Hellooo! This will be my last post here since our submission date of this blog is due in just a few days’ time! :D
Alright, let’s see! This week’s topic will be on Computer-Mediated Communication, also known as CMC. This is no “alien issue” to us yes? Haha.. ‘cos some of us uses this form of communication everyday! Be it.. Facebook, MSN, e-mailing, gaming, Skype-ing, etc.. All these mentioned are perfect examples of CMC.
For instance, take me for example. My computer will most likely be on the minute I return home. Initially, it wasn’t much of a choice as most of our assignments require us to use the computer. However, as time passed, I found using the computer had already become a habit for me as it not only allows me to do research for our projects, kill time while surfing the net, it also allows me to stay connected and be updated with my friends’ lives with the help of MSN and Facebook. Something I like most about CMC? You don’t necessary have to interact with people directly to get to know information about them. An example would be entries on their personal blogs.. Or their updated profile and photos on Facebook! I’m sure you guys “track” some of your friends’ whereabouts through them, right? (Don’t bluffff~) LOL.
Like what Ms Hui said in class, some people tend to reveal more about themselves behind a screen. For instance, I know of people who chat online almost every single day for hours! Some even through their personal gadgets such as handphones etc. However, you rarely see them talking face-to-face. It leaves me wondering sometimes thinking, “are they really close to one another?” I guess this issue can be linked to one of the sub-points under the influences of CMC, which are under Personal Identity:
- Anonymity
- Interactive, but not transactional
- Text-based
- Information is ‘traceable’
Since you’re communicating behind a screen, you can make yourself into anyone you like and nobody will come to know it. ICQ, public chatrooms and so on are websites where people may “pretend” to be someone else in order to increase their appeal to others. A boy becoming a girl, a 40-year-old becoming a 20-year-old and many many more. Some encounters may even be as awkward as the example stated in class regarding a father and a daughter that took up different identities online and ended up having an arranged meeting with one another. Embarrassing!
Another interesting fact under personal identity would be that it is all text-based. A person can be a shy and quiet person . Someone who doesn’t talk much in person. But when he is online, he can turn into someone who’s exactly the opposite… Friendly..warm.. interactive.... I’m someone who doesn’t differ much in person and online.. So, my question is, which one of these characteristics that this person adopt differently, should we say, is the person’s “real” self?
mmm i guess communicating behind a computer screen removes the presence of threat that you'd otherwise feel from someone when you communicate face-to-face. perhaps this is why people seem more liberal/less restricted when chatting online. This is especially true for introverts, who seem to be able to better express themselves through the use of CMC.
ReplyDeleteover the internet, you can assume any identity. any age. any gender. any size. nobody would really know who or what you really are. this degree of anonymity is often abused.
while using CMC to communicate, there is a danger of multiple personalities. in the long run, the user forgets which his true personality really is. identity confusion.
im sorry my sentencessound so brokem, i'm sleepy :D
Hi Dumb dumb! =)
ReplyDeleteI agree that people tend to reveal more about themselves when they are behind screen cuz they don't need to face the other party, especially when they are of the opposite sex.
But.... have you ever tried talking to a Guy online, and that guy always seem very friendly, very nice, can talk alot with you, shares alot with you... And when the both of you decided to meet up, you realized that he is not as nice as you thought he was? He became SOOOO quiet SOOO different a person when the both of you goes on the 'date'. Have you encoutner such things? LOL!!
I DID!!! From then on I dont trust too much on online conversation anymore!! LOL!!! I think it's scary smtimes especially when it's a new 'unknown' person u are talking to.
It makes our lives more convenient, that's of course true. But soon no one will know the true values of 'face-to-face' communication. The 'beauty' of it.
I guess that's the reason why I prefer to get to know smtime by meeting them right away. haha! You get to see more 'hidden' stuffs abt them.
WhooHoOo! Nice post!! =D
Cheers,
ShiWen
(remember-my-blog.blogspot.com)
womannn! for all posts you've been calling me "dumbdumb" leh~ omg, ms hui must be thinkin that i'm really dumb =/
ReplyDeletehmm, you asked whether i've encountered a guy who's friendly online but quiet in person? mmmm, i guess so! kinda weird actually. ahaha.. but later found out that guy actually take time to open up so.. yup.. i'm alright with it (though can really be a nuisance as times i agree) :D
behind a computer screen , rather then removing the threat , i believe that the person feels more at ease, away from the nervousness bout his/her abnormalities or whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteand unless you are that 'open' to new friends, i certainly would doubt getting 'abused' if one is sensitive enough to protect him/herself from online threats through personality anonymity.
Am I thinking whom I think who're writing?? Kekekeke~
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the only thing we can recognize someone by on the internet is their IP addresses, and so we can develop an entirely new character behind our screens, like what many have pointed out.
About the one-sided impression of someone, basically it boils down to 'the interpretation of the message by the receivers'.
What about you? Are you the same person both inside and outside the virtual world? :D
marcuss!
ReplyDeletehmm, i'm wasn't referring to anyone specifically laaa :P
anyway, you chatted with me both inside and outside the virtual world before yeah? any difference? haha, not much I guess. :D
Yes yes, some of my friends can talk to me for hours on the net, but when I see them face to face, we can rarely have a continuous conversation.
ReplyDeleteBut I guess being talkative online and quiet in person(or vice versa) are just different facets we see of a person under different circumstances. Some people feel safer with an online persona where people don't see their expressions or actions, making them feel at eased when they are not constantly being 'judged'.
Perhaps it takes more for some people to warm up to a situation, so I think that people both online and in real life are considered to be the same or 'real' in a sense.