Monday, April 30, 2007

Online Chatting

I haven't blogged for weeks now since I've been tied down with other pressing matters and am no longer on vacation. Plus, I am back to one of my hobbies which is online chatting when I feel bored or have nothing else to do.
Now, online chatting is very educational. Aside from the fact that I meet people from all over the world and get exposed to different personalities, I also catch a glimpse of how people think and behave when they can say things they would never say face to face.
Though I chat online just to talk with people, male or female, a lot of people chat online to do nasty things. Cybersex is so common now and with the advent of webcams, online chatters can do more than talk about sex pornographically. It used to be just the sending of pics to online chatmates, but it is more animated now. They just use the net for sexual gratification and nothing more. They can be married or single; it does not really matter to them as long as they can wank off.
On the other side of the coin, some chatters want to meet someone online for romance. For some reason or another, they have this notion that there must be someone wonderful they can meet on the net. Of course, since life has become too busy nowadays, the net has also become the best option to meet romantic partners to beat the lack of time for actual face to face encounters. Now, whether these people also do cybersex while trying to find love on the net or not is something I cannot determine yet.
Then, there are those who spew out their sentiments online. Some use chatting to evangelize people while some trash other cultures or ideas or beliefs. For instance, I talked with this Canadian guy who contacted me first. He told me how much he hated Filipino culture. He called Filipinas prostitutes and hypocrites (for going to church even if they are prostituting themselves). The irony was he said he had a Filipina girlfriend before and he considered her nice. DUH!
As for me, I do have my share of fun online. I prefer clean chat, of course, but have experienced meeting cybersex freaks. During the time I was still in the dark about how to put nasty people on ignore, I got exposed to what people say when they want cybersex. First, they would determine your gender. If the gender suited them, they proceeded with the talk about underwear and sex organs. Some would like you to respond in kind while for some, it didn't matter if you responded or not as long as they could say what they wanted. It was just like reading a pornographic story. Good thing there were no webcams then, though one perverted guy sent me a pic of his erect genitalia. Hey, don't blame me! He said he was sending me his pic. I just didn't know which part he was going to send. Nowadays when I can put perverts on ignore, I am no longer bothered by such nastiness. I do try to be polite by saying I am not into cybersex and would you believe it, some even become nicer to me. This shows that people behave according to what is expected of them most of the time. However, some perverts are beyond salvation. Thank God for the ignore button!
For me it is more fun meeting nice people on the net--The ones I can actually talk to properly and whom I can meet in real life as friends. With this type of people, I learn quite a lot about different culture and lifestyle. I also get to discuss issues and ideas that I would like to talk about. Some of these people have stayed as my online chatmates unlike some who had already dropped me.
I do notice that when I have outlived my purpose as someone's chatmate, I am no longer much of interest to him/her. Meaning, if someone has found a boyfriend or a girlfriend (and usually, men contact me more than women), I no longer get to talk to them that much. However, some talk to me again when their object of interest has dumped them. So I am functioning more like a therapist to them or a stand-by chatmate when things go wrong. It is a good thing I have no expectations of them and know that chatting is an outlet for most lonely people and a lot of perverted ones. Shucks! Does this mean that I am lonely or a pervert? LOL....hopefully not! To be honest, I just like the fact that I can meet some interesting people without going out of the house and I know I can be a "friend" for a season for most of my chatmates.
Well, online chatting has become more than just a behavior for losers as it was commonly perceived years ago when it was not so popular. Today, almost everyone chats either with a relative, a friend they've met in real life and net friends. Some even use chatting as a way to network and provide business for themselves.
I know online chatting will still remain one of my hobbies even though I usually do it for a season when work doesn't encroach on my time. It keeps me from getting bored. It keeps me updated. Long live chatrooms!