IDENTITY, SOCIAL NETWORKS, AND ONLINE COMMUNICATION
In this article the point is made that it is possible that online communication has made us into a "new kind of person." Guy Merchant makes it clear that he does not support the argument that this is true and definite, but he does mention it as a point to consider. I find this a fascinating argument, because I have heard this theory before, especially when dealing with new technologies like the internet, cell phones, and the possibilities of the internet becoming a virtual reality that we can live and walk in as if it were the real life we live in now, much like the Matrix. If we were to live in a virtual computer-based reality, it seems we would be radically different, but is the change really that obvious? I think it isn't. I think it would be more accurate to say that the technology is indeed changing us right now, even though it is still essentially in the early phases. When was the last time any of us went a day without using some sort of technology? The more I think about it, the more I realize how dependent I am on it. I forgot my cellphone at home a few days back and I nearly panicked. I only left it at home for one class, but I went out of my way to go home and grab it before I went out again, even though it was far out of my way. I cannot afford internet on my phone, but when I use my friends' phones as a internet connection, I love the feeling of connectedness, of feeling like there is always someone out there that wants to talk to me. I get this feeling every time I am online, and I thrive on that contact with the virtual world. Yet, I don't really go out of my way to meet new people in real life...instead, I rely on Facebook and Myspace and like-minded chat rooms and forums online to meet people. I look for people with like opinions and interests. I don't even bother talking to strangers unless they are friends of friends or are classmates that I have to work with. This is a change in societal thinking, because I know I am not the only one that does this. Who I am as a person is esconced on a webpage, and I make most of my friends through it. If I were to lose my Facebook, I would lose contact with a good half of my friends, and all of the memories we'd shared together. Many of those friends are surface friends, and people that I don't even talk to outside of the website. I never call them or hang out with them. A lot of them I do, of course, but a majority of them are simply online friends. Some of them I met online and never met in person.
This reliance on technology, this connectedness, I think is a new way of relating to the world that my parents never dealt with. Your lives were connected to a few people in your area, most likely your neighborhood, and you had little choice who you were connected to. There was no possibility of going online and finding friends in other states. You were exposed to opinions and views of the world that were not your own and you learned to live with them because they were all you had. Now, this is no longer true. You can ignore those people you don't see eye to eye with, and go online and find meaningful friends somewhere far away that you can still easily keep in contact with. Does this make us a new kind of person? I think so. Not only are we relating differently, but we are also living a majority of our lives on a computer, becoming dependent on a device to survive socially. We are also more narrow minded and probably less accomodating of new ideas. We are becoming a dependent and weak people who no longer rely on each other but on technology to survive. I think we are not too far from virtual friends and robots...a time when we will no longer need people at all. I would be interested to see what kind of world that would be, and I don't think it's too far off. Maybe I'll see it before I die...though I doubt it will be something I will want to see. Then again, we are growing up in this new world, and by then I may like it, even thrive on it like I now thrive on Facebook. By then Second Life may become that virtual world outside the computer, and all the "friends" you see are digital.
This reliance on technology, this connectedness, I think is a new way of relating to the world that my parents never dealt with. Your lives were connected to a few people in your area, most likely your neighborhood, and you had little choice who you were connected to. There was no possibility of going online and finding friends in other states. You were exposed to opinions and views of the world that were not your own and you learned to live with them because they were all you had. Now, this is no longer true. You can ignore those people you don't see eye to eye with, and go online and find meaningful friends somewhere far away that you can still easily keep in contact with. Does this make us a new kind of person? I think so. Not only are we relating differently, but we are also living a majority of our lives on a computer, becoming dependent on a device to survive socially. We are also more narrow minded and probably less accomodating of new ideas. We are becoming a dependent and weak people who no longer rely on each other but on technology to survive. I think we are not too far from virtual friends and robots...a time when we will no longer need people at all. I would be interested to see what kind of world that would be, and I don't think it's too far off. Maybe I'll see it before I die...though I doubt it will be something I will want to see. Then again, we are growing up in this new world, and by then I may like it, even thrive on it like I now thrive on Facebook. By then Second Life may become that virtual world outside the computer, and all the "friends" you see are digital.
CONNECTIVE IDENTITIES
"More than any other medium, even more than television, the Internet nourishes and fabricates the fantasy of having a double of oneself. The person with whom we phantasmagoically identify in a film is always someone completely different, someone fictional."
I am not sure how much I agree with this particular statement, because though it is true that on the internet one can be anyone they want to be because no one will ever know, as is said later in the article one cannot ever truly separate online identity from your real life identity, because identity is constantly being constructed. I love this word "construction" when dealing with identity, because it seems to say that even though we have personalities and gestures particular to us, we can always change. This change seems to be what the internet is about, more than trying out new identities in general, but about trying out new versions of ourselves. Things you wouldn't be brave enough to say online, suddenly, you can say in an online conversation. Where your emotions mught give you away in real life, online you can be bold and brave in word and the other person will think you are cool, instead of scared or nervous. The "you" that you project online is the "you" you wish to be, the brave you, the flirty you, and the cool you. The thing about being online that helps is that you are writing, not acting out those new yous. Or, as is the case in Second Life, your avatar is playing the "you" you want to be. Everyone has social fears of some type, and being online helps you overcome them. The problem is, we end up thinking we are that you we project online, and are constantly disappointed when we are not that you in real life. You could say that being online helps you rediscover who you want to be, but you could also say that you are leaning on a crutch. So is it more truthful to talk online in Second Life, or is it more truthful to talk in person? Like the first article's author wrote, only time will tell, when more facts can be gathered. Digital worlds are still new, so it's very hard to say. I do, however, think it is safe to say that the digital worlds are changing everything.
I am not sure how much I agree with this particular statement, because though it is true that on the internet one can be anyone they want to be because no one will ever know, as is said later in the article one cannot ever truly separate online identity from your real life identity, because identity is constantly being constructed. I love this word "construction" when dealing with identity, because it seems to say that even though we have personalities and gestures particular to us, we can always change. This change seems to be what the internet is about, more than trying out new identities in general, but about trying out new versions of ourselves. Things you wouldn't be brave enough to say online, suddenly, you can say in an online conversation. Where your emotions mught give you away in real life, online you can be bold and brave in word and the other person will think you are cool, instead of scared or nervous. The "you" that you project online is the "you" you wish to be, the brave you, the flirty you, and the cool you. The thing about being online that helps is that you are writing, not acting out those new yous. Or, as is the case in Second Life, your avatar is playing the "you" you want to be. Everyone has social fears of some type, and being online helps you overcome them. The problem is, we end up thinking we are that you we project online, and are constantly disappointed when we are not that you in real life. You could say that being online helps you rediscover who you want to be, but you could also say that you are leaning on a crutch. So is it more truthful to talk online in Second Life, or is it more truthful to talk in person? Like the first article's author wrote, only time will tell, when more facts can be gathered. Digital worlds are still new, so it's very hard to say. I do, however, think it is safe to say that the digital worlds are changing everything.
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