Well, Classy, yes and no. All sorts of things can draw someone to a message board. I became addicted during the time I was experiencing sudden and unexplained hearing loss. As my inability to follow conversations in real life increased, so did my appreciation of and addiction to the conversations on internet boards. The internet is a gift to people with physical disabilities that cut them off from the social world. Here, I'm not hearing impaired, and I don't have to interrupt every other sentence with, "I'm sorry, could you repeat that." Even though my condition has now been diagnosed and I wear hearing aids, there is an aspect of my former real life that is forever gone. Hearing aids do not restore normal hearing. On the internet, I haven't lost a thing.
One of my best internet friends ever, one of the kindest and most intelligent people I've ever known, was suffering from physical disabilities that made it difficult for her to speak or to ever leave the house. On the internet, she started help groups and became an amazing resource for people. On the internet she could be the strong one, despite being forced to be the dependent one in real life.
Whether or not the experience is "positive" and "normal," however, rather depends on what you are drawn to at the time. I've met many internet friends in real life, and they were all quite normal, even far above normal, individuals. One had spent hours posting with me when we were both pregnant and looking for information. Others I met as I fell for the Meredith&Ian love story; a group of slightly older women who decided they were old and settled enough to be totally silly and obsess just because it was fun to do so. I've had revealing conversations with non-verbal autistics, and I've been able to help a battered woman realize the truth of her situation and find a way out.
This particular addiction, the Bachelor Board, however, does seem to have less positive causes. It's been a stressful time in real life for over a year now, and my ability to deal with it is fading. I want to run away and just have the issues be gone. But I can't. So, I sneak in here and discuss truly inane and unimportant things. It's an escape, an excuse, whatever.
So, even for one individual, what drives them to a message board may be different on Tuesday than it was on Monday. It could be a positive thing, or it could be a negative one. You can never assume for a poster other than yourself, because I've seen the full breath of it, and it is wide.
Edited 8/14/07 by DW_a_mom
Edited 8/14/07 by DW_a_mom