Age: 32

Sex: male

Education: Some post secondary electronics and computer courses

Amount of time a week spent on the Internet: roughly 20-25 varies due to work schedule

Current city, country: Vancouver, Canada

1. What do you use the Internet for and approximately how much time per week (surfing, e-mail, gaming, chat, research)?

I use it for gaming (20 hours or so), Email (1 hour/week). I also use it for my daily newspaper and as a way to save long distance charges using voice over-net technologies.

2. Who do you keep in touch with through the Internet (family, friends, strangers, co-workers etc)? And are they local or distant?

I use the Net to keep in touch with family, friends and strangers yes. Some are on the other side of the country, many I count friends are all over the world.

3. Do you participate in chat groups or news groups? If so, are these special interest groups i.e.: pro-legalization of marijuana or general chat rooms?

I avoid general chat rooms like the plague. Usually populated by bored pre-teens whose idea of humor consists of calling people "fags" or who resort to invective when faced with an intelligent response to their lack of personality. Any chat rooms I do spend time in are usually limited to in-game chats designed to find someone to play a game with or against.

4. Have you ever met anyone on line? If so, have you ever met them in person or intend to?

Yes I have met people online, many of whom I count among my closest friends. In fact, I hope to meet several of them this year at a yearly gathering they have so that we CAN put faces to the people we associate with on a regular basis.

5. Have you met people on line who have similar interests/hobbies? If so, how (did you search for them)?

Yes, I’ve met many people online with similar interests. Usually through many of the games I play. Often after gaming with someone for many months you start to become interested in the person as an individual, rather than a simple opponent.

6. Overall, do you believe that the Internet makes/allows you to be more social and facilitates interaction with others, or do you feel more isolated because of the limits of a computer screen?

I find the net increase the availability of some social interaction. (You can meet far more people far more quickly and determine whether they are worth talking too again in the future more rapidly than you could in person for example.) Isolation is a not a consideration. If one feels isolated, all one has to do is simply step out the door and find something to do.

7. Do you find that the time you spent on the Net takes away from face-to-face interaction with others and does this make you feel lonelier?

Time spent on the Net is just another form of interaction. It neither adds nor subtracts from the experience. It simply facilitates it. And if one feels lonely, one should get out more. J

8. Do you feel that communication via Internet makes you feel more accepted because it prevents discrimination associated with visual interaction (i.e.: racism, sexism)?

This is a good question. Personally no, I feel that it does not make me more accepted due to a lack physical or visual representation. However, I can see how individuals who would ‘stand out’ in a crowd could feel that way.

9. Are you selective of who you interact with on the Net in terms of gender, race, sexual orientation, economic status, age, etc?

Typically no, I am not particular about any of those things. My main concern is with the quality of my time on the net. If I find myself bored, or the person I am interacting with does not meet my standards, I simply cease to communicate with them. It is interesting to note that I have had conversations with many 12 year olds (That’s what they claimed anyway) who could act more mature and intelligent than several people who are considerably older than they in terms of years.

10. How would your life be without the Internet? What would you spend your time doing instead?

My life would not be substantially different. Casual interactions would likely take place in a more public place I suppose, perhaps over a cup of coffee in a restaurant that I frequent regularly. I tend to be a bit of a homebody though, and would likely spend more time reading.

11. Do you seek to diversify your perspectives and beliefs on line (via chat or research) or do you look to further develop those you have already formed?

Not actively. I tend to hold an open mind on many subjects, and am blind to others just like anyone else you could point at. If a given perspective interests me than I will of course pursue further information.

12. Do you agree that the anonymity of the "virtual" world encourages ‘drive-by’ relationships or have you been able to form more meaningful connections with strangers on the net?

‘Drive-by’ relationships can and do occur on the Net. But then they do in real life too. ‘One night stands’ are an example of this. I think the Net facilitates them more than encourages them. There is no positive or negative feedback from the Net itself. It is a medium through which people interact, nothing more. Anonymity can allow for some interesting behaviors though.

13. Finally, do you believe that the Internet widens your experience of community (by helping you to connect to others with different beliefs or backgrounds), or does it deepen your experience (by reinforcing and strengthening existing social networks), or perhaps both? Explain.

The Internet both widens and deepens my sense of community. I interact with people all over the world. Because of this interaction I have become more aware of situations in other countries. For example, often the news presented to us through more regular media like newspapers and television is subtly presented in a manor to enhance or detract from a specific point of view. The same can be said of the Net, but rarely is it professionally done. Also a bit of digging around on the Net can usually find the ‘other guys’ side of the story.

The point though is this. With the Net I can and DO talk to people in some of these ‘news situations’. This puts a ‘face’ on things. No longer are the things going on in other countries a case of ‘it’s them over there and me over here’.

Not when I can start a piece of software and talk to someone live in another country and hear sirens in the background. Or listen to his dog bark, or his kids laugh.