I can understand people getting too caught up in online life and relationships. I've seen it happen in online communities from games to topic-based message boards. The online world is a compelling place in which we can pick and choose which elements of ourselves to share. We can connect with (seemingly) like minds quickly and get a lot of warm fuzzies. Or, we can satisfy our inner information hound and learn, learn, learn. It's intoxicating.

There's a seductive charm to this partitioned existence. I fell prey to it once, in a game. I am thankful that all kinds of alarms went off for me one day when I realized that I was feeling resentful of tasks like grooming and chores that kept me away from the Internet. Immediately, I took a hiatus and when that was done, adopted a plan of limited online engagement to which I've stuck since. It's been several years, now and I've witnessed the thrall enveloping many people during that time.

The fix for our real world lives can't be found online. If the real life is unsatisfying, the online opiate will act as effectively as a physiological one. The work to fix the offline life exists in the offline world.

Having said that, this does not mean there is no value in online communities and relationships. Sure, there is! But it has a context and a limit. And the contours of real life are too rich, too varied, and too potent to allow them to be supplanted by something as limited as the online world.

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