For this assignment, I chose to enter an internet chat room. It was an interesting experience for me since as a child I was always blocked from them on AOL. My parents strongly believed that they were full of “sickos” who were looking for more than just a friend to talk with. So, with them in mind I chose to enter a Girls Only chat room on chatavenue.com. It wasn’t girls only- the language was crude and I left shortly after. I searched until I found a chat room where the content was much more relevant to my purpose.
I started a private chat with a boy named Weston (Weston1000) who was from the state of Washington. He was a senior in high school and was eager to start college. I posed as a high school junior from New York. After the awkward mundane getting-to-know-you part was out of the way, he asked me what other forums I visited regularly and if I engaged in any metaworlds. We talked some more and I realized just how much time he spent online everyday.
My first impression of Weston was right in line with the Cues Filtered Out Theory. Due to the limiting interface, I had no vocal cues or body language to use in judging him. All I knew was this boy liked chat-rooms and spent way too many hours online each day. The lack of cues lead me to have a negative view of this boy. Automatically I starting picturing his physical appearance. I saw a geeky boy with glasses feverishly typing on his computer. The Hypersonal Model states that when one speaks with another and there are limited cues, one tends to generalize and stereotype the other. I filled in the missing gaps, such as his social status, hobbies, and personality. I thought that Weston was unpopular in school, didn’t do many extracurricular activities, and was an all around extroverted person. At the end of our conversation, he gave me his AIM screenname, so we could talk another time in the future. I knew that was never going to happen because he was a big computer geek and we had nothing. Curiously, I looked at his profile on AIM and found a quote from a movie I liked. The internet is a deceptive place-maybe if we met in real life I would have gotten a different impression and we may have become friends.
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2 comments:
To be honest, I think your parents are still right that people in chat rooms are there looking for more than someone to just talk to. I mean really, who do you know who goes to chat rooms? I think its amusing how easily you were able to lie about yourself once you entered the chat room. What do you think the chances Weston was being completely honest with you? Probably low odds. I think your immediate picture of him being a total geek is likely spot on. I cant really picture someone discussing metaworlds to random strangers not being like that. That said, I think this is explained primarily by the CFO model. The only real thing you have to base your opinion on this guy is his screen name and your short discussion with him on his internet habits - of course the view is going to be negative. Everyone has some positive traits and following the SIP theory I think Weston probably has some too, it just might take a while to discover them. That said, you have to feel bad for this kid.
I agree with Brendan's comment as well. Chat rooms are a place to be be that someone you are not. Most probably, this Weston1000 high school senior from New York was posing. It would have been interesting if you challenged the fact that he was from a public school in New York. That is assuming, you yourself are familiar with New York's schools. I would have loved to speak to this kid and ask him what high school he went to, what teachers he had, and if he went through the side door (or something very particular about the school, that a native of the school should know). It would be the ultimate chat room test of identity.
On another note, this is definitely an example of CFO. Through such a limited computer mediated conversation, lacking any body or language cues, it is no question that you came up with such a view of Weston1000. The excessive views you have about Weston, "I saw a geeky boy with glasses feverishly typing on his computer.....I thought that Weston was unpopular in school, didn’t do many extracurricular activities, and was an all around extroverted person." are quite interesting. I mean, just one conversation, which I'm assuming was probably less than 20 minutes, can leave such a strong impression in peoples minds. It's as they say, first impressions are everything!
Great job Dana!
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