My Aspie Situation Has Benefited From The Internet

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beethree,

Yeah, that aspect of emailing applies to most people over a certain age who have not grown up in the 'texting' culture. In fact, some (NT) people and I were just recently talking about how awkward it is to figure out whether an email conversation is over or not. One thing you can do is just write something lighthearted as you would when parting in person, such as, "Well I guess that pretty much says it all ...talk to you later my friend" or something like that.

IM is not comfortable for me because if the other person is slow I dislike waiting while they type a reply; otoh if they're very quick it gets confusing as in a chatroom ...a situation in which we might be answering a previous question but it looks as though it's answering a subsequent question. All that kind of stuff, yuck.

Me too !
I guess we can assess ourselves by such time-honored markers as, Is it interfering with your ability to support yourself ? and Is it threatening your relationships ?

"Giant social experiment":
I was intrigued a few years ago when I read The Phenomenon of Man by Pere Teilhard de Chardin, which was written way back in 1955: Pere Teilhard predicted an external brain which he called the "noosphere".
Similarly,
I recall also having read in a Reader's Digest (of all places) when I was in my teens, that the human race would probably be connected in the near future by "a huge external nervous system".
In my judgement,
the internet is the most significant tech development that's occurred in my lifetime.

People have to play by my rules more online. I'm good with words. They helped me understand other people better. Down side has been I socialized way too much.... met a lot of real meanies online.... been bullied online as well...

So for good and bad.

At the beginning I used to think we played exactly by the same rules, but it didn't take too long before I realized people lie and manipulate online as well, and do things I'm clueless about, stuff you can do with just language.

Look for those articles on the internet please.
Also look up the concept of a 'collective counciousness' for more information re that. Jjacking everyone into a hivemind seems like an optimal answer to dealing with all the conflict and loneliness people go through. All that anomie is gone.....

....wow that's straight out of code geass/neon genesis evangelion. I'm suck a weeaboo....

When the Internet became more popular with the public here in 1996, I thought I'd found heaven

I also agree with another poster that the Internet has been a leveller for me socially as well, because of its primarily text-based nature. I actually feel like I can be more direct and open with others in a way that I can't face-to-face, and my online persona is probably closer to what I would like to express to other people if I wasn't so awkward around them.

i also grew up before the internet as we know it.

indeed.

@frag

Sooo true; humans will find a way to be deceitful and divisive - and stir up rancor - in any medium, it seems.


@Warsie

The 'noosphere' or 'huge external nervous system' is not the same concept as a hive mind. For one thing, a hive mind neutralizes dissent (or where it is impossible to neutralize, conceals it). I could refer to some examples from public life, but that might be incendiary and this isn't the board for it.

@SmallFruitSong

Exactly. I think it might have been I who spoke of the leveling, and what you wrote in your post also describes my situation. No doubt I still come across as a little strange even on the internet if it's not someone I know very well, but it's quite a bit more manageable.

@katzefrau

Yes ~ one of the few cords that helped attach some of us to the human race !

~ * ~
Thanks guys for making me feel so welcome here. I am really enjoying you.

Good night !

Haha, I kept seeing the word "Phoenix" underneath the name of so many people here; I was wondering why so many aspies were from the same city ! ! "Does intense dry heat have some effect on neurology ?"
Just now realized it corresponds to the "Hummingbird" under my name, doh.