Are You Out There? D&D Face to Face Online
The other day I saw a post from someone in one of my online gaming groups, and he said something that really touched my heart because it was also something I have thought about many times myself.
He said, “I think it so odd that we all comment so much on posts from each other in this group of only about 400 people, yet I don’t know any of you and we have never played, I would love to actually play with you all sometime.” He went on to say he felt sad realizing we all look at each other’s comments, like similar posts, hold conversations through the feed, yet never talk or play at the end of the day.
Many days have I looked out my window and pondered on the strangeness of our time in this day and age. I am a ’90s kid, and I have noticed how different times are now (ie. socializing/communicating) that we have so much technology. I remember growing up long before cell phones, or texting, or even emailing. As kids it was a huge deal to pass notes in class, hang out with everyone on Saturday night for night games, go to the town park when everyone got together for sports or family birthdays, making it to all those life events that reconnected everyone. It was a time for conversations, connections (friendship or intimate), life experiences (good or bad), new experiences and new memories.
Life memories are the things that hold us together! These important fillers of life are now transformed by our time, and as a result we absolutely need to learn how to adapt. I am not saying technology is a bad thing (I feel it has lots of great potential), I think it is just a new thing and as time goes by we have to learn how to come together in new ways.
It’s like, most of the things that bring old friends together is the crazy adventures we had and the unpredictable events that shaped who we are now. These times mold our personalities and shape us into individuals that the world needs most in our time in accordance to nature and evolution.
Humans are more tribe-thinking than we realize, we need to feel like we have a group or a clan or a “tribe” to feel happy in life. I happen to be one of those people who can clam up and become a total xenophobe, but never has that made me feel my best, and usually it leads me to depression or anxiety after a while. I have had many friends in games and in real life who suffer from panic attacks that literally cripple them at any given time, and I believe this may have a huge part to play with this new change we are all going through as a society and as humans, all stuck inside our own boxes and screens.
These days it’s kinda like, “oh yeah, I knew that guy, we lived together for years” … in our separate rooms, with separate computers, with separate friend accounts etc. This fundamental life bonding experience of “making memories” has become more spacious, therefor leaving us feeling lonely, detached, depressed, and suicidal. We are humans that need the life-giving essence of love and connection. We need this special connection like we need water, sunshine and refreshment.
What is happening today is the realization that our differences are now bringing us together more than ever. Today we have the choice to ignore, comment, subscribe, like etc. While this may sound bad to begin with, I think it gives us the freedom to choose how we deal with distracting situations, dramatic people, negative or draining social norms, which in turn leads us to finding our true friends and family, giving us more time to find what makes us feel our best. Given this newfound freedom from changes in communication, we find the solution to our own individual significance; choice. The power of being different is what helps us to evolve and progress, and I can’t help but see games like online face-to-face D&D sessions really taking off! We have this awesome game that can bring people together to play online anywhere in the world face to face, or in our own living rooms holding books and rolling dice! It’s so amazing!
We can meet so many different people, and the best thing is you don’t have to run into them at your local grocery store. If you hate a certain party, you can leave the group, whether online or not. Being offended is something you just have to throw out the window because it’s time to have real connections and meeting people through online D&D games (I’m talking through Skype/Google hangouts/Roll20, etc), is an awesome way to do that! Let’s get together already! Connect with those people on your page with similar interests, find your friends!
Life is too short to spend time with anyone but those who seek you as you seek them. Seek and find my friends! We are all here for you! Connect! Live life! Stay nerdy! <3
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