We have not only learned in class, but also experienced, the potential for dishonesty when it comes to asynchronous forms of communication on the internet. Blogs, myspace, Facebook, online dating sites, and other public profile posting sites provide a haven for those who know how to manipulate their information to appear more attractive to others online than in real life.
Facebook is made up of two types of profile elements. Factual-based elements (which include name, birthdate, place of birth, contact information, etc) are those that the poster would receive very little critique on in most situations. Very few people would look at someone’s date of birth and become bias towards/against the person for only that piece of information. Of course, most of the personality assumptions would be made through the more subjective elements (activities, interests, favorite movies and books, etc). Here is where the heart of digital deception lies.
Based on Catalina’s “Deception in Online Dating Profiles” study, it is obvious that many people use the same general guidelines when determining what information to make public in their profiles. We want to appear attractive by any means, which incorporates much of selective self-presentation as part of the Hyperpersonal Model. But we also want to appear honest, so we do not go overboard in our descriptions of ourselves. I feel that most of the people who lie at all about their profiles may be taking said profile a bit too seriously (myself included). But what of lying in the opposite direction: being completely honest in the factors that matter most to impression formation and lying about the factors that matter least?
Take a look at my friend’s responses above. Though we may have predicted that most people (friends or not) would have scored highly accurate as far as profile picture and relationship status (among others) are concerned, it seems that my friend here has taken a very alternate route. She gave her profile picture (not shown) a ranking of 2 in terms of accuracy, but it was not because it flattered her face or body. In the photo she is doing something absolutely ridiculous and unattractive, albeit funny (and I know I can only say this because I personally consider her a very pretty girl =] ). Her favorite books, movies, and TV series are all accurate to the T. But let’s take a closer look at her activities, interests, and quotes.
All of these categories scored relatively low in accuracy. She described to me that many of these were more of “inside jokes” with her friends from school, and others were more of her acting silly with her Facebook profile. Because I know her quite well, I could quite easily gauge the accuracy of her information. I know that there are many personality factors that she really does have that she could have listed in her profile to make her appear more attractive. But I feel that her profile really is a reflection of not only herself, but the lightheartedness that comes with her personality. So really, what is the spectrum of people that online deception affects? Do we all have to lie because we want to appear more attractive?
Comments:
http://comm245yellow.blogspot.com/2007/09/assignment-4-option-1-detecting-lie.html
http://comm245yellow.blogspot.com/2007/09/4-facebook-deception-life-is-gameand-so.html
Facebook is made up of two types of profile elements. Factual-based elements (which include name, birthdate, place of birth, contact information, etc) are those that the poster would receive very little critique on in most situations. Very few people would look at someone’s date of birth and become bias towards/against the person for only that piece of information. Of course, most of the personality assumptions would be made through the more subjective elements (activities, interests, favorite movies and books, etc). Here is where the heart of digital deception lies.
Based on Catalina’s “Deception in Online Dating Profiles” study, it is obvious that many people use the same general guidelines when determining what information to make public in their profiles. We want to appear attractive by any means, which incorporates much of selective self-presentation as part of the Hyperpersonal Model. But we also want to appear honest, so we do not go overboard in our descriptions of ourselves. I feel that most of the people who lie at all about their profiles may be taking said profile a bit too seriously (myself included). But what of lying in the opposite direction: being completely honest in the factors that matter most to impression formation and lying about the factors that matter least?
All of these categories scored relatively low in accuracy. She described to me that many of these were more of “inside jokes” with her friends from school, and others were more of her acting silly with her Facebook profile. Because I know her quite well, I could quite easily gauge the accuracy of her information. I know that there are many personality factors that she really does have that she could have listed in her profile to make her appear more attractive. But I feel that her profile really is a reflection of not only herself, but the lightheartedness that comes with her personality. So really, what is the spectrum of people that online deception affects? Do we all have to lie because we want to appear more attractive?
Comments:
http://comm245yellow.blogspot.com/2007/09/assignment-4-option-1-detecting-lie.html
http://comm245yellow.blogspot.com/2007/09/4-facebook-deception-life-is-gameand-so.html
No comments:
Post a Comment