The Internet versus "IRL"

[Breakpoint]

Hmm. I hope this question isn't too confusing or borderlines on being a little philosophical, but do you guys take reality with you when you logoff of the Internet?

For instance, would you say that the conversations that you might take in during a chat session or on message boards reflect what you see when you walk out the door and go through your daily business? Or is interacting on the Internet simply a form of escaping outside, everyday reality?

Being on a message board like this means bringing together many people from far away from your local environment, and who may share vastly different opinions than folks who you meet around your physical area. Put it in another and maybe loose way, gather about 5 anime fans from each and every country or state and allow them to interact with one another - you just can't have that setup so easily in real life.

The Internet really gives the illusion of day to day reality around me, especially since I know I am talking to flesh and blood people on the other side. But to me, knowing that I live away (physically) from most of the members in a community, it certainly isn't a replacement for it.

[Hara!]

http://www.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/disinhibit.html

That´s a good article on the subject.

[Lord Timaeus]

http://www.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/disinhibit.html

That´s a good article on the subject.

tl;dr

See? Only on the Internet will you find absurd and borderline rude comments such as this. If you know your way around it, you probably fail at life.

[Breakpoint]

Thanks for the link corncopp6. That's definitely a good read.

Anybody have any personal thoughts on the subject?

[Hara!]

Normal Person + Anonymity = Total retard.

That is the formula for the internet.

[Holy Knight]

Personally, I see the internet as being "IRL". You are, after all, interacting with it in real time.

Until the day we can "jack-in" into the internet, I will always see "being on the internet" as being "IRL", as you aren't entering another world when surfing, you're just using the computer as a medium to access it, the same way you have to physically displace yourself in order to use physical objects.

So, no difference to me in that respect.

However, the difference comes the fact that the internet is made from a purely [mind -> effect] standpoint as opposed to [mind -> body -> effect] in "IRL". What I mean to say is, the internet is a conglomerate of pure, uninhibited mind-speak where people don't have to cover themselves in the way they do "IRL".

So for all those who say the internet camouflages the person with anonymity, I say say it reveals the person's innermost self. The internet is, therefore the one place where everyone is true to himself, not "IRL", where people disguise themselves with facial expressions, mode and variations in tone of voice, etc. All so that the interaction between our physical bodies remains, well, "politically correct" to maintain a certain status quo that is stress-free.

That's the way I see, anyway and it could also be the reason why the internet is such a wealth of information.

[MonkeyBoy0314]

I'm an escapist who has a very active imagination so whether I'm on the internet, playing games, sitting in school, or working, the world is my playground.

It's not like I can't tell the difference, though.

[Tenou]

You know, this is me. I'm just as I am here as I am when I'm face to face... though much more funny face to face because then you might be able to tell that I'm joking. Ok, maybe not. But at least I'm persistent.
Holy's right, the internet, you don't change who you are, you can't change your personality... you can change your sex, your age, but who you are is who you are. You can fib (i.e. 'African Princes' who just need access to your bank account to deposit millions), but unless you're a professional liar, you probably won't be able to keep it up for long.
The only thing the internet can give you is anonymity. Which I figure is just about the same as being drunk.

[Leader Desslock]

I'd say that there's no difference between the Leader Desslock folks see on this forum and my presence in real life. Hypothetically speaking, any AN member who met me anonymously at an anime convention* would probably be able to recognize me just from my conversation style**.

* not that it's ever gonna happen, but I'm speaking hypothetically here...

** Either that, or because I'd be the old guy complaining loudly to the event managers about the appalling lack of mead at the commissary.

[tenshi_a]

...I'm no good at being other people...?

[VidelCoolGirl]

I'm more articulated it seems on the net, but I'm not all that different in real life. Most people don't see me as "alpha", but I like to think I'm the same in RL and on the net. I'm a tad more cynical on the net however. I usually keep smart comments to myself instead of saying them (Matters who the person is however).

[superplough]

I am the same IRL to the extent I say "lol" out loud.

[Amuro]

Actually, this made me remember that it used to be more common for people to treat things like "posting on a message board" as no different from "playing a game".. it was viewed as a sort of "fake interaction" or "role-playing" by people who didn't participate. A lot of people couldn't even wrap their minds around the concept of a computer (y'know, an interactive TV) being used to talk to real people rather than just play games.

Now that everyone is involved in social networking (MySpace, Facebook), not to mention World of Warcraft :P, the concept is no-longer alien to people, and that mindset has disappeared.

After all, don't you have both people you know in person and people you've met through forums/online games/etc. on your Facebook friends list? Isn't it all the same, more or less?

The division is interesting though.. when does something become real for a person?

I remember I was amazed the first time I interacted with someone I knew in real life in an online game. Meeting someone who you met in a game in real life would be a similar kind of wake-up-call and might elicit disbelief.

However, in spite of the tricks played by human psychology and the ambiguous benefits of interacting with people over the internet, only a fanatic would attempt to counter the scientific fact that the people you interact with on the internet are real, have feelings to be hurt, etc. Thus, manners are important even on the internet.

[superplough]

I always treat online people as I do IRL people. They're still people. You just cant see them. Unless they have a webcam like me XD

[fujyoshi]

I'm definetly more social on the internet but that's it.

[Jae Hoon]

Normal Person + Anonymity = Total retard.

That is the formula for the internet.

Doesnt even have to be anonymity, what people dont realize is it is the same way in real life in a slightly different situation.

Sure when people are around other people they usually behave, but when they are just around friends or relatives the creative use of 4 letter words goes to an all time high. It isnt just an online thing, its a comfort zone from what I can tell.

[Oburi]

While I'm on the internet, most of my time is spent on things that interest me in real life. So, yes, things that happen on the internet can alter and affect my opinion on things when I get away from the keyboard. However, trite things like.. say some one saying something negative on the internet to me won't carry on with me. It's kind of a two way door, it depends on the situation.

[Neo0tak0n]

I like to think about the fact that what you see through a computer monitor is not what you are actually seeing. There aren't actually webpages, buttons, scrollbars, mouse cursors, video game characters, etc. This things don't actually exist. The code that manifests them into the reality of the computer screen exists, not the objects themselves.

I think this can correlate strongly with reality outside of the computer screen, such as everyday life. The objects you see around you may not in fact exist as they seem to appear. In the case of an organism, it is an expression of genetic data, and without the genetic data, it does not exist.

[Oburi]

I like to think about the fact that what you see through a computer monitor is not what you are actually seeing. There aren't actually webpages, buttons, scrollbars, mouse cursors, video game characters, etc. This things don't actually exist. The code that manifests them into the reality of the computer screen exists, not the objects themselves.

I think this can correlate strongly with reality outside of the computer screen, such as everyday life. The objects you see around you may not in fact exist as they seem to appear. In the case of an organism, it is an expression of genetic data, and without the genetic data, it does not exist.

This reminds me of a theory I read about how the Matrix or something similar could really exist. It's also reminiscent of Plato's cave.

[Tuna]

Wow...I haven't heard a Plato's Cave reference in a while...
^_^

Personally, I'm very much the same online as IRL, unless I've chosen to filter myself through a chosen persona for fun.
;3

[Dr. Ezra]

When I was a child I used to be all like, "Omigod! A guy from AN hit on me."

Now when that happens I go, "Get the hell away from me. :BLOCK:"

I sign in about once or twice a week now.

The internet is internet. By no means should it be used to fill in that void in the hearts of lonely people. That ain't cool.

[MrKoreanguy]

Shy person + Internet = Popular guy/girl.
Popular person + Internet = That user with names such as kikazz12915 or skatergurl1929 who are really annoying.

At least that's what I think.

[Dr. Ezra]

Shy person + Internet = Popular guy/girl.
Popular person + Internet = That user with names such as kikazz12915 or skatergurl1929 who are really annoying.

At least that's what I think.

More like...

sexygurl, just_do_me (Nike, you know?) They have to be skank-a-licious.

The Nike one is totally real. A girl Freshman year had it. I'll never forget it.

[JFaulkner]

I approach messageboards and chat-rooms with a strong dose of skepticism. For one thing, it's incredibly easy to pass yourself off as more knowledgable/skilled/experienced etc. than you are. And I tend to place at least equal value on what a person does rather than what they say/type.

[kenshinbebop]

I know everyone on here thinks of me as the hott guy with ripped abs who you just want to take to bed...

In real life I'm the same way!

Giggity!
/ego boost :(

[Tenou]

I approach messageboards and chat-rooms with a strong dose of skepticism. For one thing, it's incredibly easy to pass yourself off as more knowledgable/skilled/experienced etc. than you are. And I tend to place at least equal value on what a person does rather than what they say/type.

Funny story, took place here, actually. There was some topic about English. Now me, being an English major (though working on at the time), I had an avid interest. Anyway, this member took exception to me saying that writing should be proof read. I said that, as I had in tended on getting my B.Ed., I was tutoring as well as I had experience as a research assistant and, for extra cash, edited a few theses. I brought up my experience, being in the academic environment, what is expected in such an area.
Well, said member called me a liar, said I didn't know what I was talking about, and said that she would want me to be her (I think it was a female) child's teacher. And something about a red pen (I'm thinking one of those 'dangerously PC' types). Then proceeded to tell me what I was doing academically, her idea of an academic article, a university essay, and (very presumptuous, and very incorrect) what my academic career entailed.

Now, if I didn't know my field so well, if I didn't know what was required of all prospective B.Ed. students, and if I hadn't had so much experience with actually getting published, then what she said would make sense. To someone who doesn't have experience in academia, they would look at it and say 'Ten'ou, you're an ***, that other one there, she makes sense.' But what it showed to me was that she either wasn't a university student, as she claimed, or was in her first year and wasn't really experienced (or, god forbid, actually had a few years under her belt and still didn't have a clue what was going on.)

And you're probably asking what my point is. So am I...
Ok, my point, you can try to sound smarter, but really, you can't fake it. Even with Wiki (which is, ga, don't get me started, it's actually easier to find out who the fraud is) there is someone out there who will actually know what they're talking about and may just call you on it.

[JFaulkner]

And you're probably asking what my point is. So am I...
Ok, my point, you can try to sound smarter, but really, you can't fake it. Even with Wiki (which is, ga, don't get me started, it's actually easier to find out who the fraud is) there is someone out there who will actually know what they're talking about and may just call you on it.
Firstly, nice anecdote. Spectators sometimes gravitate towards empty rhetoric.

I agree it's relatively easy to pick out frauds in areas that you are familiar with. But the "danger" is when you start engaging in other areas. For example, I would be comfortable with a discussion on ecology, but would really struggle with politics and military strategy; literally can't tell my right hand from my left. I remember all these threads I came across during the 2003 war in Iraq, and it was really difficult for me to pick out the knowledgeable people from the asshats. Wiki makes life in these areas even more difficult because you press a few buttons, paraphrase a few sentences and voila!, instant argument. Whoever "wins" a debate, i.e. makes the most effective case, might just be the person who has the most time to dig around the Internet and imbibe ideas.

Unfortunately, you cannot learn about everything; as the saying goes: "one learns more and more about less and less".