It's not loneliness per se that I'm bothered by. It's the fact that in modern society, as an adult, it's hard to make new friends. I mean real friends - not the ones you talk to now and again but the kind that are always around. I'm not really preaching any special qualities that I want in a friend, just that they should be.. around.

It used to be that I could get online on IRC and speak to a bunch of people whom I'd never met in real life but still feel like we're actually friends, because we spoke almost every day. Now IRC is dead - it's ironic because there are more people online than ever before. However, because of this, Internet users are no longer a community.. and people will regard you suspiciously if you approach them on Yahoo Messenger just like they would if you did so in real life.

What's with this suspicion that people regard each other, anyway? Why are most people so unfriendly? Are they afraid? Safety's overrated anyway. We should be having fun and being friends. And being around each other instead of alone at our desks typing messages on forums

I'm not sure whether I have a point to make. Guess not.

Oh, one more thing. I'd like to have a pen-pal -- with real pen and paper letters, not emails. I've never had one (in fact I can't remember the last time I wrote an actual letter) but I suppose a bond of sorts forms between two people who take the time to write letters to each other instead of just sending e-greetings on Christmas. Let me know.

Cheers,
Radu

Your right Radu. People do seem very unfriendly and unapproachable these days. I Have a friend that calls me once a month. She's done so for almost eight years. We hang out seldom (every 6 months to a year). It's a weird relationship, but that's the best girl friend I've ever had. She's never screwed me over, and she really seems to care about me. She even calls me on my birthday! I don't know where to find genuinely 'good' friends, but I have lots and lots of crappy friends.

i understand that one...i feel for you both i know how you feel v.v

You're right Radu, actually the world of the internet is full of fake people and suspicion, sometimes I ask myself, where are the true people, people you can take as friends. We should be happy that there is such an easy way to communicate with people, but believe me it was easier to make true honest friends 10 years back, when there were no chat, no forums, I also miss writing normal letters. Look even here, I asked the members to write their location, it's no a big issue to say their location, just to consider the time difference between the States, Europe, and Australia; Nobody reacted. I had a complete profile, and so I was so angry, and I removed my information from the profile, why to keep it if nobody cares to say anything about himself. This is the Internet, the suspicious media.

Hi realandtruelove, I agree with you: i think that suspicion is most common among people. But what can we do with it? Many people look at me with suspicion when I'm hanging out alone: at the bar, at the cafeteria, at the dorm... everywhere. I wear tidy clothes, I don't stink, I don't harm anyone, i try to be kind to the people I don't know. I wonder either where am I wrong or if it's just my imagination for I see everyone suspicious.
Here's something I've been told: a girl I know told me that one morning she was talking to another girl she knows. One guy was walking down the street and suddenly stopped. He was staring at the two girls and the first one told me that she thought "Oh my God, this guy is staring at me, he must be a maniac!". Actually he is a friend of the other girl, and when she noticed him and said hello, everything turned out to be ok.....