Our online interactions

                Online, people feel as though they can act however they please. It seems as though there is very little regulation with regards to what people say. As we’ve covered in class on . It is not as easy to form impressions on people if we are unable to see them. Our computer screens, TV screens or smartphone screens seem to serve as. When I make comments online, I tend to be way more open with regards to how I feel about the issues that get my gears turning. For instance, I take advantage of the barrier my computer screen places between me and people when commenting on sports articles, particularly regarding the national football league’s handling of domestic violence.

            I recently reread our textbook and came across these questions: Is CMC really cold and impoverished? Is CMC really uninhibited and aggressive? Is it always like this? I understand that my answer to this question may be a bit biased because I spend so much time using modern technology. While Social Presence Theory suggests that technology leads to less social presence and less warmth, 25 percent of the nearly 2,000 women surveyed by “New Woman Online” had formed romantic relationships over the web.

Our current technology was intended to make life easier and more convenient. In my case, I feel as though I now have the ability to deliver messages rapidly to my friends, particularly if an emergency comes up at the last moment. It is easier to stay on top of things and I am no longer given the inconvenience of having to walk the long distance to a post office to deliver a message to someone. I feel that the questions mentioned previously are not taking into account the promise of future interaction which can be promised through lengthy online interactions.

            Moreover, as we spend more time interacting with people, CMC will become increasingly personal since we are gradually getting to know them better.  In addition, it will be easier to form closer-knit friendships with people who share the same interests with us. People who communicate online are often Going Multimodal, meaning that they will use multiple channels by which to communicate with each other, with methods such as: email, text messages, phone calls, and so on.

            I currently use social networking sites (particularly facebook) to maintain contact with my friends from high school as well as my family. This is the only way I maintain regular contact with them because the only opportunities I have for a face-to-face interaction are when I come home for holiday breaks. Consequently, the internet has helped me to supplement for the valuable face-to-face interaction time that I have lost. This became particularly important for me when I arrived in Penn State last fall. Interacting online with the people close to me has helped me to remain understanding of people’s situations. This is very important in maintaining relationship with people you don’t see too often anymore. With the advent of online communication (and particularly smartphones in recent years), I have always been able to keep up with the people that I care most about.