Can you answer me the following questions /soc/? >Have

I'm a pretty normal dude, had a reasonably sized friend group in high school with a couple of people I'd consider best friends. We'd do stuff at each other's houses regularly, etc etc. When high school finished I basically picked two friends to keep in contact with and drifted from everyone else which was fine because I was still invited to parties and events even though I only regularly talked to two best friends (also had some people from school working with me so I saw them a bit but we never really message or anything). I wouldn't consider my real life social life weird or lacking at all.
I also have a friend on the other side of the country though, and I'm Australian so it's basically like she's on another planet. We met about eight years ago? I think? We talked on Facebook non stop for years, like literally every waking hour, had a couple of times when we stopped talking because of dumb arguments but we're still going strong.
We even met up irl for the first time last year on a holiday to another Australian city and we're planning on going somewhere together again. (Also probs worth mentioning we're entirely platonic despite being a male/female relationship, dating would be weird.)
I do use social media like FB, YouTube, discord for vidya, a bit of Twitter and Tumblr.
I don't currently feel lonely or depressed I think mostly because I have a decent job now. I dropped uni midway through last year and didn't really do anything with my life for six months and I'm pretty sure I was depressed as hell throughout that. But my online friend supported me and I reconnected better with my irl friends too, so talking to all of them regularly has really helped.
Posting on social media has sorta helped me find my identity I think. I've posted a fair few statuses on FB with opinions and rants and jokes and it helps me find what the world sees of me outside of my small best friends group. I basically find it's a really good supplementary social outlet.

>no
>youtube I guess
>very
>no
>I dunno, I guess it's the most social I get so positive?
>Am 21, kinda young for that
>Yeah
>Sure

>>25625178
>Have you ever had an online friend* for more than 2 years?
Yes, a few. To varying degrees, but definitely a few.
>Do you use social media* other than 4chan, if so which ones?
I use facebook to talk to my dad, discord, skype, steam, and youtube, I used to use shanachan sometimes or omegle but that's it.
>Do you currently feel lonely and/or depressed?
I feel kind of bleh but not quite lonely or depressed. My depression goes on and off.
>If yes to the above question. Does posting on image boards and social media give any deep meaning to your life or some genuine long lasting satisfaction?
Sort of? I've met some great people off of them but mostly yelling at idiots helps quell my disdain for retards.
>Has social media and the internet a positive or negative effect on your social skills and social life in general?
sometimes it's negative (I end up complaining too much or looking too much at things that piss me off and it makes me feel shitty, or people try to betray me, or end up just being assholes after I emotionally invest in them), but also positive. I've met genuinely cool people and people I consider friends and people I can talk to and play video games with.
>How was your social life before you started participating in the social media hype and online communities (Around 1980~2004)?
I've always participated in them, it's what gave me a social life to begin with.
>Can you imagine a life without social media and online communities?
Yes, but I'm not sure how it would go. They have pros and cons after all.
>Would you want a life without social media that is more focused on real life activities with real life friends?
I would like a life that's more focused on real life as the internet is VERY distracting and kind of makes me feel like I'm just drifting per say, but "real friends" is just a dumb concept. Real friends are those who care and put in time and effort, regardless of whether they see you physically or not.

>>25625178
>Have you ever had an online friend* for more than 2 years?
Yes, someone who I know and love 3 years now we've met before irl tho, lived together for 3 months and planning to visit for another 3 months at the end of September.

>Do you use social media* other than 4chan, if so which ones?
Most active on facebook, tumblr, okcupid, fetlife, youtube. Also use discord, skype, google+, and twitter (not much tho). And I'm very active on Pornhub where I make money.

>Do you currently feel lonely and/or depressed?
OH YES.

>If yes to the above question. Does posting on image boards and social media give any deep meaning to your life or some genuine long lasting satisfaction?
Fuck no?

>Has social media and the internet a positive or negative effect on your social skills and social life in general?
I make money off posting porn on pornhub.

>How was your social life before you started participating in the social media hype and online communities (Around 1980~2004)?
Shitty as always. I was in highschool/middle school around those times for sure and it was always a shitty life. My dad an absent alcoholic, my mother has severe depression, schizophrenia, and autism. Also I was molested as a child by my step grandfather along with my female cousin and that fucked me up and turned me into a chronic masturbator. Throughout high school and middle school even if I could of had a normal social life my mom wouldn't allow me to because of her mental illnesses and hellicoptering. I never learned how to be social. Idk if I'm touched with aspie like my mom or just because of how fucked up my childhood was.

>Can you imagine a life without social media and online communities?
Sure.

>Would you want a life without social media that is more focused on real life activities with real life friends?
Either way I'd be a fuck up.

>Have you ever had an online friend* for more than 2 years?
No, it's all been less than a year.
>Do you use social media* other than 4chan, if so which ones?
Twitter, Reddit, Imgur, Tumblr, YouTube, Discord, Whisper, YikYak rip, Instagram,
>Do you currently feel lonely and/or depressed?
I'm not depressed, but I have pangs of loneliness.
>If yes to the above question. Does posting on image boards and social media give any deep meaning to your life or some genuine long lasting satisfaction?
No, it's just cheap entertainment.
>Has social media and the internet a positive or negative effect on your social skills and social life in general?
Yes. People tend to be their truer selves online. It has helped me understand what's behind the social niceties of people I meet irl.
>How was your social life before you started participating in the social media hype and online communities (Around 1980~2004)?
I have no idea. I've always been a part of online communities, at least since I've been "allowed" hur hur...
>Can you imagine a life without social media and online communities?
No. They're here to stay. But I like the anonymous places where I can drop in and participate in a particular thread without having to care about people on the other side.
>Would you want a life without social media that is more focused on real life activities with real life friends?
Social media is complementary, not substitutive of my real life. Online friends are not real friends. I learned that the hard way. No matter how much you trust that the person on the other end cares about you, they don't. It's too easy to dismiss you as less than a real person and a real friend with feelings.

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>>25625178
>>Have you ever had an online friend* for more than 2 years?
Yes

>>Do you use social media* other than 4chan, if so which ones?

I use reddit/discord/youtube/whatsapp, I guess, but I barely speak to anyone on any of these places

>>Do you currently feel lonely and/or depressed?

Very much so

>>If yes to the above question. Does posting on image boards and social media give any deep meaning to your life or some genuine long lasting satisfaction?

Not really, I'd like to meet people with the same interests as me. I barely post, though.

>>Has social media and the internet a positive or negative effect on your social skills and social life in general?

Well, I have social phobia, so the bar is really fucking low, but it's had a positive effect, I think

>>How was your social life before you started participating in the social media hype and online communities (Around 1980~2004)?

I had 1 friend up until I was 13 pretty much, made most of them on the internet

>>Can you imagine a life without social media and online communities?

No

>>Would you want a life without social media that is more focused on real life activities with real life friends?

What do you mean? I can have that, already. My facebook has been deactivated since 2014.

>Have you ever had an online friend* for more than 2 years?

Yes. Lasted about 2 years, was the closest relationship I've ever had with anyone. Started online, moved to texting, and we met up two times. The second time we met I spent a week with her, was the happiest of my life.

>Do you use social media* other than 4chan, if so which ones?

Reddit. Very rarely omegle. Don't use FB much.

>Do you currently feel lonely and/or depressed?

Very lonely. Maybe somewhat depressed, but not cripplingly so.

>If yes to the above question. Does posting on image boards and social media give any deep meaning to your life or some genuine long lasting satisfaction?

Not really. Helps me feel less alone.

>Has social media and the internet a positive or negative effect on your social skills and social life in general?

Impossible to say. However, I have had a lot of meaningful connections with people online, though they all faded away.

>How was your social life before you started participating in the social media hype and online communities (Around 1980~2004)?

I was a kid. Played video games, but I played outside too. Loved catching bugs, reading. Had a group of friends. I was a happy kid.

>Can you imagine a life without social media and online communities?

Yes. That's a no brainer. The question is whether I could do it, given my current circumstances.

>Would you want a life without social media that is more focused on real life activities with real life friends?

Absolutely. I want to be a part of a mutually supportive group of people that care about eachother and do things together.

>Have you ever had an online friend* for more than 2 years?
Yes. Out of my current friendships, likely the longest are people I met online. Several more than 10 years.

>Do you use social media* other than 4chan, if so which ones?

Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Kik. Also Flickr and Insta, but I use those exclusively for photography and would consider them professional profiles rather than personal. Ditto on LinkedIn (obviously).

>Do you currently feel lonely and/or depressed?
Lonely, yes. But I am also going through a divorce, so it would probably be weirder if I wasn't feeling lonely.

>If yes to the above question. Does posting on image boards and social media give any deep meaning to your life or some genuine long lasting satisfaction?
Not generally. Sometimes you find yourself in a stratifying conversation, but that is rare.

>Has social media and the internet a positive or negative effect on your social skills and social life in general?
I think this is impossible for me to separate from confounding variables; the most critical being just getting older. Me at 27 today versus the me of 17 are night and day.

>How was your social life before you started participating in the social media hype and online communities (Around 1980~2004)?
Difficult to recall based on my age at the time and the influence of parents on ones social life at that age. Although I would wager poorer, as my social life has gotten much better over time.

>Can you imagine a life without social media and online communities?
Yes, although organization would be much more difficult. Perhaps with a focus on a more selective, smaller social group?

>Would you want a life without social media that is more focused on real life activities with real life friends?
This feels like a false dichotomy. My friends and I spend a lot of time playing squash, climbing, cycling, hiking, camping, canoeing, etc, as well as pickup sports. And I feel like I have a fairly social-media saturated life.

I used to be normal and have healthy moral fibres in the traditional community but then the 1850s happened and I became a flaneur afflicted with anomie! I blame social media