We all know instant messaging is a big part of our daily lives now. But is this thing truly good for us? I was wondering what you guys thought of it. Is it good, bad? Why?



My personal point of view is actully neutral.

Good things :

Communication All Over The World
Fast Communication
Easy Access To Communication
Keeps A Certain Privacy

Bad Things :

Can make someone forget their grammar.
Gets people to communicate over computers then to meet
Get people to stay alone and chat instead of having a real life

i think overall it is just slightly a bad thing... but the internet and the fact that you would be able to do it good. These advances in technology should be prided, but i do miss the times where everyone i know used to come out daily on a regular basis, but now im stuck here talking to friends down the road because they wont come out because 'its too cold'. although, it does help me keeping in contact with everyone.... for example, i am still talking to 16 of the greatest friends i have made in 2 weeks from Egypt last August....

I don't really your bad things go for everyone. I try to keep a correct spelling and I use capital letters etc when I write longer sentances. Also, if I write something wrong I usually correct if I notice it. Also, I (at least for now) rather meet up with persons than chat with them on MSN.

(I rule.)

I think overall it's a good thing. You just shouldn't let it come to extremes... For people i know in real life i always prefer meeting them in person rather then IM. I think my Dutch grammar would be better without IM because i talk to much English online. But, my English has only got better . As for a social life... i always (try to) put that in the first place, i wll never prefer to stay at home and chat while friends go out.

Other then that, IM is great and saves allot of time and money (allot of IM messages would have been phonecalls or SMS otherwise). And IM can eventually create reallife friendships too .

add bad thing: people who aren't aware of the danger, can be kidnapped and other stuff i'd rather not talk about...

(i already stalked a couple members on the forum for fun )

This is great, can you guys go ahead and give me more arguments, why it could be good or bad in general?

I think that if someone has a social life outside the computer than IM won't cause a problem.  However, if they're already socially 'isolated' then IM is not the best way to solve it.

i like IM because i live in the middle of nowhere literally and if i didnt have IM then it would be very hard for me to contact my friends

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Originally posted by remember_987
i like IM because i live in the middle of nowhere literally and if i didnt have IM then it would be very hard for me to contact my friends

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i think it depends on how you use it.
it should never be over meeting someone.
i sometimes use it for school work if my team cant get together for some reason.

I think for most people, the internet doesn't take over their lives.

I always meet people in real life rather than over MSN, and IM has introduced me to a lot of people i wouldn't have met otherwise. Traxor and Stigmata for example, I met them at party in the park last year through these forums and msn

i read in the newspaper once that according to a university in Toronto, it was good for your social life O_o.
It said that people received more phone calls when they used programs like MSN a lot .

I guess that it's good as long as you dont abuse it.

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Originally posted by lp15
Gets people to communicate over computers then to meet

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Found this, quite an interesting read.
http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Internet_ties.pdf

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Originally posted by Absorbation

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Originally posted by lp15
Gets people to communicate over computers then to meet

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yeh, traxor is trying to do that to me know lmao I'm not going to starford luke

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I only have poeple i have met on MSN, i think its pointless to have like 300 contacts of poeple you have never met in real life, its a bit sad really, like when pople get girlfriends and stuff on MSN, before even meeting...

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Originally posted by Stigmata
It was amazing when we went. You've got to go. Even if u dont meet us, you will have a amazing time.

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Originally posted by Negro_Joe
when pople get girlfriends and stuff on MSN, before even meeting...

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Originally posted by Negro_Joe
like when pople get girlfriends and stuff on MSN, before even meeting...

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Originally posted by Shortnews
Couple Who Have Never Met in Person Wed Online

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Rita Sri Mutiara Dewi, 50, and Wiriadi, 52, communicated online and by telephone for months but had never met in person. Through the technology of cyberspace, they are now married. The couple tied the knot online on Thursday. Wiriadi, who uses only one name, was not able to take time off work to participate in a traditional wedding. A muslim cleric witnessed the online ceremony and declared it a legal marriage. Dewi was in Indonesia and Wiriadi was in California. A video link was established so that the bride's relatives could see her groom. Wiriadi is employed as a physiotherapist while Dewi is a teacher in Malaysia. Dewi will be traveling to the U.S to finally meet her new husband next month.

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Originally posted by remember_987

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Originally posted by Negro_Joe
when pople get girlfriends and stuff on MSN, before even meeting...

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my friend did that once they met up and she was so awful he dumped her on the spot and not just bad looking she was a pig also

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it can both good and bad...
good, cos i can keep in contact wid frends who have gone away or ppl i meet in other schools on trips and stuff..and its easier to say something in writing than in person
bad..cos its screwed up my english, u see wat i mean.?

I'm quite like Rubber Stamp.  It's helped me keep in contact with people who have gone to the other side of the world and it also helps me keep in contact with many people at the one time, saving me time and money.  I also have a lot more confidence talking online than I do in person (I'm normally quite shy ).  It might have screwed up my spelling and grammar a bit but I think the social aspects of it far outway these bad parts.  Not to mension these bad parts of it can be overcome with spell checks and the like and I'm also making more of a conscious decision on how I'm writing so that it doesn't get any worse (and hopefully improve to the level it was at before I started IM'ing).

I think it depends on the person. If you are still willing to get out, enjoy your interests, see friends in person, then there is nothing wrong with talking on the computer as well.

As for the spelling, at school I did a subject where our typing speed was constantly tested. After holidays of lots of MSN I kept on using things like "2" and "ur" at the beginning. It didn't take long to get over it and in the end I was a faster typist from it. My grammar in speech was not affected as I type the same way as I talk (with different, shortened spelling often).

I think instant messaging is only bad to those who rely on it and push away their real life friends for their computer.

My best friend Emma...I got to know her on MSN. We talk alot on here but otherwise I only get to see her at school. If it wasn't for MSN that friendship would be far from strong. So I'm grateful.

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Originally posted by lp15
Bad Things :

Can make someone forget their grammar.
Gets people to communicate over computers then to meet
Get people to stay alone and chat instead of having a real life

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i think its good, i met my fiancee on the web, and its great

i think it's good as long as people dont get carried away, i stop myself by trying to get out everynight which i usually suceed to do

Instant message can bring people together. It's your fault if you don't do anything else. It can be very useful.

For your friends that move away when you leave school, go to different universities etc. it is good for keeping in contact with them.

yes, i keep contact with people that dont live here anymore, instead of paying a biggg phone bill

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Originally posted by John Anderton

2) Gtfo .... its all your fault .... get a life and enjoy it. There are more things to life than chatting on IM and/or sitting on the pc lamering around/doing your work (Smilie)

3) Same as above

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