Question: Would you skip offline activities in order to chat with an online person?
This is a very simple question that affects me on a daily basis. It is a question that is slowly ceasing to exist in any form: the offline world vs. the online world, due the the association and interaction I have with people online. Let us imagine a scenario where you question the validity of giving more importance to chatting someone online, to obtain nothing other than satisfaction from that chatting, compared to offline activities.
For this question, let us assume that you have no financial interest in that online contact with whom you are chatting, and that you interact with that online contact simply because you enjoy or value it in some manner other than to pass time. Would you give up some offline activities, on a one-time basis or even regularly or randomly, in order to chat online with someone that you have never met offline?
Some things offline that you may skip:
Going to a movie
A meeting with a friend or someone else
Meeting someone
Going to an art exhibition
Going shopping
Going for a walk
Going out to run with your dogs
Going out to steal other dogs to run with them and then returning them afterwards
Going to the bar
Going to a restaurant
Going out for anything that can be skipped in emergency situations
The online thing that you may do instead of the offline things:
Chat with someone online, that you know a bit, but that you have never met offline
What do you think?
For this question, let us assume that “it depends on the person” phrase is not available - we are not considering the attachment of an online person here but the existence of such a situation. A yes or no, or some other answer, besides the “it depends” phenomenon, can do better here. What do you think? Is there anything you can think of, that you may never give up offline even once, for anyone online that you have ever met?
Similar example: would you skip going outside just to read an upcoming article at this site? No??!! :’(
Thank you for reading. I hope you skipped and paused this reading in the middle at least once in order to go and do something offline.
(2 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
Loading ...
( August 6th, 2008 at 10:26 pm )
I would use blackberry/fring to chat with the online person and do my offline activity at the same time.
If there is a confusion there also, I would stick to the one which I started first (chatting/offline acitivity)
( August 7th, 2008 at 10:41 pm )
Yes…I may;
because I have a few friends over seas and out of state(1-met in person;3- have not met in person;but plan to someday) that I can’t do offline activities with…I value our online time/chats together…
( August 8th, 2008 at 4:11 am )
actually it really depends. there are only two friends that i will skip all my offline tasks just to chat with them. I.e. my penguins fella. But if others I just leave the computer on and when I’m done with my stuff, then I’ll entertain the messages. I feel that having things done is much more important than chatting (assume that it is not important conversation). Time is limited and chatting tends to take up time
( August 9th, 2008 at 1:31 am )
since you specifically mentioned someone i have never met offline, i can say that i have, in the old ICQ days almost all online conversation was with people i had never met.. i dont do it anymore, but i have done so a long long time ago.. You didnt mention what your position is
( August 11th, 2008 at 2:21 pm )
Yes, I may skip online activities! I work with my clients on skype Ymesssenger or skype. Many times I skip them.
( August 11th, 2008 at 10:08 pm )
Thanks for blocking me.. you think you could delete me off your contacts completely so I can take you off aswell?… (and then you can delete this message too) thanx.
( August 13th, 2008 at 10:31 am )
I have a few friends over seas and out of district actually it really depends on me.There are only two friends in aborad that i will skip all my offline tasks just to chat with them.But if others I just leave the computer on and when I’m done with my stuff, then I’ll entertain the messages.Someone i have never met offline, i can say that i have, in the old ICQ days almost all online conversation was with people i had never met..
( August 14th, 2008 at 12:18 am )
Thanks for the comment everyone. As for comment #6 to this post, you can kind of imagine what is going on, explained a bit in my latest twitter updates also. I’ll post a short article on such occurrences more as to how such a thing can cause confusion for everyone, specially a commentor like you. Thanks!
Sawai, thanks for the comment. : ) That is good to know. I should maybe try to add that not all the instant messenger services, used by the other person, may be on fring. That is a good concept though, and if that was possible, I think I would try to do it more too maybe.
Priority setting according to the occurrence times and occurrence priority - that is a good way to look at it. : ) Thanks for sharing.
Michelle, thank you for sharing too.
I am kind of the same - I would like to meet some people some day and value my time with them online, which in such a case is all that keeps the connection together or more stable on some levels and in some things. Maybe this deserves antoher post to go into this area further, hmmm? 
Thanks again.
Jerine, how are you? Thanks for the comment. Yes, I realize what you mean by your comment. So in your view, chatting can be a 2nd priority compared to offline activities, unless it is with the 2 people, I see. Thanks for sharing too.
Formula one, thanks for commenting too. Yes, the old ICQ days were indeed the “wow!” days back then in their own form, resulting in a lot of chatting as a new form of socializing that was clearly more interesting in many forms for many people.
Heh, as for my position, yes, I have in the past and to this day also skip offline activities for *some people* online, regardless of what I am doing, unless it is a real emergency [in the offline world], in which I try to get back as soon as possible and also let the other person know about it. For me, it is the other person, and not the method of communication, that counts. Thank you for indirectly asking.
A. Georgiev, thanks for sharing too. Excellent client-case example indeed. So for your, Skype or other messengers have people on them which are paying clients and thus you can skip offline activities? Also, what if there are non-clients on Skype? What would you do in that case? Thanks.
Blanca, thanks for commenting and ummm, your own comment answers your ownself please: What more can I do? Block the blocking and then delete the blocking by blocking it some more? Also, maybe next time you can please use the contact form for this since it is not directly related to the post, as your comment confused a few other commentors to this post who contacted me to let me know I had your comments to this post [thanks Sawai
]. Good bye one more time.
CRM lotus Notes, thanks for the comment too. That is a good example too, like all the above examples. So the old-icq-excitement phenomenon works in your case too, like in the case of formula one above [in comment # 4].
The 2 friends that you can skip all your offline tasks for - I am assuming you have never met them?
Thanks again for sharing your information related to this post - I really appreciate it.
( August 14th, 2008 at 4:35 am )
Depends on who you are chatting to and what the subject is. For example I used to remember when I had a gf, we used to chat alot online because for some reason we used to have alot of fun. I know it’s time wasting, but it was all worth it. I would skip anything to get back that feeling, now she’s gone and I haven’t chatted to anybody ever since. Another reason why I would skip an offline activity is because I would chat to a friend who I haven seen for a long time since he is living in another country, that is also worth skipping an offline activity.
( August 14th, 2008 at 7:30 am )
good article, congrats man, bvs
( August 14th, 2008 at 9:20 am )
I’ve probably done it in the past but this is a line I draw not to cross. You don’t want your Internet life to become your “real” life, if that makes sense.
( August 15th, 2008 at 5:26 pm )
good question. it probably depends on the person i am chatting with and the activity i am skipping.
i’ll probably address this question in my blog some time. it’s a good one.
( August 15th, 2008 at 5:27 pm )
btw, my short answer is no.
( August 15th, 2008 at 5:44 pm )
Hi all. : )
Joey Martini, thanks for the comment. So in your case, your experience revolves around chatting with your gf [girlfriend] online? So you would skip offline activities for your gf, and for your friend since you have not seen him for a long time, I see.
Does this mean that you are revolving your answer based on the closeness/relationship of the other person with you?
Thanks for sharing.
Arvin, thanks for the comment - I appreciate the nice words. May I ask if you have any answer for this question? : )
Bucko, thanks for the comment too.
So for you, the offline life is the real life and the online life is not, correct? Are there other online things also, besides chatting, that you do not let cross-over or be prioritized over offline things?
Suki, thanks for the comment. I see - so for you it depends on the importance of the online person compared to the importance of the offline activity. : ) I’ll be keeping an eye out on your site more then.
Thanks again.
( August 17th, 2008 at 9:58 am )
Good question.If i am feeling good to chat with somebody online to past time ,i will give up my offline activity.
( August 17th, 2008 at 10:00 am )
This is good question.I would like to say no way for me to give up on offline acticity.
( August 19th, 2008 at 10:41 pm )
Its a very good question I will feel very happy to chat with online friend and i will give up my offline works.
( August 23rd, 2008 at 11:26 am )
i guess it would depend, but based on the list of activities you gave, i think i’d rather do the offline stuff. just seems more enjoyable since i can get my entire person involved in what i’m doing. and i get to go out of the house too, which can be refreshing in its own way.
for me to choose to stay at home, that offline person would have to be pretty important, and right now, i don’t yet know anyone like that…
( August 26th, 2008 at 8:28 am )
Ok, I have a pretty simple answer that when I think about it comes across as pretty negative: when I’m at work, unless I’m talking to my boss, or it’s vitally related to work, I’ll usually back out of a conversation with a workmate if I get an PM from a non-work friend. Does that mean I really value time with my friends, or is it a comment on my feelings toward my workmates?………… I hope it’s the former!
( August 26th, 2008 at 10:14 am )
Thank you very much It is enough knowledge
( August 26th, 2008 at 11:46 pm )
The answer is yes. Is it healthy the answer is no. Guess that is why they have online addiction orgs just like alcoholics.
( September 1st, 2008 at 6:04 pm )
I have skipped offline activities in the past to talk to people online, that I have never met. I no longer do this, but I have to say that I did do it when I was younger. Now thinking back on it, I wonder why I did this…. Nowadays I could just use text message, or other mobile devices.
( September 2nd, 2008 at 6:39 pm )
There’s always the tradeoff that the more online friends you have the less real buddies you might actually hang out with.
( September 5th, 2008 at 2:58 pm )
Thanks for sharing all these insights. I will surely take note of all of these. I have in fact bookmarked your site.
( September 8th, 2008 at 10:42 am )
I would and have many times, just because i work online, not just to chat with somebody… But to work. It’s not good. The internet has taken over us all… Well, me anyways. I think i need help.
( September 10th, 2008 at 5:20 am )
When I was younger I spended hours in chat with people that I have never met. Now I wonder why I did this. Time, spending in chat is waste for me. Noone and nothing can makes me to skip an offline activity.
( September 17th, 2008 at 1:30 pm )
No definitely not. As much as I love my online friends, truth is, I will probably never meet them face to face. I would much rather invest my time in my offline friends because those are the people who will be there for you when you need them. I enjoy chatting, skyping, aiming, myspacing, and facebooking just as much as the next person but I would much rather pick up the phone and call my friend or physically go and visit them. Spending time with friends is very important to me.
( September 23rd, 2008 at 2:10 pm )
I’ve been there and done that. Unless you are lonely there probably is not much reason to be ignoring real life in place of internet geekery.
( October 19th, 2008 at 9:07 am )
Hmm… interesting question. I have to say the physical things and people around me take precedence over the ideological, so yes, I would skip talking to someone online whom I had never met before in order to do an offline activity. The fact is, when I do an offline activity, I’m normally doing that activity with someone I associate with physically (not intimately — don’t get me wrong!), and I feel more of an “obligation” (though once again, don’t get me wrong, doing things with friends is no obligation per se) to the immediacy of those around me than those online. Not to say my online world and friends aren’t real, but they do come secondary. I guess we all just have to prioritize. I sound so mean, don’t I?
( October 22nd, 2008 at 12:40 am )
For me too, it depends on who I’m chatting with. Some how a person you’ve never met in person is more interesting to chat to than others…Ever had that experience?
( October 22nd, 2008 at 12:57 am )
i would never skip an offline activity to do an online activity unless i was in a long distance relationship and an online call/chat was our only method of communication..
( November 13th, 2008 at 2:58 am )
I guess it would depend, but based on the list of activities you gave, i think i would rather do the offline stuff. Just seems more enjoyable since I can get my entire person involved in what I am doing and i get to go out of the house too, which can be refreshing in its own way.