About IRC Addiction

Hi Tatiana,

It's a very true reflection by somebody who has gotten addicted to IRC before. I can recognise some parts as what I have experienced before myself. :P Yup, I was an IRC addict once, now no longer.

My own experience was: I realised my addiction when problems cropped up. I decided to stop my addiction before my problems worsen. I spreaded my time over a range of extra-curricula activities, giving tuition and visiting relatives, such that I have no time for IRC. I'm doing fine now, still busy with my work and new commitments. And I'm still maintaining contact with several good friends I've made over IRC. :)

My interviewees (from the paper I've wrote about IRC) mentioned that IRC to them is merely like one of the many means of knowing people. Just like knowing someone in school, or knowing someone in a hobby club or knowing someone via the pen-palling service. To them, it's just a communication tool--to know more people, to know a wider variety of people.

I think IRC becomes more real because our emotions are involved when we interact in it. No matter whether we portray a different self in IRC, or we lie or fool around in IRC, we are still us. We still bring in our prejudices, our likes and dislikes, etc. IRC is still a part of our lives, just as television and radio are.

And the danger comes when either you or the person on the other end do not realise that it is real. Either can get hurt just because of that. I suppose it's the same as having differing perspectives. A harmless word from me may be a hurtful word to you. Same as daily life.

I guess, looking for social affiliation is what underlies this talk over IRC. It doesn't have to be what we don't find in real life. Maybe we just want more of it. If we don't have IRC, we'll seek something else. Maybe.

Perhaps the amazing thing about IRC is how people can move away from the 'common' belief/judgement and cling unto a 'new' belief/judgement -like truly loving someone whom you have never met.

Replies:

Re: About IRC Addiction, by MDLP, 9/15/99 Re: About IRC Addiction, by John, 9/16/99

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