Poll: Forum Anxiety?

[Yuno Gasai]

Hi, Escapists!

Despite having been a forum-goer for several years now, I still find myself mildly tense when it comes to writing a post, creating a new thread or in some cases, writing/responding to a PM.

I'm not entirely sure why this is - perhaps a fear of what people will think, or that I won't communicate my ideas properly? - but it's an interesting occurrence, and one I feel can't be too uncommon given how similar it is to social anxiety, something which seems to be a lot more common nowadays.

Does anyone else ever feel this way when browsing the Escapist, or indeed any other forums you may frequent? Do you have any insight as to why this happens to you?

 

[MammothBlade]

Yeah. But I have social anxiety irl too so it's only natural it would affect me online somewhat. I expect someone will be barking at me or something or telling me I'm stupid for simply opening my mouth. I overanalyse what I post and what other people are posting and behaving towards me. *shrug*

I guess it's best to remember that people on the internet can't hurt you for saying something, even if they make threats and insults. On this forum, they'd be punished for that sort of behaviour.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Just roll with it dude.

It's just like talking (granted, typing on a forum requires less confidence but still), you just need to be confident about the thing you're trying to say, get it across in a clear way, and avoid the Religion & Politics section of the forums.

For that way leads to madness.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I don't know if it's as much anxiety as it is a mentality of "Eh, why bother".

It's usually me thinking, "Nobody's going to read it, nobody's going to care. Why am I wasting my time with this?"

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

I think I get almost the opposite of forum anxiety. As time has gone on and I've been a member of the Escapist for longer I've realized how little forum goers actually care about or notice each individual post. Lately I've found myself losing interest in actually writing out my opinion half way through typing my post.

 

[Yuno Gasai]

-snip-

I can relate to a lot of that, though as of late I've tried to train myself out of it. c:

For the most part, what people say to you on the internet can't hurt you anyway - it can only affect you as much as you let it. Thankfully, I can't say I've been on the receiving end of any hateful or hurtful comments as of late.

-snip-

Very, very true. I can't say I can relate to the bit about Religion & Politics, but perhaps that's for the best? Bahaha. >.>

-snip-

You'd be surprised. There have been times when I've posted and thought nothing of it, kind of working under the assumption that nobody was going to read it anyway - then I've had people respond, whether through quoting or PM, saying that my post has helped them or that they can relate to it or whatever.

At the very least, I'm sure the lurkers read your posts. I'm pretty sure they read everything. :3

 

[Kevlar Eater]

I (thankfully) don't suffer from forum anxiety. However, I suffer from the more common and severe social anxiety, as I don't know if I would get screamed at, beaten or sued if I talked to someone in a non-professional manner.

 

[mParadox]

It's only natural!... I think.

I mean, every likes a good first impression. Moreso, making that impression. Forum anxiety is something everyone has at some point, although most people have 'em when they're new here.

User Groups and/or Forum Games/ Role Playing are fantastic places to learn how to deal with the anxiety. Based on my own experience. =p

Cheers,
Para.

 

[Mayhaps]

Sometimes I find myself writing a post, then deleting just deleting it. Just getting to type out my feelings on a subject is enough sometimes.

Other times I stop because I'm just getting too rude.

I guess those are a sort of forum anxiety, fear of boring or offending other people.
But I'm like that in real life too, I guess I'm a little bit afraid of conflicts.

 

[Phasmal]

Nope. Not really, worst thing that will happen is that someone on the internet won't like me.

I'd like everybody to like me, but if me expressing my opinions causes someone to dislike me, its not a huge loss.

 

[bobmus]

Sometimes, I don't want to seem the bad guy to others when arguing with just one person.

[small]I just want to be liked...[/small]

 

[museofdoom]

I get nervous when I post because I have a tendency to make perfect sense to myself but no one else. I also worry about coming off as stupid 0-0 But overall I overcome my worries and post anyway because it's not like I'm going to meet anyone here in real life. And it's not like anyone remembers anything you post in the long run.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Sometimes but my reason to be anxious is due to my spelling and grammar or thinking my thread is not worth discussion (zero replies) about and was a waste of time typing it all out.

 

[Shadie777]

Yeah, I'm like that as well. I get anxious because I am afraid that I would offend someone or make myself look stupid. It tends to make me want to edit. I ignore it though, being anxious about this stuff does not help me. I just remember that making mistakes allows me to learn from them.

 

[Jonluw]

I've always been very tense and nervous about joining new communities, but making posts in these forums?
Nah man.

I've been here too long for that.
In the beginning I was really nervous and always made sure my posts were well thought out, contained proper grammar, and did nothing to upset the mods, but nowadays I just post whatever I feel like mostly.

The forums feel more like home to me now. Not like I'm some guest in a stranger's house, having to be on my best behaviour.

In related news:
Suck my tits, guys.
Suck.
On.
My.
Tits.

 

[staika]

I used to but then I got comfortable with the people here and now the anxiety is gone. Sometimes I'll get nervous when I'm starting a thread or something (I don't start that many threads) but I have some friends who reassure me so It only lasts for a short time.