I don't know why I have never developed an online relationship. It might be because I don't "hang out" on the computer very often. I check my emails and maybe go on Facebook but that is about the extent of my usual internet communication (excluding this class of course). I think my mom told me too many horror stories of "you don't know who is on the other end of the computer." When I was younger I used to go into chat rooms but that didn't stick for long. In high school I did find something very interesting though. I had a few friends where we talked more online than we did in person. It was really weird. We would maybe say hi to each other at school but when we got on aim the conversations would sometimes last for hours. This might be because it is easier to talk to someone you can't actually see. Maybe the communicators are braver and can therefore disclose more information. I think that is the idea with online dating. People are able to disclose more of themselves because nobody is there in the moment judging them.
In the future, I might develop an exclusively online relationship. It might be a cool way to meet people. However, for the immediate future, I am going to stick to face to face communication.
I also prefer to meet people face to face. I do have friends from when I was younger that have continued only because of things like AIM, MySpace, or Facebook but I have never formed a relationship or friendship over the internet. I have also known since I was younger that there are always going to be creepy people on the other side so I make sure I am careful and never talk to someone random out of the blue. I think this course is a good example of cyberspace relationships because none of us know each other and yet we are still communicating on a day to day basis. It is definitely much more comfortable because it is for a class.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to the way u disclosed how your mother tells you horror stories of online creepers because my mom does the same thing. She always says be careful, dont give out too much information, be cautious of who you talk to, make sure you really know who they are. The internet allows u to make aliases and create any kind of information about yourself, the ability to create your own page and chose the information you put out there is also scary because it does not mean its true. There's not a lot of ways to double check the new friend u met online is actually who they say they are. There are a lot of good things about communicating online and definitely negatives that stand out to me more. Great examples and discussion it really made me think and feel about online relationships.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you regarding people being able to disclose more to someone they don't know or see. I have seen a couple of my friends getting comfortable with someone over the internet chatter, only to realize that they didn't want to keep up that relationship live. I guess online people feel sort of "protected", since there is no room for judging. On the other hand, I do have friends who have met online and proceeded to being married and happy. I feel that when it comes to keeping up with online relationships it depends on personality, and if you are not the kind of person that likes to meet people online, it is simply not your ground. As a person that prefers face-to-face communication, I don’t think cyber relationship will ever be equivalent to being able to read the person’s non-verbal cues. As much as I like to explore unknown ground and learn new skills, I think cyber communication is going to be an untapped resource for me.
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