Just by posting on this board you are kind of proving your own point wrong. If you don't get affected by the negative (because it's virtual and has no real risk), it's hard to argue you'd be affected by the positive. If your connection isn't real/risky enough etc to feel pain I don't think it's real enough to feel pleasure either. In which case I'd ask why you are bothering talking to us.
This is utter nonsense. Why is it that you assume that negative emotions are necessary and valid? I'll read the rant and maybe learn something from it. If the girl doesn't respond to me, there's a reason for it. Pain is a fleeting thing, let it pass you by. It is not necessary to identify with it other than as a signal that something needs to be dealt with. This does not diminish positive emotions. Quite to the contrary.
>> "In which case I'd ask why you are bothering talking to us."
Mainly boredom, apathy, reluctance to do any work, etc
Seriously though, the same applies to the positive - If someone posts a comment saying how awesome I am and how much they admire me, I'd just laugh and move on. I wouldn't suddenly be euphorically happy. It's just online banter - they could be deranged, they could be being sarcastic, they could be trying to get something, etc.
Anything said online/in emails etc shouldn't be taken that seriously.
I'd say 1 real life person saying something (positive or negative) is probably equivalent to about 100 online people saying the same.
An interesting view, but I don't think it will last (it might with you, but not in general).
Our online identity is becoming more important and people will increasingly rely on it for a part of their personal identity in the coming years. Hopefully, however, it means that as people invest more of their identity into their online interactions they will become more sensitive to the fact that others do as well.
