9 of 23

No

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 2

extremely powerful and intimate through the power of the brain.

No matter how many relationships form online, there will always be the real life events that those relationships can't touch. We are humans, but we are also animals. We are social creatures.

Subscribing to Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, it is explained that people need to satisfy five basic primordial needs: physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. Within the majority of instances, the virtual world comes into play within the love/belonging category, the place where most people stumble or tend to get stuck and begin to search out ways to satisfy that need in order for them to move upward on the pyramid. With the computer and through relationships that are formed, those seeking a sense of love and belonging will prioritize, isolate and satisfy that need by gaining a sense of belonging within a chosen community and ultimately move on to the next psychological stage. The crux is, these people are able to choose their community, putting all the angle and direction of their chosen community into their hands. If they feel as though they don't fit, they can move on until they find a place they are most comfortable in.

I don't believe people get stuck in online relationships for the remainder of their lives. I believe after their need to satisfy their love/belonging aspects are adequately satisfied, they move back into the general circulation of life in the real world. As part of the need to sooth a psychological need, the physical aspects also play a roll for overall wholeness. Physical intimacy is just as vital to human survival as a sense of belonging and it just cannot be obtained in the virtual world. When we get to this point, we perform a pseudo-quantum leap and step back into the world of reality.

So no, I don't believe that virtual relationships are taking precedence over real life relationships. It is merely a catalyst to move people into a more fulfilling place in their life.

Learn more about this author, Andi Bryant.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

• << previous page
• 1
• 2

Add your voice

Know something about Are virtual relationships taking precedence over real life relationships??
We want to hear your view. Write now!