot of time on AOL chatrooms back when that was a thing. I still have no friends, even online friends, and most of my social contact is on Jow Forums. I will say though that my only romantic relationship was from a (social anxiety) forum, so there is that.
My friends gifted me my first smartphone when I was 19 in order to not be alienated
I had childhood friends but once I got xbl in 06 I just neglected them then spent the rest of my adolescence on the internet. Worst mistake ever. Now I'm alone and a virgin at 23.
i knew people irl from highschool and hung out with them, but not much, never really went out except a few times to the bar, spent most of my time on the internet, have a thousand hours on dota 2 and another thousand on crusader kings 2, never had a girlfriend cause i was too immature, still am i guess
>Literally my entire existence from age 7 has been online
you should probably go out a few times so you at least get the experience like i did
Somewhat, but I still have real world friends and I am well adjusted socially and financially. My golden rule for assuring this was simple, never make Internet """"friends"""". That's saved me from the self destructive cycle I see so many people here fall into with their abusive steam and chat group "friendships". I also think it could save zoomed from the black hole that is following twitch streamers.
I understand that for only text communication, but the friends I made on Xbox Live back when I was 12-14 were pretty good. That could be because our communication was voice(literally talking to each other on a mic) so it felt more real and intimate.
It seems like you started off being normal, as I have to assume you had friends when you were young and were capable of making them normally. As someone who never did, my internet friends were actually a comfort and I'm really glad I had them when I did. Something is definitely better than nothing. There's also a distinct difference between "real" internet friends and following twitch streamers.
how people actually used to hang out together and when having a drink didnt mean sitting and looking at smartphones for half an hour in a different setting
Imo internet friends that you actually talk to over a mic and not just communicate over text is pretty close to the real thing.
>There's also a distinct difference between "real" internet friends and following twitch streamers
No, it's a difference of severity of the same disease. I'm still a turbo nerd though, stop projecting this chad complex onto me.
Not really. I only got a computer as a teenager. But right now, yeah, i'm completely socially isolated.
I should have specified that yes, that was often what I meant, voice chat definitely feels pretty real. Though I will say I also had one or two who were text only (before the proliferation of skype and not from games) and I still feel like they were a good presence in my life.
It's not. Touch, smell, physical closeness give friendship meaning.
How is having regular conversations with someone the same as following a twitch streamer? One on one interaction is still interaction even if you aren't physically in the same room, especially if you're using voice. Or to put it another way, how is that different from having real friends? With real friends you are, for the most part, just talking and partaking in certain activities together, in the case of internet friends those activities just aren't irl and are usually game related. Normies do that too.
the internet has been available since the 90s
i bet you think ''the internet'' is facebook, dumb normalfaggot
Do most normie friends regularly touch and smell each other?
I argue its understanding of each other and shared interests that make good friends.
They physical aspect is more important for romantic relationships.
yes, but until 2007/2008 it was the cable one where you had to connect each time and it made those weird bleeping sounds + it costed pure gold and connection was atrocious
I remember the days of having my text conversations interrupted when someone wanted to use the phone.
Somebody post the I grew up here wojak.
It's a crucial part of real socialization. You need the whole sensory experience or the entire thing is a sham.
Maybe in Croatia. Here dial-up was effectively obsolete by 2000-2001.
For romantic relationships maybe, not for friendships. At least not friendships as an adult, I might agree with you for younger people.
might as well be friends with a chatbot
A chatbot can't have good voice conversations for hours. Real friends can, whether or not they're in the same room as you or not.
shut up faggot. No wonder you are friendless