I think it's interesting reading other people's posts and imagining their lives/difficulties and interacting with them. It takes a lot more effort to "go out" in the real world and find someone to discuss things with in person who would enjoy talking about subjects I enjoy (a friend :-) and, there would only be that one person versus so many here. Basically it's an online networking site, like Facebook, but more focused and dedicated to a particular subject of interest to everyone. The "focus" on particular subjects is nice, instead of just the free-for-allness of Facebook and sites like that?