When I finally sat down to do assignment #2, I had no idea where to start. I figured a Yahoo search would do the trick, so I typed in "free chat room". I landed on a site called "Teenspot.com", that you had to register to use. I figured, what the hell?, I may want to come back some time and visit. After registering, I entered the first chatroom that I came across called "Coffee Shop", or something along those lines. I began observing the conversation of members in the room and immediately felt out of place. However, I was intrigued when a user called "lovemygirl18" sent out a message to the room, "Anyone want to chat about randomness, person-to-person message me". I instantly knew that this was the person I was looking for.
I messaged the mystery person, giving him/her a simple "Hello", hoping that he/she would respond. They did, and gave the typical "a/s/l" inquiry that is routine for chatting with new people. I told them that I was 19, female, and located in New York City. Lovemygirl is an 18 year old male from Idiana, or so he says. Me, not familiar with Indiana or the Midwest, made the assumption that he is a small-town boy, has a think accent, and works on a farm. My assumptions were quite inaccurate.
I spoke via person-to-person messaging with lovemygirl (who's name is Tory, fyi) for more than an hour. I learned that he is obtaining his GED and may attend college in the future. He works at a factory that packages and ships various items (spaghetti jars, tools, beer, etc.). He has a girlfriend (with the same name as me, weird) who he has been dating for 4 months. His half sister has one child, and is about to have a second. I could tell that he really loves his family and is very devoted to them. For fun, he goes rollerblading and plays video games. He likes metal and rock music.
The time it took me to get to know Tory by CMC could have taken 10 minutes on the telephone or in a face-to-face conversation, thus demonstrating the Social Information Processing Theory (SIP). The absence of non-verbal cues in CMC with Tory made the process of getting to know him even slower. On my part, I used the hyperpersonal model to direct the conversation in a way that I thought would keep it going longer. For instance, I assumed Tory was not much of an academic, so I stayed away from talking about school and college. Instead, I asked him what types of recreational activities he does. Overall, talking with Tory was a real pleasure, and I will most likely talk with him again in the future!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Hey Ashley! That’s really interesting. I agree that what you describe is part of the Social Information Processing Theory. Due to the impersonal nature of CMC’s, the rate of forming an accurate impression is delayed. After an hour of chatting, you were able to develop a more comprehensive and accurate impression of Tory. However, I also think that what you describe is initially similar to the SIDE model. After the usual A/S/L dialogue, you developed an exaggerated and stereotyped impression of Tory, in that he was a small-town boy. But over-time, the effects of the SIDE model disappeared and the SIP model came into play.
Hi Ashley,
I agree with Diana that your experience was a combination of the SIDE theory and the social processing theory. The SIDE theory came into play as you made initial assumptions about Tory's socioeconomic status, his lack of education etc. But, as the social information processing theory states, over time you were able to form a better impression of him, and therefore it was almost the same as having a face to face interaction.
The only thing I would criticize is the little lack of formality you have during the beginning of your post. I just think that you wouldn't want to lose points on something so small.
Your experience
Post a Comment