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are forums therapeutic?


DUBSY
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I have no training, yet will throw in my two cents worth. Communicating with individuals is therapeutic, but like any communications/interactions they can be good or bad. Those that might be confined to home can use the forums to communicate and reach out to the world in a manner that wouldn't normally be available to them.  

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I think it depends on your mindset (mood) and expectations. As posted above, it can either be relaxing or aggravating depending on how you interpret the responses of others. As we all know this is a poor medium for interpreting the subtleties of interpersonal communications that we normally have no issues with when face-to-face and small innocuous comments or good natured ribbing can be taken the wrong way.

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My business partner wrote his PhD doctoral thesis about the effects of communication with and through computers. Back in the day it was nothing compared to the smart phones stuck to our faces these days. His conclusion was pretty adversely for many if not most cases.

Human interaction needs to be in person in order to be 'healthy'. I recall syndromes and symptoms ranging from less activity, less exercise, resulting obesity, decline of health, excessive sitting through out the day increasing your chances of various cancers, to mental issues like social anxiety, depression as well as addictive consequences, sleep deprivation, irregular lifestyle, etc.

When you look at the youngest generations and how they live their lives glued to computers, sucked into the internet and games, you can pretty easily understand why personal interaction in RL (real life) is much healthier all around. Only exception might be for somebody who can't leave the house out of health related reasons.

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I found a certain forum which is not to be named really, really therapeutic back in the old days.  I could go in and get stuff off my chest that was annoying me and get positive feedback.  It was nice to be able to vent and share with like-minded people.

Not any more.  You can't share anything personal these days or else you get attacked and ridiculed.

Conservative, Christian, rural white guys with traditional American values are now public enemy #1 these days.  Even on some gun forums.  Or at least ones owned by Canadians...

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Some forums are therapeutic, or at least reassuring. Others are battle grounds. Depends on how thick of skin you have and how much joy you take in the debate. Of course at the same time so forums are beyond disconcerting.

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The internet is the largest echo chamber ever made.   So on one hand it reinforces how you feel....no matter how absurd.  There is a group of you out there. And the internet means you found each other. 

 

The other side of that, is I think you are also exposed to more ideas than in the past.  I do not really know what that means in terms of good or bad. 

 

Specific to forums, for me, I think they are an amazing tool.  You can learn anything about anything.  I also like the ability to have a conversation at 3 in the morning.  I am a night owl.  Forums are a place to connect with humanity. 

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1 hour ago, PNWguy said:

Conservative, Christian, rural white guys with traditional American values are now public enemy #1 these days.

AMEN!

Also pick any product or service you can possibly purchase and if more than one was sold there is a group on the internet discussing it. Or a Youtube video on how to use it. 

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It can be but growing up without the net was a blessing around you went to the local drags hung out met people and today s age it's not a personal interaction like I had growing. Listen to the country song   1970 something.                                           Today's tweens and teenagers get into more trouble nowadays because of no person to person hanging out it's Facebook and texting.     .forums can be good but also bad it's just what happens on that particular day.some weekend s I drive by our old hangout and drag and see nothing. I miss those days and would give up internet to have them back because I lived fine not knowing about it.      I was 25 before I got online . I like it but it is just a tool.                                       

      

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Funny how the cops cracked down on all of us high school kids cruising main street in our muscle cars and hanging out in parking lots socializing.  Thought we were public enemy #1 back in the 80's.

Nobody cruises main street anymore in my home town.  Now they hang out at the skate park.

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here we were lucky , the local drag went down main street thru a stop light you pull into the arcade  hang out and drive back the same route . people cruised this same drag in our small town for over 6o years   , the cops didnt bother us because businesses  got together and allowed us to use their parking lots   after 8 on friday  ,saturday ,sunday  til whenever .  also you could go 3 hours without a cop in site .

 

the arcade had a pay phone , it was called the party line , when someone was having a party it would ring and folks would head out lol 

then right out of town we had a stretch of road  for drag racing .       

Edited by ASH
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