Didn't take long
I was reading some of the reasons why some people think social networking (on the net) is bad for your health and why they think a whole generation is going to be infantilized by it.
Now, I think that there should be lots of out of school/college things for people to have the choice of doing .. which includes computers .. but also includes lots of things that might include social activity face to face. Ofcourse there'll always be people who don't want to make use of it but that's their personal choice.
Apparently socializing on line and IRL produce different chemical responses in our brains .. on line there's no cuddle chemical produced .. which considering the amount of hugs going round the net I find difficult to believe .. I mean it's a virtual hugathon with lots of hug smilies just to make it a little easier .. u just have to put a smilie up and hold down to get lots and lots and lots of smilie hugs. Had to smile last week when I was using a rather ornate font to write hug in capital letters with .. it would've been many hugs over and over again .. but with this font it came out looking like BUG BUG BUG because of the way the H was drawn. I changed font pretty quickly!!!!!! But people send so many hugs 'n' cuddles across the net to friends they know through the net that I have to say that really surprized me.
Is something else happening that's helping people bond. Or are we just perfectly capable of bonding with people without the need of a hug chemical ... maybe just that we like them is all that's needed and we don't need a chemical to push us in that direction. I've formed friendships on line where I'm attached to the people .. and I know it works the same with my friends .. cause they tell me. It doesn't work with people who aren't my friends .. u know because they're messing me around .. but it works with time and common sense with those who are. And, just once, without common sense too, the woman with the extreme drink problem .. I was quite attached to her as a friend for a while .. she was ok to start off with .. and it hurt a bit when I realised that I really didn't want her as a friend. If I hadn't got attached to her it wouldn't've hurt at all . There've been other people who I haven't got attached to cause the warning signs have slowed the friendship down and not having them in my life anymore didn't hurt at all. And, ofcourse, there are internetty friends I care for a lot.
I think the vegetarian woman might've had a drink problem too though I'm not sure. I've talked it over a bit with my psychologist fwend .. and he's not sure what's going on there either. I don't miss her at all. Not missing her has nothing to do with there being a bonding chemical there or not .. I just didn't like the way she was behaving.
I have a net friend in hospital at the moment and judging by my worrying about her .. I've bonded there ok!!! I'm better today cause I've realised that she's going to be ok but yesterday I was worrying a lot. She's going to be in rather a lot of pain for a while but other than that should be ok
The cuddle chemical that was mentioned as being missing in response in our brains on line is oxytocin. If it is .. then there has to be other things going on that produce the same or similar reactions. I have friends on line who just so miss their internet friends if they can't chat to them .. and that's friendship and bonding.
And what about friends we've known for many. many years though don't get to see very often if at all .. the friendship and bonding is still there after so many years of not being with each other .. just the occasional phone call and/or letter and now time on line.
Ofcourse, I'm older now .. way past the time when I had a developing teenage brain .. I was a bit worried that teenage brain was often mentioned .. as opposed to young developing brain .. people younger than teenagers socialize on the net. Are they worried that the ability to produce oxytocin might be affected, or, the way the brain is structured more generally to form social relationships ... if younger people socialize in a way that sometimes doesn't promote the production of oxytocin. Young people mix quite a lot generally.
And what difference is there between interacting with a TV screen or with people you actually know on the net as far as developing brains go.
How has TV affected the formation of young brains!!!!!!!!!!! Is there a noticeable difference. There must've been brain imaging done on people's brains who've spent a lot of time on the net as well as those spent more time infront of a TV. What's the difference.
Speaking as an older person .. I haven't noticed any difference in how I react to people. I think I said earlier in my blogs that I tend to spend my time thinking of the nicer people in my life rather than the nasty ones .. they deserve more time after all. Still do.
The first of the last two women I mentioned recently came back into my life without realizing it. The one who called the guy who had to go into hospital "a nice woman" She found her way on to the profile I'd made to see what else she'd been doing. Well, she just followed my new name's link. I'd written on the profile that I was very ill and couldn't spend more time on the net. Think I mentioned it earlier. She messaged me saying how pleased she was to hear that I was getting better.
I, like the guy, just ignored her.
It was also suggested in the article I read about social networking (on the net) that being on the net stops people learning to identify body language and other non verbal methods of communication of everyday life. I guess a webcam would help with that to some degree.
I wondered if computers actually meant that lots of people have more varied communication with lots more people who they'd never otherwise know ... from different communities as well. Also wondered if concentrating on what people have to say without being distracted by other non verbal things will help people relate to what's actually being said which might help in RL
Anyway, I'm getting a mug of soup, me meds and going off to bed.
Now, I think that there should be lots of out of school/college things for people to have the choice of doing .. which includes computers .. but also includes lots of things that might include social activity face to face. Ofcourse there'll always be people who don't want to make use of it but that's their personal choice.
Apparently socializing on line and IRL produce different chemical responses in our brains .. on line there's no cuddle chemical produced .. which considering the amount of hugs going round the net I find difficult to believe .. I mean it's a virtual hugathon with lots of hug smilies just to make it a little easier .. u just have to put a smilie up and hold down to get lots and lots and lots of smilie hugs. Had to smile last week when I was using a rather ornate font to write hug in capital letters with .. it would've been many hugs over and over again .. but with this font it came out looking like BUG BUG BUG because of the way the H was drawn. I changed font pretty quickly!!!!!! But people send so many hugs 'n' cuddles across the net to friends they know through the net that I have to say that really surprized me.
Is something else happening that's helping people bond. Or are we just perfectly capable of bonding with people without the need of a hug chemical ... maybe just that we like them is all that's needed and we don't need a chemical to push us in that direction. I've formed friendships on line where I'm attached to the people .. and I know it works the same with my friends .. cause they tell me. It doesn't work with people who aren't my friends .. u know because they're messing me around .. but it works with time and common sense with those who are. And, just once, without common sense too, the woman with the extreme drink problem .. I was quite attached to her as a friend for a while .. she was ok to start off with .. and it hurt a bit when I realised that I really didn't want her as a friend. If I hadn't got attached to her it wouldn't've hurt at all . There've been other people who I haven't got attached to cause the warning signs have slowed the friendship down and not having them in my life anymore didn't hurt at all. And, ofcourse, there are internetty friends I care for a lot.
I think the vegetarian woman might've had a drink problem too though I'm not sure. I've talked it over a bit with my psychologist fwend .. and he's not sure what's going on there either. I don't miss her at all. Not missing her has nothing to do with there being a bonding chemical there or not .. I just didn't like the way she was behaving.
I have a net friend in hospital at the moment and judging by my worrying about her .. I've bonded there ok!!! I'm better today cause I've realised that she's going to be ok but yesterday I was worrying a lot. She's going to be in rather a lot of pain for a while but other than that should be ok
The cuddle chemical that was mentioned as being missing in response in our brains on line is oxytocin. If it is .. then there has to be other things going on that produce the same or similar reactions. I have friends on line who just so miss their internet friends if they can't chat to them .. and that's friendship and bonding.
And what about friends we've known for many. many years though don't get to see very often if at all .. the friendship and bonding is still there after so many years of not being with each other .. just the occasional phone call and/or letter and now time on line.
Ofcourse, I'm older now .. way past the time when I had a developing teenage brain .. I was a bit worried that teenage brain was often mentioned .. as opposed to young developing brain .. people younger than teenagers socialize on the net. Are they worried that the ability to produce oxytocin might be affected, or, the way the brain is structured more generally to form social relationships ... if younger people socialize in a way that sometimes doesn't promote the production of oxytocin. Young people mix quite a lot generally.
And what difference is there between interacting with a TV screen or with people you actually know on the net as far as developing brains go.
How has TV affected the formation of young brains!!!!!!!!!!! Is there a noticeable difference. There must've been brain imaging done on people's brains who've spent a lot of time on the net as well as those spent more time infront of a TV. What's the difference.
Speaking as an older person .. I haven't noticed any difference in how I react to people. I think I said earlier in my blogs that I tend to spend my time thinking of the nicer people in my life rather than the nasty ones .. they deserve more time after all. Still do.
The first of the last two women I mentioned recently came back into my life without realizing it. The one who called the guy who had to go into hospital "a nice woman" She found her way on to the profile I'd made to see what else she'd been doing. Well, she just followed my new name's link. I'd written on the profile that I was very ill and couldn't spend more time on the net. Think I mentioned it earlier. She messaged me saying how pleased she was to hear that I was getting better.
I, like the guy, just ignored her.
It was also suggested in the article I read about social networking (on the net) that being on the net stops people learning to identify body language and other non verbal methods of communication of everyday life. I guess a webcam would help with that to some degree.
I wondered if computers actually meant that lots of people have more varied communication with lots more people who they'd never otherwise know ... from different communities as well. Also wondered if concentrating on what people have to say without being distracted by other non verbal things will help people relate to what's actually being said which might help in RL
Anyway, I'm getting a mug of soup, me meds and going off to bed.
posted by Zeb at 12:19 PM
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