This was not intended to provoke anger, so I'm sorry for doing so. My point in posting this was that I'm trying to understand my own thoughts here (and this is often the point of my "discuss!" posts) because I am conflicted. I am hopeful that through hearing others' opinions I'll be able to understand my own better.
I phrased it the way that I used to view things since my views are changing. I used to feel that (1) online relationships were not as deep or otherwise valid as face-to-face relationships, and (2) online activities (such as Facebook or playing Gears of War) were for people who have no real friends and/or wish to avoid interactions with people. The nature of how my peers use online activities appears to be changing however, so that they are used to enhance "real life" relationships rather than competing with or supplanting them, so this is making me question my original opinion.
Another related issue is that of the priority of online vs. face-to-face and related etiquette. Is it okay to talk on the cellphone while going through a grocery checkout line? In some massively multiplayer online games you're expected to make the game a priority so that if your guild has a raid, you're expected to be there even if it's your daughter's first piano recital the same night, while in other games people know that you have a real life and would berate you if you went on the raid instead of going to your son's soccer game. Is it socializing with friends if T$'s playing Gears of War and I'm on LJ and we're both in the living room, or are we being rude for ignoring each other?
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timeasmymeasure
Re: I am going to rant
Date: 2009-07-15 03:37 am (UTC)I phrased it the way that I used to view things since my views are changing. I used to feel that (1) online relationships were not as deep or otherwise valid as face-to-face relationships, and (2) online activities (such as Facebook or playing Gears of War) were for people who have no real friends and/or wish to avoid interactions with people. The nature of how my peers use online activities appears to be changing however, so that they are used to enhance "real life" relationships rather than competing with or supplanting them, so this is making me question my original opinion.
Another related issue is that of the priority of online vs. face-to-face and related etiquette. Is it okay to talk on the cellphone while going through a grocery checkout line? In some massively multiplayer online games you're expected to make the game a priority so that if your guild has a raid, you're expected to be there even if it's your daughter's first piano recital the same night, while in other games people know that you have a real life and would berate you if you went on the raid instead of going to your son's soccer game. Is it socializing with friends if T$'s playing Gears of War and I'm on LJ and we're both in the living room, or are we being rude for ignoring each other?