Are Online Relationships Fake?

I was inspired to write this post after reading Jay Baeur’s recent post where he questioned the following premise:  “interacting with more people is inherently better than interacting with fewer people.”

His questioning came on the heels of the suicide of Trey Pennington, a popular Social Media Personality.  Many online felt they knew and were friends with Trey and therefore were shocked by his death.  This led to Jay’s statement “Social media forces upon us a feeling of intimacy and closeness that doesn’t actually exist.” He goes on to say that with some of the people he “knows” he hasn’t shared a meal with them, met their daughter or been to their homes. He closes with “You think you know someone, but you don’t. And that’s social media’s fault. But more so, our own.

So this post is to Jay and to all my readers.  I might not be able to invite you all to my home… But, here’s to getting to know each other better and to bridging the gap between the online and real world.

43 things you didn’t know about me

1. Many people probably don’t know that I am 43 years old and very proud of it!
2. In American time zones, I am a night  owl, but in the Middle East times zones, I am a morning person.
3. I would probably kill to protect my kids
4. I am fortunte to have several dozen wonderful girlfriends.
5. I like buying gifts that have meaning well in advance, as I hate buying a gift just to give a gift.
6. Likewise with special event dresses, I would prefer to find that perfect dress in advance of the event. How often can you find what you want the week of?
7. I am very passionate about all that I do in my life and the people in it. Sometimes to a fault.
8. As of late, I take great offense if you RSVP to my dinner party and then don’t show and don’t call! Before, I used to let it go.  Now I don’t. It is rude.
9. Nothing empowers me more than hanging out with like minded women.
10. My wardrobe has a lot of black in it.
11. My style is classy chic or classic with an edge.
12. I love dogs but don’t and have never owned one that I remember.
13. I want a yellow Labrador retriever one day.
14. Not too fond of cats.  Hate having my extremities swiped at by little claws
15. When I was 5, I wanted to be a doctor or a dancer. Thank God for my current choice, as I would be a starving artist.
16. If I had a choice now and  weren’t in health care, I would have been in the arts: musician, artist or photographer.  It is my truly undeveloped side…
17. I dislike business meetings in general and tend to be the “mover of the meeting”
18. I love to sleep.  It is like a drug… the addiction to it.  I think this comes from the years of sleep deprivation
19. Never wake me when I am sleeping unless the house is on fire.
20. I have fallen asleep: standing up, while on dates and at the concert for the Grand Opening of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame… all due to the sleep deprivation of medical training.
21. I don’t get mad at my friends for not calling and can always pick up where I left off with a true friend. Remember this and never apologize.
22. I have few pet peeves but, I hate when people get on an elevator before you get off.
23. Another pet peeve is when people over talk me or 3 people talk to me at once.
24. I am type A in my work but type B on vacation. I unwind the minute I walk on that plane.
25.  My favorite vacations have been sailing from Miami to the Bahamas sleeping under the stars  along with mountain biking the White Rim Trail of Utah sleeping under the stars and the undeniable quietness of it all.
26. We had 3 weddings. All a blast and all very different: A potluck dinner on our rooftop deck overlooking downtown Seattle (75 guests), a formal wedding in Cleveland (235 guests) and a wedding on the waterfront of Mt Manganui, New Zealand (35 guests)
27. My husband and I enjoyed our weddings so much that we have decided to have periodic renewal of the vows.  The first was at the 7-year mark in Singapore. I planned it as a complete surprise.
28. I played softball since I was 6 years old, almost always shortstop.  During fast pitch, I was pitcher.
29. My favorite colors are red and purple.
30. The favorite thing about my son is that he is so sweet.
31. My favorite thing about my daughter is her unique personality.
32. My favorite book is Blindness by Jose Saramongo.
33. My favorite movies are Life is Beautiful or Cinema Paradisio.
34. I love all sorts of music including a little bit of country.  My favorites change so much so it is impossible to list!
35. I would love to adopt the little girl we are sponsoring in Ethiopia but she has a mother which is where she belongs.  I hope to help empower her so she can be all that she wants to be.
36. A perfect day when I was single was to read the New York Times with a good cup of coffee from Cup of Joes in German Village (Columbus, OH).  Then to run, bike and blade the Olentangy River Trail, pick up Katzinger’s  for lunch, watch a movie, sleep, then go out to listen to local bands.
37. A perfect day now that I am married with kids is simply spending all day together as a family.
38. I love bargains.  Given the time, I am pretty good at finding deals.
39. My husband and I don’t buy each other anniversary presents we choose an experience to mark the day instead: dinner out, or a few nights away.
40.  I wish I had learned to be an entrepreneur earlier in life.
41. I blew my ACL skiing the saddle run on Blackcomb Mountain in white conditions when I first fell in love with my husband.
42. Soon I will be training in functional medicine as I don’t believe that my allopathic training is enough.
43. When we return to the USA, I would invite Jay Baer for dinner. He might just come.  And we might even become good friends.

Your Turn

Tell me something I don’t know about you or tell me what your thoughts are about online relationships?