Why is it so easy to talk to strangers

Babygirl928
Babygirl928 Posts: 378 Member
in Chit-Chat
So I have been on MFP since January and have met a great group of people. I have shared my great times and great moods and have recently shared my bad times. I have been able to get more support here on mfp than with my friends. Times that i would want to jump into a bowl of pasta until I am sick, my MFP family talks me off the ledge, where as my "friends" offer to cook the pasta. I can get on the forums and laugh and joke around and sometimes share things I wouldn't normally share with strangers and I have had some MFP fam share very intimate (not sexual lol) things going on in their lives as well. What do you think makes people feel so comfortable to share on here? Just want to hear other outlooks.
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Replies

  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
    It's great isn't it? I've had friends pick me up here when I wasn't feeling that great about my diet/exercise/progress. Oh and we share da sex talk too. It's all good
  • ket_the_jet
    ket_the_jet Posts: 1,257 Member
    Here's some pasta: http://devour.com/video/western-spaghetti/

    Have some guacamole too: http://devour.com/video/fresh-guacamole/

    Cheers.
    -wtk
  • warmachinejt
    warmachinejt Posts: 2,162 Member
    cause it's the internets...everything's possible
  • Babygirl928
    Babygirl928 Posts: 378 Member
    It's great isn't it? I've had friends pick me up here when I wasn't feeling that great about my diet/exercise/progress. Oh and we share da sex talk too. It's all good
    LOL I only have females :cry: so the sex talk is a no go lmao. I think it takes boob pics to get male friends lol
  • AngryDiet
    AngryDiet Posts: 1,349 Member
    Anonymity breeds honesty + a lack of personal investment in your failure to lose weight + a shared desire to succeed all add up to often getting better help here.
  • AngryDiet
    AngryDiet Posts: 1,349 Member
    It's great isn't it? I've had friends pick me up here when I wasn't feeling that great about my diet/exercise/progress. Oh and we share da sex talk too. It's all good
    LOL I only have females :cry: so the sex talk is a no go lmao. I think it takes boob pics to get male friends lol

    Sex talk with someone called "Babygirl" might be squicky for some.
  • beckyinma
    beckyinma Posts: 1,433 Member
    Its because here on MFP, we ALL have the same goals, and we share the same feelings most of the time about getting healthy. Common interests = much support!
  • SexyCook
    SexyCook Posts: 2,249 Member
    The feeling is Crazy but it is so true....I have some pals here that I can just talk to all night ...and wonder where have this friend been all my life....So Cool......
  • Babygirl928
    Babygirl928 Posts: 378 Member
    The feeling is Crazy but it is so true....I have some pals here that I can just talk to all night ...and wonder where have this friend been all my life....So Cool......
    Isn't it awesome. I feel like I've known some of them all my life :smile:
  • PepeGreggerton
    PepeGreggerton Posts: 986 Member
    Personally I have no shame.
  • Babygirl928
    Babygirl928 Posts: 378 Member
    Personally I have no shame.
    LOL My kinda guy? girl? either way...love it...I dont either :laugh: :laugh:
  • JessieArt
    JessieArt Posts: 275 Member
    It's easier for me to make friends on here than in person. Not sure why but I know it gets harder the older you get. Great/real friends are so hard to come by. My closest friends are family members. I do miss having a best girlfriend.
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
    Anonymity is a big part of it. But, I think it's also accountability. There is none. You don't really have to be responsible for what you say.

    I used to be part of another online family, and I got out and met a bunch of them. Year after year, I met more and more of them, pretty soon, I wasn't able to say much anymore because it gets complex and when you see people in person, they say stuff about things you posted. And, you realize, you can no longer speak your mind, you have to filter.

    The other part is the non-judgemental part of it. You can ask people honest questions and others that relate will answer. If you have a weight problem, and either your whole family is overweight and don't care, or they are all skinny and dont understand, either way, that's not a good network for you. Here, people have the same common issue. The issues vary, but were all here for health and nutrition.
  • Tiggerrick
    Tiggerrick Posts: 1,078 Member
    Cause, for the most part, you don't really care about strangers, and if they are judgemental and you don't like them or what they have to say about what you said/did/thought, the UNFRIEND button is much easier to press.
  • pa_jorg
    pa_jorg Posts: 4,404 Member
    We all start out talking about diet and fitness and the closer we get to goal weight and the more confidence we build, the dirtier the conversations get. That's how MFP sucks you in... :wink:
  • stevecpo
    stevecpo Posts: 16 Member
    People are much more friendly online :) I love talking to strangers, you get some strange looks from people on the underground in London if you try and speak to them lol. Everyone has headphones in or reads the newspaper.

    Add me if you like fellow MFP'ers Im not a crazy person honest :wink:
  • CADreaming09
    CADreaming09 Posts: 269 Member
    Anonymity breeds honesty + a lack of personal investment in your failure to lose weight + a shared desire to succeed all add up to often getting better help here.

    Agree with the anonymity part. My MFP friends know my name and some know where I live, but that's all when it comes to who I am...I don't post pictures of my face or anything like that. But they know so much about my personal life and help me through a lot of things without even knowing who I am.

    I think it helps me be more honest about my weight gain/loss, pleasure in my small eating/exercising successes, etc.

    I also find it easier to believe what my MFP friends say than my real friends...women are so weird and competitive in real life. On here, they are so nice and encouraging.

    My friends don't even know I'm trying to lose weight.

    Love my MFP friends :happy:
  • elenathegreat
    elenathegreat Posts: 3,988 Member
    Personally I have no shame.

    Exactly! I talk to strangers in person the same way I do online.
  • MacInCali
    MacInCali Posts: 1,012 Member
    I, personally, find it much easier to be myself in a room full of strangers, than I do in a room full of friends. More often times than not, we are so much more than what most people care to see, or more than we care to share. The internet provides a freedom to be who you are and, regardless of who that person is, you are bound to find like minded individuals within the millions of us on the web ...
  • _SusieQ_
    _SusieQ_ Posts: 2,964 Member
    It's great isn't it? I've had friends pick me up here when I wasn't feeling that great about my diet/exercise/progress. Oh and we share da sex talk too. It's all good
    LOL I only have females :cry: so the sex talk is a no go lmao. I think it takes boob pics to get male friends lol

    Really? I have WAAAAAY more sex talk with my female friends. And same female friends love the boob pics too.

    Seriously, dip a toe in the water, it's quite warm....
  • BrettPGH
    BrettPGH Posts: 4,716 Member
    Because you're all just voices in my head.
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    Anonymity.
    No accountability (if you say something that you shouldn't have you NEVER have to meet these people face to face...).
  • PepeGreggerton
    PepeGreggerton Posts: 986 Member
    Because you're all just voices in my head.

    And when Satan sees the bunny...
  • Babygirl928
    Babygirl928 Posts: 378 Member
    Anonymity breeds honesty + a lack of personal investment in your failure to lose weight + a shared desire to succeed all add up to often getting better help here.

    Agree with the anonymity part. My MFP friends know my name and some know where I live, but that's all when it comes to who I am...I don't post pictures of my face or anything like that. But they know so much about my personal life and help me through a lot of things without even knowing who I am.

    I think it helps me be more honest about my weight gain/loss, pleasure in my small eating/exercising successes, etc.

    I also find it easier to believe what my MFP friends say than my real friends...women are so weird and competitive in real life. On here, they are so nice and encouraging.

    My friends don't even know I'm trying to lose weight.

    Love my MFP friends :happy:
    My friends dont either lol....sad sad very sad but nice to know I am not alone lol
  • Babygirl928
    Babygirl928 Posts: 378 Member
    Because you're all just voices in my head.
    and from reading your posts....they are dirty voices :laugh:
  • Babygirl928
    Babygirl928 Posts: 378 Member
    Personally I have no shame.

    Exactly! I talk to strangers in person the same way I do online.
    so do i but people seem to be less judgmental on here and less b!tchy about you bettering yourself
  • shannoninBC
    shannoninBC Posts: 345 Member
    I'd have to agree. I way prefer this over FB, no annoying family here or inlaws. I have made many great friends on here :)
  • Babygirl928
    Babygirl928 Posts: 378 Member
    I'd have to agree. I way prefer this over FB, no annoying family here or inlaws. I have made many great friends on here :)
    I havent been on fb since I started getting sucked in on these forums LMAO
  • jplord
    jplord Posts: 510 Member
    Writing has always been a better way to communicate, IMO. No one interrupts me when I write. I can consider my thoughts and re-read and polish them - or hit <reply> in a compulsive fit and regret the pytos. The people who read my writing are obviously interested to a point. And they get the luxury of reading and pondering their reply rather than having to quickly fill the awkward spaces of a face-to-face conversation. And if my writing connects to anyone else, maybe they friend you or PM you.

    Problem is I read all sorts of great thoughts and insights, and they are usually written by beautiful single or married women (a majority demographic on MFP) and since I am old, married, and potentially creepy, I have to respect their space. A lot of other great thoughts and posts are written by men who've been through hell and back and survived to write about it. I admire them quietly from afar; not much to say to them they haven't already heard.

    So I keep typing blogs, post replies, and jokes and thoughts into the MFP community hoping to connect with someone who would be a good fitness journey partner. I have a couple and I am grateful for them. Only been here 26 days. If nothing else, hanging out with all of you is very educational and entertaining at best, and easily walked away from at its worst.

    And if you got this far, thanks for listening! Good luck on your fitness quest,
  • jplord
    jplord Posts: 510 Member
    say it.

    Thread-killer.

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