This stuff may be boring...

jaydensmommie:

When I say that I love you guys, those are real feelings.

When I say some of my best friends are here, those are real feelings.

When I come here to say something bad is happening in my life, those are real feelings.

So when someone is affected by something that happens to them on the internet, those are real feelings too. Please don’t dismiss those people. It’s not ‘just the internet.’ This stuff is part of our lives. If positive reactions to things on the internet are validated, why shouldn’t negative feelings be? Why is it all just butthurt? If someone that we love is hurting because a nerve was hit by something that originated here, let’s support them the same way we would if they were hurting from ‘real life.’ Because you guys are all a part of my real life.

<3

I absolutely agree with this. As much as an internet friend can absolutely make your day, another internet friend can crush your spirit for the day. We spend so much time here and I even think we make ourselves more vulnerable on the internet because we put so much out here - stuff we don’t tell our spouses, our partners, our family,or even our ‘real’ friends. Stuff we don’t say out loud for fear of sideways glances or disapproval. We say those things here, because our internet friends seem to get us on a different level.

With that said, I don’t think a lot of internet people understand that the dismissal of someone or treating someone as if they’re not worthy of even a moment of your time (how many people have asked you a question without you even giving a polite response in return?) is painful. Maybe it shouldn’t be. Maybe we should all have thicker skin. But I absolutely agree with jaydensmommie, if you have the power to make someone’s day, then you have the power to make them blue. It’s not your responsibility, it’s just about being nice to each other.