Ahhh GAG, when I first came here, I was overtly curious.
It really hasn't been long since I joined GAG and actively participated in various questions and takes. It isn't as broad and intellectual as Quora, but I found GAG to have its own charming aspects and like any other site, its own less than stellar aspects as well.
Let's dive in a bit through my mind shall we?
The Community
The community was fairly interesting, I dived in expecting a fairly broad range of people and GAG didn't really betray my expectations there.
We have left-wingers and right-wingers, introverts and extroverts, optimists and pessimists, and dare I say it girls and guys.
Everyone here had a variety of anecdotal experiences they share and some genuinely advise others based on their experiences in their life. It really exposed me into a little bit of their mind, their way of thinking. I try to learn and to understand where they come from and why they believe in their choice or mindset. In the end, I don't always fully understand, but I'm kind of glad they were willing to provide their opinion, even if it directly opposes mine.
Of course I would come across a few unsavory characters, but then again, I came here knowing if I put my opinions here on the table, I expect a few to challenge them as they would expect me to challenge theirs.
I find quite a lot of people tend to be fairly amiable... well for a group of anonymous users anyways. I've yet to make any 'true' friends here in comparison to say online gaming or other forums, but I'm alright with that.
Finally, exposure. My opinions are... fairly neutral in most matters but I do lean on one side on occasion. However, I find how people express themselves here absolutely fascinating. How they think X, why they think X and what they do to refute Y.
However, there are downsides to every community. I'm sure there are some people who have proven to be... a little too forward. From just hearing the girls' stories about PMs from random guys who pretty much been branded as creeps. Then we have the ferociously aggressive people, though I'd like to think they are just passionate or feel strongly about their stance, some would disagree with that saying they are irrational or inflexible (and I can see why).
The Topics
I admit, the topics were very broad, but most are focused on the realm of dating or similar subjects (e.g. break ups). It's not a bad thing so to speak, I do wish GAG community speak up more on other subjects but then again, most people here do ask what they believe is important to themselves. That's fair, had I been in their shoes, I will probably act very much the same.
I do find a few people here to have very interesting beliefs and presented them fairly well. Though I don't always agree with what they say, I do have a level of understanding with them.
The biggest example would probably be religion, as you may have probably known, I'm not someone who follows the idea of God, but I've always found it fascinating about human faith and how many religious people express that faith in God (or equivalent). I guess you can say its slowly broadening what I can learn about it as time goes on.
But like I said, some topics aren't as engaged as well, but as the GAG community grows, I'm sure engagement within these topics shall also grow.
What I hope for the future
I find GAG to be pretty casual but at the same time, a solid place to be pretty engaging with all kinds of people all over the world. It may not look like it, but everyone here has given me a step or so into learning in some ways, some more stranger than others.
The community isn't perfect (then again what is?), but I've enjoyed my time here and I've without a shadow of doubt, will continue to enjoy it in the future.
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