When I compare my life with that of Ellen Ullman, I can see that the way that we transpose ourselves over the internet is similar. As someone who is often connected with the online community, I find that much of my time is spent keeping in touch with others with internet mediums. Being similar to her avid use of email, I feel like I can relate to Ullman as she portrayed herself in her article "Come in CQ: The Body on the Wire," where she portrays how she found her love life through the constant exchange of emails. I find that while online, a lot of my time is spent communicating with others, not particularly emailing them, but rather through additional mediums, such as chatting, or even social networking site such as facebook. It is true that by keeping in touch with others over the internet, it becomes a replacement to interactions with other when one is alone. I can see how Ullman could become emotionally attached to others online by building a relationship, for even if I was alone for a long period of time, I can still retrieve a sense of human interaction by communicating to others online.
On the other hand, there are some points of Ullmans' that I cannot bring myself to agree with, such as her capacity to strive to have an intimate relationship over an email medium. I cannot find myself pursuing a relationship with someone that I met online, and even considering the awkwardness of the situation, there are inherent dangers. When not meeting face to face with another person, there is a loss of physical connection, for using the internet as a medium serves to shield one's true identity or personality. For instance, there are often reports of older individuals that pose as younger people online, and chat with others. This introduces a danger if they want to meet with them, but stands to illustrate why having online relationships prove to be untrustworthy. Yet, even while I don't believe in online relationships, Ullman continued to pursue this relationship with her addiction to checking her mail. Ullman and Karl forged a relationship together via a constant exchange of emails even before they were able to meet.
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I agree with you. It is really hard to find someone that you love through online. Additionally, it is very hard to open and read from the opposite sex whether he/she is being sincere or not. There are so many disadvantages when you are using internet. Physical connection, true identity or personality. Althogh Ullman decides to keep in touch with Karl through internet, I think everyone is on the same page with the fact that it is very hard to develope relationship without bringing in true self-identity.
ReplyDeleteNice job! I really enjoyed reading your post. I completely agree with your comment that there are inherent dangers when having online relationships. When chatting online, people can easily disguise themselves and hide their true identities. I think the best way to get to know about someone is to meet him/her in person.
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