I feel like technology has molded our society in many ways. It definitely effects our relationships. My parents talked about how they first got together and it was so different back then. Back then, my dad asked my mom out on their first date through a note, and he asked her to prom face to face. I mean most of my boyfriends that I ever had asked me out face to face but how they got to build the courage up to do that was different. In junior high, after school everyone would go home straight to their computers log onto a social networking site called Xanga, which is pretty much like this blogging site and talk to each other. Not only were we just on Xanga, we were also on instant messenger at the same time. Then Myspace evolved through 8th and 9th grade and that was popular for awhile. Then about my sophomore year of high school Facebook came about and it is used more than ever today. Another popular thing that people use are dating sites. The thing about all of these websites is that everyone isn’t who they seem. You can lie about ANYTHING on the internet. You can put anything in your about me section, and put any random girls/guys picture as your profile picture. I don’t see how anyone could fall in love over a social networking or dating website. You’re supposed to fall in love with someone as you get to know them and their personality better, as you spend more and more time with them etc., but if you live in Florida and they live in California and you never meet the person, then how do you know if that is really the person that you’re chatting with online? Even if it is the real person you will never find out how they really are through typing words to them. You have to actually hang out with them to feel any emotion in my opinion. For example, Heather and Kevin from Second Skin documentary chatted and played a virtual game together, called World of Warcraft. First of all this game makes no sense? What adult finds slaying dragons with medieval weapons interesting? If you even play this game you should get a second job or something because you have too much time on your hands. Second, how did Heather and Kevin know each others personality through how they played in a game? You can’t tell how someone is really like through this game. Slaying dragons isn’t even real, it doesn’t exist. And Heather got jealous when Kevin would flirt other virtual girl characters. That just seems a bit ridiculous when she has never even met him in her life. It’s like they’re living in a fantasy world because in the fantasy world Kevin might seem strong and mighty because he slays dragons, but when you seem him in real life he is a skinny nerd. So if anything, expressing your personality through this game makes you seem like someone you’re not.
You have some very good points. People can be anybody they want to make themselves out to be online, so how can you be sure of who you are "falling in love" with through this virtual game? However, I do think that people can accurately express their personalities through games. I don't think it's the best way to do it because like you said, people can be someone they aren't when they are online.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said about the virtual relationships. I think some people do alter themselves online a little bit, but if it works out for the people in the relationship then we shouldn't judge. I personally wouldn't do it this way but some people just feel more comfortable doing it this way.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading what you said about your parents and how people use to meet "back then" it made me start to think. My grandparents have been together since high school, and my aunts and uncles have been together for almost thirty years. People back then had no problems meeting one another, and making relationships last. It seems like today people rely on networking sites and the internet, and many of these relationships don't work out.
ReplyDeleteI see where you're coming from about virtual relationships, but I have to disagree. If there is enough commitment, with all of the technology we have at our disposal today (webcams are an easy way to tell if someone is who they say they are) and voice-chatting and things like that, I think it would be easy to get to know someone over the internet. If you spend 6-10 hours a day with someone, virtual or not, I think you will eventually get to know them. You might not know what their physical attributes are like, and things like that, but I think you will definitely get to know their personality.
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