#Nerdy Neutrons Presents: "To See or Not to See?"
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @ashleighmayes and @saintpepsi
Ashleigh: Hello, darling readers! It’s Ashleigh and Jordan again with your next dose of Nerdy Neutrons!
Jordan: This time we'll be looking into the difference of meeting in person and meeting again to meeting on the net and then meeting in RL.
Ashleigh: To me personally, it’s much scarier to meet someone online and meet them in person. With the exception of meeting the friends of someone I ALREADY know in real life, I’ve never done it. My thing with meeting someone from the Internet is that you can literally be anyone you want. I could be a 500 lb African American man with a three foot long beard and you’d be none the wiser! One of my girlfriends talked to “Mr. Right” for a long time. It was really an old creeper using his hot grandson’s picture.
Jordan: Wow! I can see why you would be hesitant. I bet that old man had some mad skills, though. Nun chuck skills!!! While I agree with Ashleigh that some people could really be anyone in real life I consent that meeting online, and then in real life would be so much less creeptastic.
Ashleigh: How so, Jordan?
Jordan: Not being a girl who has to watch out for freaktastic douchebags, I can understand that this may be different for the sexes. From my point of view the way everyone is putting themselves all over the Internet and basically life casting their existence is you can create quite a truthful account of who someone is. Checking their photos you can see if they are an incessant party person, smoker, or playgirl. You can witness in real time what they are passionate about as they update their Facebook or Tweet something they enjoyed. All these, if you take the time to scoop them out, should build a pretty decent look into who a person really is.
Ashleigh: That’s true, but keep in mind that people will only show what they want to be seen. I have a double life when it comes to what is online and what happens in real life. If there are photos that I don’t want on Facebook, I untag them! I’m constantly thinking about potential employers and opportunities that I miss out on because of pictures from a party or whatever. I’m not saying that I’m a bad kid! There’s nothing that I’m really afraid of! But if there’s even a pic of you online with a red cup in your hand, people are gonna assume the worst even if YOU know it’s like…Apple Juice! Haha! And as far as meeting someone from the net: how many people do you know that put their status as “I’m ______ and I have a severe mental disorder that makes me want to murder people!” or “I’m __________ and I’m an alcoholic!”. None! The nitty gritty, dirty stuff isn’t gonna be seen online if the person cares about it.
Jordan: Very true, I know I should probably be a little more careful about the pictures that I have had put up online of me. After graduating from a Christian college I doubt any church. after looking through my Facebook pictures, would ever give me a job. Still, I operate under a strict show all theory. No lies. It will probably bite me in the ass someday. So I’ll give you that. I still think that even from a limited look at someone you can skim some things about them. I like to look at the friends they keep personally. Coming from the town I live in, I know a lot of the people here. Seeing the groups people run in makes it easier for me to understand how they are in real life. Like if I know the people they hang out with are all tweekers and potheads I might be a little cautious to meet them. However, if they are friends with generally chill people, hell, I’ll give them a chance.
Ashleigh: I do agree that you can tell a lot based on that. After all, “you are the company you keep”. However, that being said, I’m friends with a lot of people that have habits that I find scary. I’d never be a part of it, but I like them as people. I think it needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Another reason that meeting online first and then meeting in real life is scary is that, even if people are open and honest, you might not get what you bargained for. I’m not going to lie. Physical attraction is a big part of a relationship for me at first. Ever heard of the fat girl angle? The Myspace angle? Yeah…and there’s this thing called Photoshop. These things make it really easy for someone to lie.
Jordan: Oh, my! I might be a little freaked to meet you in person now. ;-) Well if they are going to the trouble to Photoshop themselves, then God damn! What’s a boy to do? Honestly, I came into this thinking I’m hot shit… I’m totally going to win this one and ended up finding I don’t really have a leg to stand on. You are completely right. Online we can be whatever and whoever we want to be. While you’re not always going to meet some crazy-eyed creeper when you meet someone offline for the first time, there’s always that possibility. Really, I think we should all demand a video conference. I have met a lot of people from an online source later and have yet to find a nut job. Still I know when I’ve been beaten. My dearest Ashleigh I award you the POSITRON!!! No matter what I could argue, the fact of it is you will never truly know who you are about to meet. Well played, my dear, Well played.
Ashleigh: Why thank you, Jordan! I will give you this, though…the Internet is a great way to connect with people of similar background and demographics. It helps us to reach out to those with similar interests and learn new things. For example: I met you, Jordan! Care to sign us out?
Jordan: Awww..... I’m blushing. With that folks, you have it. Really, either way you go there will always be risks and reasons not to meet people. It’s all a gamble, really. So with that in mind, stay safe and take chances. You never know when you’ll meet someone as wickedly cool as Ashleigh. Till next time, this is Paul Harvey saying... Good day. O.o OMG if you get that reference you’re an OLD MAN!!!! In all seriousness this is SaintPepsi. PEACE!
Follow us on Twitter!
Jordan: @saintpepsi
Ashleigh: @ashleighmayes/@kryptodies (www.kryptodies.com for awesome comic reviews!)