Alex on why you should stop apologizing for your online life

It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking what we do online isn't real, and doesn't matter. And it doesn't help that we've developed the acronym IRL, In Real Life, to refer to the offline world. 

But why shouldn't we regard our online lives as just as real, just as valid and just as meaningful as our offline ones? That's the question Alex posed a few months ago at TEDx Victoria, proceeding from a blog post she wrote last year for the Harvard Business Review.

The talk, titled "Ten Reasons to Stop Apologizing for your Online Life", just went live. And if you've ever wondered why a valued online friendship doesn't count as "the real world" while a trip to the mall does - and, more to the point, what you can do about it - you'll want to watch.

Comments

Jon Leland says

January 9, 2012 - 9:57pm

Excellent! Thanks for sharing this. Creating meaning is what it's all about. And that IS real. Bravo!

Nick Chertock says

January 9, 2012 - 10:02pm
Great message from Alexandra. I totally agree. No reason to apologize for online interactions. They are real. We interact with those we CHOOSE to talk to vs. a lot of 'real life' situations when we're forced to socialize with people based strictly on proximity.

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