Its so easy in the online world to lose yourself to it. You are the person you portray yourself to be and that is all. You can choose to divulge all or nothing or part ways in between. It is so incredibly easy to forget the outside (real) world.

I think it is nice to have people you can rely on, that care and know the "bad" things about me. But like SC said, keeping those boundaries there will help. We are all basically here for the same purpose and we find connections with people based on shared experiences. Perhaps those connections can be good in that you can learn from each other, but the key (i think) is to be able to turn it aside and be in the real world as well. Find that balance. What we discuss in here, put to use in the real world to help with real issues?

I have gotten lost in the online world (chatting, gaming etc) and it was a very hard habit to break. This forum is my first online world that ive encountered in a while and I find that I have to remind myself that there are lives outside this forum. It's difficult but I think setting those boundaries and accepting them would be a great place to start. Equally as important is others accepting those boundaries and respecting your quiet time, your real world time, etc.

Not sure if that's helpful or just me rambling.. but there you go...