&Nbsp;&Nbsp;&Nbsp;&Nbsp; As soon as I came online, a message popped up in the QQ chat box: "You haven't been online for half a year?" It was from one of my college classmates. I typed back a line: "Actually, I'm online every day, just staying invisible."
Soon, a gray avatar on QQ started moving. It turned out that this classmate of mine was also in stealth mode, [converse one star](http://www.starconverse.com/converse-one-star-c-1.html). He said, "Actually, there's nothing really." Then his avatar turned gray again. Neither of us continued chatting, and we fell into silence.
When I first got QQ, wherever I could get online—whether in the library or an internet cafe—the first thing I would do was log onto QQ and let the penguin avatar stay hanging in the upper right corner of the computer screen. Soon, the avatars on my friend list would light up one by one, chirping incessantly. But that was many years ago. Back then, what we called going online was essentially QQ chatting. Whether it was with familiar friends or strangers, we were all idly chatting about useless trivialities.
Nowadays, I keep QQ running every day. There are dozens of friends in my contact list, all classmates and friends, but most of the time their avatars remain gray. Occasionally, I randomly type a few words, and almost immediately, I receive a reply. It turns out that almost everyone is online but has chosen to stay invisible.
I once asked a friend why he always stayed invisible. He casually replied, "Nothing to say." Indeed, what is there to say? We have all been working for many years now. Unlike when we first started working, we no longer like to show off or complain. Time has wrapped our hearts in thick cocoons. We have become accustomed to not easily opening up to others, whether it's about happiness or frustration. Even if we occasionally exchange pleasantries on QQ, the silence after the pleasantries is even deeper. If there's something to discuss, we just make a phone call directly. Who still spends time tapping away at a keyboard on the computer? [jordan shoes](http://www.hijordan.com/)
There's another reason. Once you go online, don't you feel obligated to greet those friends whose avatars are lit up? After all, QQ is unlike mobile phones or telephones where you only answer when there's an incoming call. When you see that your friends and colleagues are online, can you ignore them without exchanging greetings? It's like when we bump into each other on the street and ask, "Have you eaten yet?" Actually, we're all busy. Your casual greeting might make your friend think you're bored, lonely, and looking for someone to chat with or comfort. Messages will pop up one after another, leaving you overwhelmed. Perhaps, like you, your friend is also overwhelmed. So, it's simpler to just stay invisible, which frees us from many moral obligations.
More and more people choose to stay invisible, regardless of how many QQ or MSN accounts they own. Many times, QQ has become a tool that is neither indispensable nor completely unnecessary. We don't expect much from it anymore. On anyone's business card, the QQ number usually lingers pitifully at the bottom corner.
But no one abandons QQ. [cheap timberland boots](http://www.hitimberland.com/) Many people's first task at work is to log onto QQ. Our friend lists often remain dark and gray, yet few people delete contacts. Maybe what we care about is just a feeling—a feeling that even in such a vast city, there are still people we know well. By staying on QQ, it feels like we're still part of a warm and familiar group. Although we're all invisible to each other, we're still paying attention. [dsquared2 shoes] When you need something, the login prompt will jump from the lower-right corner all the way to the top of the screen. In the urban jungle of steel and concrete, behind the dim QQ avatars, there still lies warmth and trust that can be shared. [supra cuban]