In the article “A
Virtual Death and a Real Dilemma” it talks about how much time people can
invest their time when it comes to online communities. This emotional
attachment that people can create towards these online communities can create
issues and confusion in their future. In the article it states, “One of the
most touted beliefs about Internet communication is that the medium strips away
users' offline identities and leaves them free to reconstruct a tether less
online persona” (p.203), which I totally agree with. In online worlds people
are given the freedom to create a whole new identity. I’ve read in the newspaper
before about grown women who created a fictional online identity. She pretended
to be a sixteen year old and did this so she would be able to torment another
sixteen year old girl that had been bullying her daughter. This online bullying
ended with the girl committing suicide. It’s said to read stories like this.
People should never get so involved or emotionally connected to online
communities.
Hi Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you on this. As he article mentioned at one point, it's a tax we sign up for, when we give ourselves to the medium. I for one give of myself, in certain circumstances; those circumstances tend to be when I believe what I am reading. Perhaps that is the rub for the users in the given community, you need to actually think about what you are reading and give it critical thought.
The article did a good job of clearly showing there were those in this particular community who were not buying what Debbie was selling. That means that there were enough inconsistencies for them to be wary; they then warned the rest of the community. My contention is, if at that point in time you were a part of the community, you read the doubters and still wanted to be "all-in", then you in effect, accepted the tax you may have to pay.