[~Kizwiz~]

With the net being in the news so much recently with stories such as;


Web games May Hold Murder Clues

and an article in todays Sun where it says that more than half of all married men have had an affair, according to a shocking new survey by NetDoctor. And it is easier than ever to arrange extra-curricular activity in secret, thanks to websites such as MaritalAffair.co.uk and IllicitEncounters.com

Does the internet make it easier for people to lead a double life that is totally different from the one that you lead away from it?

Does it make it easier to cheat? Or to be more aggressive or maybe to even bully someone?

[Novo]

more then half off all married man

i highly doubt that lol

[Mrluvaluva]

You never know what you are getting on the internet. People can be different on the net to the way they are in real life. Some people put on an act.

[Scarlett.]

Im myself on teh intarwebs!

[Annie]

I have a online persona that is a bit different from my real life. Plus people dont know that I am on TiBB apart from my best mate and my boyfriend but they dont understand what its like and why i am addicted.

I think it would be easier to cheat online than in real life as you can build up your personality etc before meeting the person so they are more likely to be liked.

[Novo]

i don't get what people mean when they say they act differently online

i dont think i'd be able able to do it

forums to be are just a hobby not really a main part of my life

[Lauren]

Definitely easier.

For a moment I'll ignore the point of meeting up with people and focus solely on people that only chat online and never meet.

The anonymity the internet provides is so easy. They can develop someone they've always wanted to be, act "confident" when in real life they're not, develop social skills such as flirting or ease of discussion using just the internet. In short, the internet is a gateway to reinventing oneself if they so wish.

But obviously with the level of anonymity it's open to so much abuse. People who harbour aggression and maybe don't show it in real life due to confidence issues will just let rip on the internet, and can become very threatening due to the fact it won't be reciprocated (whereas in "real life" it will be).

Also; people forget that the people they're speaking to are actually real people with lives. It's much easier to insult some faceless "screen name" than it is to go up to someone on the street and call them names. Sometimes it can really get out of hand when bullying start, because often the person doing it doesn't consider that this person has a life, a family, memories and feelings.

I remember reading a story about a teenager who killed himself cos his online girlfriend didn't want to chat to him one night. Obviously he held that "relationship" closer than she did. After he'd killed himself and the police had done their investigations I remember reading that this girl was severely depressed because she said she felt herself to blame cos she never took it seriously or anything as it was just online. That's one way it can become really dangerous.

In terms of meeting others, I think it's definitely easier to do so.
The main difficulty in meeting new people is to go up to them and chat - social networking sites such as MySpace, Bebo and Facebook help this naturally come along and can begin communications. Meeting up is the easy bit after this initial interaction. I imagine that's why so many people cheat because of the internet - they get the hard bit out of the way.

Edit: I am myself online. Maybe a little bit more confident, but that's because I'm hardly going to be shy when typing

[Loukas]

Well? I'm sure people do lead double lives on the Internet but not people that you get to know EXTREAMLY well. And maybe end up marrying them and having there children *Cough* Kiz Moon *Cough*

I think there are loads of people that come on the Internet, join forums, make false msn's to bully somebody to make themselves feel better. If this is true then maybe technology is the answer to the rise of children bullying in school. If that true the never ending circle of bullying will go on forever. Like it or not. Sorry that was not the main talk of convo but i just had to let that out.

I think it does also make it easier to cheat, with technology growing it will make it easyer to get in contact with people, Pager, Mobile, Email ect i mean, the average person have 2 phones, i know, i mean i have 2 and theres probably loads of reasons for having 2 phones but it might also mean, 2 phones = 2 different lives? You just never know..

[AngRemembered]

yes, but not always in a negative way.

I joined this site with the intention of gaining news about BB and the bonus of interacting with fans of the show ect...

I had no intentions of anything else than that till I discovered such nice genuine people, my double life then started I could be reborn on the net, I wasnt a sick housebound and retired shambles anymore.
I was Angela a new fresh faced woman again and suddenly life was a real joy, I mean real special.
It has helped me cope through the "worst" time of my life and by far the greatest fear in my life, dying is enough to frighten anyone.

I know I can be grouchy, and bitchy at times, and at others seemingly to "cheesy" for words, but thatnks to you people here this double life has helped me cope, and that in turn has helped my familly to at home.

No matter what some people may think of me, I'll always be grateful of the net's opportunity to lead such a life away from reality albeit semi reality now. I have had the best 4 months ever on here and having been given just that time agin or up to year left to live by the "experts" now I cant imagine a better place to be spending my remaining days.

Yes, the internet may have its faults, but thank god for allowing me to take advantage of this medium, and to meet you folk at tibb, I can honestly say there isnt ONE member here I regret meeting online...not one.

And more than a few members here who have meant the world to me, and I will never feel silly or OTT for saying that at opportunities like this one.

[Mrluvaluva]

Originally posted by Lauren

I imagine that's why so many people cheat because of the internet - they get the hard bit out of the way.

I bet they do!

[Lauren]

Originally posted by Mrluvaluva

I bet they do!

Omg. Haha.

[Novo]

Originally posted by Angiebabe
yes, but not always in a negative way.

I joined this site with the intention of gaining news about BB and the bonus of interacting with fans of the show ect...

I had no intentions of anything else than that till I discovered such nice genuine people, my double life then started I could be reborn on the net, I wasnt a sick housebound and retired shambles anymore.
I was Angela a new fresh faced woman again and suddenly life was a real joy, I mean real special.
It has helped me cope through the "worst" time of my life and by far the greatest fear in my life, dying is enough to frighten anyone.

I know I can be grouchy, and bitchy at times, and at others seemingly to "cheesy" for words, but thatnks to you people here this double life has helped me cope, and that in turn has helped my familly to at home.

No matter what some people may think of me, I'll always be grateful of the net's opportunity to lead such a life away from reality albeit semi reality now. I have had the best 4 months ever on here and having been given just that time agin or up to year left to live by the "experts" now I cant imagine a better place to be spending my remaining days.

Yes, the internet may have its faults, but thank god for allowing me to take advantage of this medium, and to meet you folk at tibb, I can honestly say there isnt ONE member here I regret meeting online...not one.

And more than a few members here who have meant the world to me, and I will never feel silly or OTT for saying that at opportunities like this one.

[NettoSuperstar!]

I bet half the people on here do!

[Mrluvaluva]

I could not even care to count up the number of trolls that have been on here and members with multiple personas.

[Sunny_01]

I imagine it would be very easy to lead a double life online if you did so desire. You could create any persona you wanted for yourself. How hard would it be. What do many of us really know about each other on this forum to be honest? many people are possibly very different in "real life"

[Tom]

I'm a bit different in real life than online, I'm not so articulate in real life (if I even am anyway on here) because I open my mouth before I think then come out with the most pointless comments and by the time I've worded it properly its too late because everyone won't take your point seriously anyway

A few of you who have me on MSN will see I'm a bit different to on here.

Anyway anyone on here could be anyone, it wouldn't surprise me if some people are not who they say they are, but make out that they are who they want to be and if they're not harming anyone then theres no problem with that I suppose. Personally I find it pointless though. I always find honesty to be the best policy (even if its bad) and I'd rather people like me or hate me for being me than someone who I'm trying to be or just aren't.

[Z]

I'm not as outrageous as I am in real life. Those of you who speak to me on MSN will notice I'm even different from here to MSN. It's all dependent on the person though - I think the majority of people on this website are always going to be genuine people, because it's a forum which you join because you want to post opinions - only people who are confident express their opinions freely, and certainly a person can become more confident by using the Internet to express themselves.

It's much easier to lie about who you are over the Internet, but I don't think we should be living in a heightened state of uneasiness every time we meet someone over the Internet, because they're most likely who they say they are. You need to have some restraint over what kind of information you share, I have no qualms about telling people about my life - but I'd never give out personal details like my home address. Nothing that could allow a person to come find me, if you know what I mean. You have to be careful!