I come back only to find a disappointing lack of discussion threads on Main so here I go I guess. 

How has the Internet affected your life? I'm sure a majority of you spend a LOT of time on the internet, whether it's socializing, watching animu or.. doing whatever people do on the interwebs. Now just think. During all these hours you've spent, all the arguments you've had with strangers and all of those laffs you laughed over stupid things on 4ch or something, has anything significant ever happened to you? It could be something big like meeting a partner online or getting semi-famous for some funny cat video you posted. Or it could be something subtle like meeting friends through forums or learning a lot about something. Spending a lot of time online is sure to have some sort of impact on your life, be it positive or negative so I want to know what you think of it. And try to imagine your life without the Internet haha, what would it be like?

So yeah, feel free to share your Internet experiences here and and thoughts, etcetc

sorry for the crappily made thread but I'm sleepy and typing this up on mobile
This shouldnt be a duplicate I mean I CTRL F'd this shit but if it is then lol my bad. I guess it'll get saged. DO THREADS EVEN GET SAGED ANYMORE. haHA idk I think the mods are all ded now
oh gosh I'm rambling anyways ITT WE POST THOUGHTS ON THE INTERWEBS AND HOW IMPORTANT/NOT IMPORTANT IT IS TO OUR LIVES

I guess I'll be the first to reply then. The internet is basically where I spend all of my time now, so it has affected me in many ways. I have met a lot of people online, and I think at this point I can actually say that I have more friends on the internet than in real life. This may seem sort of pathetic to outsiders (in other words, people who mostly spend their time in real life), but the thing is, I didn't really know that many people in real life that shared my interests. On the internet, all I have to do is go to a website, and bam, there are tons of people who share my interests. Of course, there's always the thought that it's "fake", but I like to believe that if I were to meet any of my internet friends in real life, there would still be a friendship there.

Sometimes, I really feel like I am living some sort of double life, one in real life and one on the internet. Which isn't to say that either one is more or less legitimate than the other; both are real, both are me, but they're quite different. However, I do feel that people in real life don't see internet friends as "legit."

Aside from just learning about myself, I've learned things on the internet as well. Not just from sites like wikipedia and such, but for example, sites like YouTube. I really learned a lot about arguments and how it really pays to be polite. With all the insults or differing opinions, it really helped to make me more thick-skinned and less sensitive, even in real life. I also learned the importance of choosing your fights wisely. Like in xkcd, you can't just start hours-long arguments every time you see somebody wrong on the internet, and in lots of cases, it's not even worth it to try.

As for meeting a partner online...call me pathetic but I think it would be cool if this were to happen. I get that there are "no women on the internet" and everything, but who knows, I might just find someone.

if theres no internet in my life........maybe i wouldnt skip my sleep on friday and saturday...hahaw...well thts good i think....>.<. N errr i cant watch alot of anime or read alot of manga cuz there aint alot of anime on the tv.....-_- well thts bad! n theres no YOUTUBE! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!! THTS SUCK!

I would get more done if I didn't have internet but have less fun! And I agree about the whole double life thing, though I've been trying to phase them together.

My life is the internet, I literally can't live without it. I mean, most people would just take that as "Oh you're just being dramatic" etc. but I only have a couple friends in real life and everyone else in online. I don't go out like most people in my year. Plus, the internet has helped me with my own problems as well as my real life friends' problems. If it wasn't for the internet and it being able to talk easier through a computer than face to face or over the phone, then I would never have been able to help one of my friends through a very rough spot and she may not have been here today. So yeah, the internet has helped me get through my life because without it I would be screwed.

honestly, I used to stay up late every night on the internet talking to friends on facebook, watching anime, reading manga online, ect, ect. But when my parents found out about it, I got my computer taken away and never I've gotten it back. To be truthful, I'm glad I got caught because I relized that I had huge addiction to it. It was like taking intnet drugs. I relized I'd kinda became a NEET and I spent less time with family. I literally could not get off of it and when I was off, I was bored even when I was doing super fun things. My conversations began to be boring and repetitive. i still use the computer but it belongs in the living room now and i only use it to do reports and read manga online and watch the occasional anime. i miss the internet sometimes but if i hadnt gotten it taken away, i wouldnt have dicovered some of my favortie books and manga. i like to draw and ive gotten somuch better because my eyes arnt glued to screen. im not saying dont get the internet but i dont think the internet should be your life. this is just my opinion though....

too much of anything in general can harm you and i think at one point i was on the internet a lot because of facebook. i think i was 13 when i got it but as i got older i realized how much time i was wasting so i just deactivated. it just showed me that i really shouldn't be putting so much time into something that i could be doing something else. later on, i got a tumblr and even though i'm on it all the time, i think it's helped me see things in a new and open way. it's also encouraged me start writing again. Now, i try to keep myself busy as much as possible but i do occasionally come on here and listen to music and i like meeting new people, it's pretty cool and less stress because you're talking online and not face to face which is helpful for a lot of people.

Bump

A weird thing for me is that even though I spend basically all my time online, I don't feel like I am addicted to the computer. I am basically on the computer all day, I take all my classes online so I am literally at the computer for most of the day. However, I never have an uncontrollable urge to hop on the computer or anything like that. I love spending time with my family and I'm even the one saying "Why are you guys going online? Why don't we just talk?" when we're out to eat or something. It's sort of strange, considering I am the one with the biggest "life" on the internet.

Ever since I discovered the Deepnet, well, let's just say I haven't slept properly since September of 2012...

The internet has affected my life both ways. Sometimes I feel that I spend too much time on it doing things I wouldbe better off not doing, but being on the internet has introduced me to FictionPress, which gives me a chance to read great writing and to publish some of my own work. The internet has provided me with music as well, which helps me express myself. These two inspiring outlets have outweighed the detrimental affects of the internet. Another way the internet is useful is through the chance of meeting others online. These are people who can argue with you, laugh with you, and even support you if you need it. Anonymity is a great way this is accomplished, and the internet allows such interaction on site like these. I am thankful for the internet .

It effected me more than it should; for better, or for worse o.e

It helps me connect to humanity and to know more about humans <3
Humans are intersting~

I feel like the internet has changed my life so much. Whether it's been for the good or bad. It's helped me cope and just get away from reality (not saying that it's tragic, just tiring). I've learned so much on the Internet and it allowed to find out what I love to do like play guitar and tinker and made my passion for technology grow. I've even met a girl who I love last year through whisper. Without the internet I wouldn't have her, or know anything about coding or raspberry pi or how to take things apart properly. Also without it I could've never joined the dollars, and be apart of something I hope will be great.

It's taking up too much of humans' time. Instead of spending time in nature, reading books, listening to good music and dancing to it in a slow motion - alone, humans are focused now on their screen phones. That is why I only use the internet at night and I try to spend less time on it as much as I can.

>>14 Well, if we are talking about books you could also read them on the internet.

well... I can't say it. There are many things that I have learn.. so.. Infinity.. ahaks

(bump for topic of discussion)

I am convinced that the internet is the ultimate and sinister tool for evil. It's embedded into our society deep enough so that going without its use will both alienate, and exhile you from the relevance of the already lighting fast moving digital media we tap into moment to moment.
It promises goodness in its nature but contunues to isolate, degrade and sully the honesty of both men and wemon, creating a superfical hive-mentality that is nothing but toxic, a corrosive veil. And yet, we're encoraged to use it to spread kindness and wellness amongst the morally eviserated status quo of today's population.
Although no one encorages you to stop using it all together. The intetnet is evil, yet we cant keep off the greatest tool ever used for mass manipulation.

Stay off the internet.

I've met a lot of interesting, unique people that I would probably not meet IRL and they taught me a lot about myself and the world in the process. I don't think our virtual self is any less authentic than our actual self, in fact I think it is the opposite. I learned that there's many ways of living, and not necessarily one set, rigid path to success.

i have become very popular on the internet, without Facebook and other social media, id be a loner still (lmao)

It made me corrupted but in the sametime free. The Internet is a cruel thing you know? It can control your life....

The internet is a very interesting media to me. It has enabled us as a whole to interact with people across borders that we would've never been able to meet, possibly in our lifetime. The internet has been around as long as I have and it continues to amaze me.

Well the internet has been around way longer than me I should say, otherwise i'd be a WWII veteran (and most likely have passed away already)