Dr Smith,

As always a very interesting facet has caught your thought and imagination.
Yes it is correct that these Avtars and aliases of virtual world together with inappropriate claims of mastery over subjects continually threaten to turn this excellent technology of communication into anti-humanist. And since the person is not one to one the temptation to overdo may as well be higher as the scrutiny is not immediate or may not be possible. Yet even in real world we see increasingly more cases where we are unsure of real strengths, intent or hidden agenda and face some amount of difficulty in segregation of a good cause from deceit. I guess it has to do with loss of appreciation of ethics and morality in method and replacing with achieving the goal somehow. And what the goal is. may not as well be very clear, thanks to myopic visions.

Ravindra

Dr. Smith,

You raise an interesting point and I would be inclined to agree with what you are saying in your article. The virtual world has created the ability for people to reach every corner of the world and interact with people that they ordinarily would never have an opportunity to do and this has a pros and cons.

Really what it seems like you are hinting at is you don’t like the value that the virtual world adds to the ability to manage, and grow, personal relationships? Perhaps I didn’t fully understand you but that is what it sounds like. I would agree that the internet does provide the opportunity for people to mislead and represent more than is really there but I would say that this is really no different than the real world, only in the real world it’s harder for people to enter your sphere of influence. For example, in real life I probably be having this conversation with you, but here in the virtual world I can simply post a response and get your attention for a few moments. The virtual world allows people much easier access into our personal spheres. I think as time goes on we, as a society, will learn how to better use the internet as a value adding part of doing business and networking and not just an ad hoc way of sharing ideas.

LinkedIn is a good example of what i’m talking about. LinkedIn gives you more of a chance to learn about the people you are interacting with. Perhaps not as well as face to face relationships but on LinkedIn you can read previous posts, comments and articles they have written and you can look into their “virtual” network to see if there is any connection to your own and use that as a bridge to a more traditional network if you so desire. It’s not perfect by any means but it seems to be a start.

As you said in your article, the relationships and connections in the virtual world are still stretched thin and perhaps, as we do in business, we are going to have to learn how to find a niche and manage our virtual life in a more targeted manner. Just as I can’t be everywhere in the real world all the time and expect to have any real relationships or truly know the people around me, I can’t be everywhere in the virtual world either.

Thanks for the question and letting me enter your sphere for a few minutes, I hope my thoughts are helpfull!

Rogan McGillis

This topic is indeed important today.

In the Christian faith we are taught
…1 Peter 2:17 “Show proper respect to everyone”

Something is happening that is inspiring people to do the opposite.

I admire your insight into this most pressing issue facing society today. My daugther and I have had numerous conversations regarding the relative ease with which we as humans are now able to “hide” behind a keyboard. She became enamoured with some of the internet sites where an avatar is easily created and took some liberty and creativity in re-creating herself for everyone to see. Now in college, I believe she has learned her lesson and that she has a renewed understanding and respect for one’s veracity.
I think we as parents have a long uphill battle in educating and restoring our children’s misguided ways to interact with each other, however, by highlighting the issue and communicating with them, I for one believe that we can turn them around.

IMHO, an essential difference between technology-mediated relationships and in-person relationships is that it’s harder to escape from an in-person relationship.

In the “old days,” a person’s relationships tended to be with people who we met in person – in the same village, town, church, etc. We were “stuck” with these people, because the were neighbors or otherwise permanent members of our communities. We got to know them more deeply over longer periods of time. As with other long-term relationships, like marriage and family, they became more intimate and complex, with histories of disputes, compromises, shared challenges, fallings out, reunions, forgiveness, ….

Today’s technology-mediated relationships are less binding. We can “block” them by screening telephone calls and not responding to email. Because we don’t have to “make them work” over long periods of time, they remain shallow. We don’t invest in them with understanding and compromise. They can be purely transactional.

I have heard it said that it’s easier to be an asshole if you never have to see the other person again. With technology-mediated relationships, you might never even have seen them in the first place.