This week we covered readings involving online communication and relationships based on the internet. The readings covered many types of online communication and types of services offered from Instant Messenger & Email, to online dating sites such as MySpace, E-Harmony, and Match.com. It was my general impression after reading these articles that America is more dependent upon the internet and more specifically these web sites (such as MySpace, match, and eHarmony) for social interaction and more dependent for the love connections. The reasons for the need of social interaction online I believe are as the article “Identity Production in a Networked Culture” stated, “the goal is to look cool and receive peer validation” and also being a new form of “identity production” which I think is one of the main reasons kids turn to the internet for socialization. It is just another outlet for them to fulfill their own “ego boost” due to children naturally being “attention seekers” as the article put it. As far as love relationships go, I believe that people turn to the internet as a better form of refinement in the person that they seek. Also makes it easier to pick people out of a crowd and gives them overall more access to people than a single night out at the bar or club might do. The article of “online personals: an overview” support this. It stated that “people are generally attracted to others who have demographics, attitudes, values, and personality traits similar to their own”. These internet sites provide very powerful search tools and functions which help to identity people who match the traits that a person looks for”, the main reason why these web sites are so popular. The question that I leave you readers with comes from that of our article on “Technologies of Cooperation”, “Do new modes of communication change the way we see ourselves and how others see us?”. I’d like for you to address this as I will most likely bring it up in class.
Here is a news article I found about a single parents stating how online dating saves them trouble and time.
http://sev.prnewswire.com/computer-electronics/20070531/LATH04331052007-1.html
2 comments:
i certaintly agree with you. the articles provide more view on how people depend on this different websites, it also provide view on how different people react and interact with this site, but does not specifically say whether people are fully oppossed to this kind of social interaction.But turning to the internet as a better form of refinement is pretty unclear, because i dont know why people would rather be fascinated with someone totally unfamiliar as oppossed to knowing were they live and who they know.
Youth who uses many of the online communication such as Myspace use it not only to socialize with others, but have their own public domain where they can just relax and have fun. I feel there's nothing wrong with Myspace because I use Facebook in order to keep in contact with my close friends and those who I just met. Also youth use these types of services to feel like part of a group where in real life they are pushed out. As far as online dating services, I don't use them at all. However, from reading the article it can be a good way of finding that right partner who matches the other person traits that are looking for. Also, online dating services can boost a person confidence, bring happiness, and provide self-satisfaction for a person because they found that one person who have all the quailities and traits they are looking for in a person.
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