One concept in chapter six that I found interesting was the one about mediated relationships. This section discusses the complexities of relationships that were formed online. I think internet relationships are a fairly recent phenomenon and I think we're still learning about the affects of these relationships on the people involved.
According to our text, "Clearly, communicating electronically has unique characteristics that make it quite different from communicating face to face" (169). It has been made clear, time and time again that not everyone online is who they actually are in real life. There are so many cases of fraudulent behavior that it's really hard to trust anyone. I think people who are involved in online relationships get so caught up in the perfection of it that they sometimes forget to think logically. Sometimes things are too perfect to be real. But sometimes people prefer to live that way.
"Another significant characterisitc of text-based electronic channels is visual anonymity. When we communicate over e-mail no one needs to know who we are" (169). Many would argue that looks don't matter and we shouldn't judge people based on their appearance, but in this case a person that says they are an attractive 25 year old woman may in actually be a 45 year old criminal. These are the characteristics that one should want to know before talking to anyone online.
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omg! everything that you wrote is so true. initially i was very down on the whole online community especially using it as a tool to find "true love." i think there are lots of stories of people finding someone they really connect with but the online environment remains problematic because it's a poor facsimile of the real world. i agree that people lie in how they represent themselves or at the very least they exaggerate their good traits and downplay the less than attractive ones. for certain personalities i think the online enviroment brings out the worst in them.
ReplyDeletei feel as though an online environment allows people to delude themselves into thinking they can isolate particular traits they find attractive in order to increase the likelihood of finding a mate. what is lost is that chemistry is a combination of physical and personalities traits between 2 people.
You made some really good points that I totally agree with.
ReplyDeleteI liked when you wrote "Many would argue that looks don't matter and we shouldn't judge people based on their appearance, but in this case a person that says they are an attractive 25 year old woman may in actually be a 45 year old criminal." You really never know. Also, I notice that people try to change not even their looks, but who they are. Communicating online is like being in another world where we can be a completely different person. I have a friend who would meet guys online and she would act like a different person, pretend to be into different things, just to impress the guys she would meet on there. And the guys would have no idea that she was lying. Its all pretty deceiving.
Also, I like what you said about it seeming perfect. The thing that is good about meeting people online is that it is easier to filter them out, but you may be filtering out people and keeping others based on lies. And meeting people on dating sites may be the same. In one way its great because you can cut right to the chase and have an internet site filer out potential mates for you, then then again, you don't know what is real (and perfect) and what is not, when you are not filtering yourself.
Good post!
Hi cgh! I enjoyed reading your post this week. I also found the subject of mediated relationships interesting. Because of globalization online dating, as you stated, has become "a recent phenomena." The book states, "Communicating electronically has unique characteristics that make it quite different from communicating face to face" (169). Even though there are many technological advances that make it more of a "face to face" experience online, I agree that it is very different. I feel that the reason why online dating or online networks are so popular is partly due to "gating". More people are using the internet to communicate across cultures and interpersonally. Some scholars suggest that online communication can facilitate the development of relationships because of the filtering of nonverbal cues and the lack of so-called gating. generally, There is no line of sight (no information about the other person’s identity based upon visible physical characteristics) that make it easier to communicate with all sorts of people.
ReplyDeleteHiCGH,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you in how online relationships can be risky, tricky, and very dangerous. There are people pretending to be someone they are not just to get a date, attention, or even a victim to harm. Criminals can use these online sites to target easy victims and get away with sexual harassment or even more dangerous crimes. Other negatives to online networking sites is that people enter their information into the system and then have their information stolen because of some hacker. I believe that some people use the online networking sites to meet their romantic partners because they are insecure with themselves and they only way they know how to be confident is hiding behind the computer. Sometimes, people pretend to be someone else by identifying with different characteristics that they do not have because they don't have the self-esteem to be proud of who they actually are. I'm sure there are a few percentages of those people who are actually who they say they are and do find true love on the online networking sites. But online communication is definitely a new phenomenon and we need to be very careful with it.
Signing out,
Events Dreamer
very good points. I agree people are in a sort of fantasy world when it comes to online relationships. We in a way dont like so much of our relationships the negatives that come with it that online perfection is seeked and found and people fall into the trap because its something they seek and want. But people need to find it in themselves not to fall into that trap and not fall victim into trusting that to much.
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