Is there really anyone out there?

Our online interactions are so convincing. The feeling that I know who is there and what your reactions are to what I write is so strong that I really believe I am having real interactions with real people. But am I?

Even with someone standing immediately in front of me I am extrapolating, interpreting, making up, 99% of what is going on in their head. I assume that I am right, that I am correct in my assumptions, and then act accordingly.

How much more so is this the case online?! These fleeting chunks of sometimes badly written text and carefully chosen images are all we have to go on.

And yet they feel so real, they can feel so important. They can send us into downward spirals of irritation or envy, or soaring into feelings of connection and togetherness.

But, even more so than usual, we are making it all up. It is all a projection.

We should remember this.