Tell me about couples and surfing!

[imomus]

I'm about to write my next Wired column. I've decided it's going to be about the effect of information addiction on the life of couples. And I'd like your help, because I don't want it just to be me going on about me. But naturally it starts with me, what I've observed in my own life. Here's a photo of me and my then-girlfriend (she's now happily

Comments

[lecabinet]

My boyfriend and I met at a real life meetup for people on LJ, rather than through a dating site or such, and I know that the way we met has affected out relationship. I feel like I 'owe' LJ for us meeting, we tend to write filtered posts between ourselves, much nicer than an email.
IOur online addictions have also come between us; only last night I went out, turning my speakers off but leaving iTunes on. Through LastFM my boyfriend thought I was still at home and kept phoning me. Being internet stalked by your own boyfriend is pretty rubbish.

One more thing; watching someone else surf is the single most frustrating thing. We both have desktops in our respective houses, so when he comes over he gets a bit posessive with the mose. I've been known to leave the room to stop myself looking over his shoulder.

[geeveecatullus]

Through LastFM my boyfriend thought I was still at home and kept phoning me. Being internet stalked by your own boyfriend is pretty rubbish.

hahahahaha! That's too cute.

[imomus]

Fltered LJ posts only for your partner thing is very cute too! Any chance of a real name I could attribute that to, Le Cabinet? I can't just call you a piece of furniture...

[lecabinet]

Yeah, my name is Sarah.

[mcgazz]

Her: Draped across the couch, in front of the telly, laptop on lap.
Me: Sat in Blofeld-style chair in small upstairs room, desktop on desk.
If one of us wants the other one, we go and get them - we don't email each other unless we've had a row and aren't talking.

[stanleylieber]

We've both had laptops for years and text chat while sitting next to each other on the couch. We also chat all day long while at work, so in some ways our relationship is more real than traffic congestion and shift schedules. I don't so much separate the online interaction out into a degenerative form of communication though; it's difficult to communicate things like images, sounds and URLs through speech.

[imomus]

Good point, that! I have a tendency to think of computers as something "textual", something which can't match the textural qualities of real world interaction. But of course they're texturally more rich than language on its own can be.

[neil_scott]

And, of course, all Apple Macs are now built with iSight as standard, so you could have a real time picture your beloved in the corner of your screen at all times.

[fishwithissues]

but unfortunately eye contact is impossible with today's webcams. (you'd need something like Errol Morris's Interrotron for that).

[fugitivemotel]

I was talking about this topic with some friends recently. I think you'll find the blog entry named "ben", in Amanda Palmer's blog (Amanda is the singer in the Dresden Dolls) of some interest. It's a fascinating look at how couples can sometimes interact better through the internet than in real life: http://www.dresdendolls.com/diary (scroll down to the entry named "ben").

[onthemoon]

My girlfriend and I have spent most of the past 2 years living on opposite sides of the country (thankfully coming to an end in 3 weeks), and one of the common, rather silly, practices we have developed is sharing links via aim during our phone conversations of whatever random things we may be talking about. So we manage to surf together despite being on opposite sides of the country.