My foray into a psychological space landed me in an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) chat room run by the music-oriented torrent site OiNK. Wallace identifies IRC as a synchronous chat environment, but after my experience, the synchronization seems to be much less than what one would expect from a face to face discussion.
When I entered the chat room for my first time, I did not really know how an interaction would begin between myself and complete strangers. So I typed, "hello world!" and quickly found myself talking to someone who, in fact, claimed to be the World. You can imagine my relief at finally being able to get some long seated questions answered: "Have you really been running a fever lately?" and "Is the term 'Mother Earth' actually gender appropriate?" World claims to love Al Gore for bringing attention to the recent fever of global warming, and told me that "Auntie Earth" was actually preferred. After changing his tag to represent his role as 'World' he soon ended the ruse to enter "normal guy mode" and reverted to his "normal" nickname.
As our conversation progressed and he revealed himself to be a male from Sweden, I found my impression of him beginning to form. Even through his layered sarcasm I began to notice a constant level of conscientiousness based on his awareness and evaluation of current events and the political climate. He seemed confident and was very enthusiastic to talk about our similar musical interests, but I did not have a good sense of his extraversion. Similarly, I did not really have enough time talking with him to determine his level of neuroticism, but he was certainly very agreeable, giving compliments and avoiding points of conflict when possible.
I did not find that the lack of cues would have prevented me from getting to know him-- on the contrary, a casual 30 minute conversation gave me a much better introduction than many 50 minute class periods that I've spent sitting next to a stranger in the flesh! I think I would say my experience lent itself towards the hyperpersonal model due to the fact that my impression of his openness and conscientiousness were not necessarily based on extensive evidence. The intensity of my impressions did seem slightly exaggerated in retrospect only because I realize that my evaluations are probably inaccurate after such little exposure. There was certainly selective self-presentation in that the musical tastes we expressed were trimmed down to emphasize the interesting and more diverse range of bands that we listened to- the ones that promoted a more fruitful conversation. The overall conversation also gave the impression that our textually based conversation would suffice, given enough time, in garnering accurate impressions of each other.
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2 comments:
Brian,
This post made me laugh and think about how people portray a sense of humor online. In face to face communication, nonverbal cues such as hand gestures and facial expressions are often components of good humor. Saying funny lines in a monotone voice would not entertain an audience. Online, however, it is easier for most everyone to be funny. A witty line, a quick retort, and a twist of words are all easier to pull off through text based communication. It’s hard to image that someone making jokes through text based communication could be sitting next to you in a face to face environment and not even crack a friendly smile. I think this is another reason why text based communication is so addictive. People thrive in anonymity that text based communication provides and use the lack of nonverbal cues to their advantage to portray their ideal selves.
I also think that the music chat that you entered was conducive to the Hyperpersonal impression that you formed. You may have developed slightly exaggerated impressions because you already had a common ground of musical interest. With this already established, you were able to move past the basics and have a quality conversation. Not everyone who entered a random chat room had this advantage. Overall, I thought your post was well written and interesting to read.
Brian-I think that you had a different experience from many other people online. Most first conversations, at least ones that I have read about, were mundane and predictable. I enjoyed reading your post because it seemed like you found someone who wanted to be online for companionship, as opposed to the –ahem- reasons others may engage in internet chatting. It sounds as though you had a really entertaining conversation. I feel as though he could have applied the same theories onto you as you did to him. You entered the room announcing hello to the world. The people already there were making assumptions that you were a pretty cool guy, just looking to have a light conversation. Your respondent was quick to act on that, seeing as he was looking for the same thing. He unknowingly applied the Hyperpersonal Model and was quick to befriend since you both had common interests-using sarcasm online. You in turn did the same feeling immediately comfort talking to the stranger. It is refreshing to know that there are at least semi-normal people out there is cyberspace that are just looking to have a good chat. Great Job
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