PSA: the internet is made of people
Mar. 19th, 2006 03:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anotheranonOk, perhaps not literally, but it is a social medium. Check out this episode (mp3) of Berkeley Groks where they interview Jerry Michalski about social networks and the future of the Internet.
I liked the interview because it points out what IMHO is one of the big, mostly ignored facets of the internet - for all it's value in commerce, advertising, file sharing/distribution etc. the internet started out primarily as a place for people to interact. As an introverted AND shy teenager with weird interests, Prodigy and the like were a godsend when I was looking for other people who liked (hell, had heard of) 808 State and the other very specific musical tastes I cultivated in high school. In college half my social life was built around a telnet-accessed chatroom called VRave (I first "met" D. there - details if interested), because even locally, I found it easier to express myself in text than face to face. I'm not as awkward as I used to be, but this medium still helps me enormously: I've made great friends through LJ and various mailing lists (you know who you are).
Despite all the legitimate worries about frauds and stalkers online, I think it's worth considering that some of us find the anonymity of the Internet as an opportunity to be more ourselves - speak up when in person we'd be awkward, about subjects we'd have trouble touching face to face, in a medium where you're judged not by how you look but by what you say and how well you say it. It's also useful if you have odd or specific interests and have difficulty finding people (local or not) who share them.
I think that these benefits are one of the reasons why "trolls" chap my hide so damn much. Instead of using mailing lists, chat rooms etc. to connect, they either 1) deliberately ignore the fact that the names on their screen are Real People, and view all their offenses as "not really mattering" because they weren't face to face, or 2) exploit the anonymity to be a shit to everyone because online there's no one physically there to punch them in the nose for being an asshole. In short, they use the medium to be less, rather than more, than they could be, I suspect because they're either cruel or cowards, or both.
So - is the internet a tool or a crutch? Are the people you "meet" online your friends, or just ciphers on a screen (or something in between)? Thoughts?
I liked the interview because it points out what IMHO is one of the big, mostly ignored facets of the internet - for all it's value in commerce, advertising, file sharing/distribution etc. the internet started out primarily as a place for people to interact. As an introverted AND shy teenager with weird interests, Prodigy and the like were a godsend when I was looking for other people who liked (hell, had heard of) 808 State and the other very specific musical tastes I cultivated in high school. In college half my social life was built around a telnet-accessed chatroom called VRave (I first "met" D. there - details if interested), because even locally, I found it easier to express myself in text than face to face. I'm not as awkward as I used to be, but this medium still helps me enormously: I've made great friends through LJ and various mailing lists (you know who you are).
Despite all the legitimate worries about frauds and stalkers online, I think it's worth considering that some of us find the anonymity of the Internet as an opportunity to be more ourselves - speak up when in person we'd be awkward, about subjects we'd have trouble touching face to face, in a medium where you're judged not by how you look but by what you say and how well you say it. It's also useful if you have odd or specific interests and have difficulty finding people (local or not) who share them.
I think that these benefits are one of the reasons why "trolls" chap my hide so damn much. Instead of using mailing lists, chat rooms etc. to connect, they either 1) deliberately ignore the fact that the names on their screen are Real People, and view all their offenses as "not really mattering" because they weren't face to face, or 2) exploit the anonymity to be a shit to everyone because online there's no one physically there to punch them in the nose for being an asshole. In short, they use the medium to be less, rather than more, than they could be, I suspect because they're either cruel or cowards, or both.
So - is the internet a tool or a crutch? Are the people you "meet" online your friends, or just ciphers on a screen (or something in between)? Thoughts?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-03-19 11:40 pm (UTC)I teach a lot on-line, so my first reaction in that area is that the texts I read belong to the thoughts and ideas of real people; I take what people say very seriously, and they express themselves very seriously and with respect because they are being judged and graded (indeed, paying me money to judge and grade them).
In other, more relaxed forums, I take people a lot less seriously. I'm there to read what they have to say, and if so motivated, I'll express an opinion. On some forums I'm very impressed with how articulate people are -- on other forums I'm amused at their self-important geekiness and I want to tell them to get a life! :p
In terms of trolls -- having been called one a time or two, and having been on the receiving end of a few flames -- I've found that it's usually from people who are dealing with the internet at the far ends of the spectrum: either they take it so seriously that any infringement into their mental obsession is seen as a dire insult, or the person sees the whole thing as a video game and relates to little or few people in real life so if they say something rude on the internet it is of no consequence.
It's easy to use the internet to vent one's aggressions, though, and that's where the medium is at it's weakest and most vulnerable. People who would simply give you a dirty look and walk away in RL will spill vile invectives on the internet because they can get away with it. It's a haven for passive-aggressive obsessive behavior, IMHO. On the other hand, with a press of a button, a nasty troll is deleted -- if only that were true for RL!
What's always amazed me about the internet is how different people are from their internet personalities to their RL personalities -- granted, some folks maintain a level of sameness -- but many have 180 degree differences!
no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 01:06 pm (UTC)Gawd, ain't THAT the truth! I've actually met some of the internet trolls of which I speak, and they're much more toned down - even pleasant - in person. And some of the quieter people are more forthcoming face to face.
In this respect, I suggest that we can't really "know" people met online until we meet them face to face, but it does illustrate my suspicion that I'm not the only person who uses the medium as a place to "trial run" facets of their personalities that might not be ready for prime time, so to speak. Pity some of them feel the urge to test out their basest side :/
no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 03:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 01:09 pm (UTC)And yeah - it's amazing how cliques form both online and in person, and how juvenile both can be!
no subject
Date: 2006-03-21 04:48 pm (UTC)I think it depends on the person and where they are at in their lives. At one time it was a crutch for a painfully shy girl that was struggling with coming out not only as gay but as a sub. Now it's more of a tool.
For me, the majority of people met online are simply ciphers, most I run across tend to act like a$$es so I pay them no mind. The few I've known for years (whether we've met or not) I'd consider very dear friends and feel fortunate to know them for the people they are.
re: "'trolls' chap my hide" - lol this is why I stopped going to chat and pretty much avoid talking on the BB's anymore