There’s something i never considered before about the internet, and virtual life.

How many times did we hear about paedophiles before the advent of the web? I’ve argued that they have always existed and the internet has allowed us to bring them into the light when they group and congregate. A bit like laying bait for and not shooting the first animal that comes along, rather waiting for the whole herd.

The net is an amazing of force of democratisation and neutrality, and allows equality on a par thats unprecedented. The tiny shopkeeper can compete with the giant supermarket store on an equal footing on a truly international scale for the first time in history.

So something i heard said last week struck me quite hard, and that was someone was afraid their friend was worried the other person wouldn’t like them in real life as they are so different to how they are on the net.

I think that’s true of all of us, so i leave you with a though for the week.

Isn’t it just the case that who we are online is who we want to be in real life, but can’t be? Isn’t it that in some ways our online persona is closer to who we are than the way we are every day?

The difference is that in real life we wouldn’t get to see who we wanted to be, like we do on the net. We never get that contrast because we’re always so tied up in being who we are right then. We get to be them, act as them and almost live vicariously.

There are fewer consequences, more places to hide and less inhibitions about being the person we want to be. We can say what we really mean and meet others we wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to. In a weird way, its a very positive thing.

Is that so bad?