The question if virtual communities are genuine really brought up a heated conversation between my friends and I. A female friend said it was diminishing how we communicate. We no longer can read facial expressions and sarcasm because it's hard to put your emotions on a screen...unless you take the time to write it out, but where's the fun in that? On the other hand, my male friend came from another side: video games. He mentioned the growing of a game, World of Warcraft, and in this game you create an avatar and defeat evil doers and such. But you also have to live your life; eat, sleep find a mate and get married. He informed me how people would meet in the games and their avatars would get married and some even went as far as to meet in real life, date and eventually get married. If you ask me that's a little creepy, but hey, to each his own.
I had to side with both of them. Where chat rooms can connect those of us across the water from each other, it can also connect unwanted people who may or may not live around the corner. That danger of you never can trust who that person says they are wins over for me. This leads to kids not knowing how to trust what a person says and understanding danger. So where virtual communities can be great for socializing and relaxation, I don't feel that they are benefiting our growth as human beings. If anything, I think technology is slowing down our evolution, but hey....that's a blog for another time....
~Give Me Room to Stand, And I Will Move the World~
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