The Internet and Everyday Life…
Before I forget what I read, I wanted to comment on a few aspects of our reading for Thursday which got my attention.
1) The importance of understanding all aspects of life, and not just on-line life was critical. If we look at on-line life in isolation, we forget that people have complicated lives that impact how and why they have an on-line life (we call this uses and gratifications in PhD-land). For instance, I have been doing my grocery-shopping on-line for almost two years, but cannot seem to persuade my friends to do like-wise. For me, it is imperative that I save time where I can and on-line grocery shopping provides me with convenience and time-saving so that I can spend other time studying or with my children.
2) “Chronic communicators” was the term used on p. 19. This is an accurate description of my on-line life, because it allows me to keep in contact with people I might not otherwise be able to. In addition, it saves so much time from leaving phone messages and waiting for people to return them. Now, time is not a factor in the way that we communicate.
3) The role of TV vs. on-line: I thought this was an interesting discussion, and how we view tv differently than on-line activity. Specifically, there was a discussion about how people feel left-out when someone is on-line, but not when they are watching tv. I think that people feel this way because tv has always been more of a group activity–even though we don’t talk when we watch tv, we are experiencing something together. When one of us is on-line, however, we are engaging in an isolated activity where there is no shared experience, unless we are talking to each other on-line.
4) Finally, there was no mention of people having multiple email addresses. That thought intrigues me because it is an indication of the multiple roles we play every day and that we can manage those separate roles by having distinct email addresses. I just had to give up my Wake Forest email after having it for the past several years. (I was wondering when they would ask me to do that). But, it took me awhile to realize that I have given up that identity in place of new ones. I do struggle with what email to provide for my children’s school needs: do I keep my old consulting role in the way I interact with other parents and teachers, or do I assert my new student identity–I have not figured this one out, yet.
