Emailing Awkwardness

I can relate to Ellen Ullman, as described in her article “Come in CQ: The Body on the Wire,” in that I, too, have found internet communication at night to be a comfortable medium for communication. Throughout my early teen years, on nights when I either couldn’t sleep or didn’t feel like sleeping, I often found myself instant messaging with boys from school. Some of them were general friends, but others were people I hadn’t known on a personal level before, just as Ullman experienced with Karl. From the onset, there was always a conversation starter based around why we were both on the internet so late at night. Ullman shared a similar situation with Karl when he responded to her late night email in a matter of minutes. Though Ullman spent her time emailing a coworker and I spent mine instant messaging acquaintances from school, we both share common ground in the development of relationships with someone we normally would have felt uncomfortable around. These opportunities were granted to us both through the communication options of the internet.

Additionally, I can empathize with Ullman’s somewhat awkward first date with Karl. I also opted to go on a date with one of the boys I had repeatedly chatted with online. Ullman’s problem fell in the “email-esque” format of her in person conversation. However, my problem arose with being too shy without the protection of a computer screen between my date and me. Ullman felt herself wanting more from Karl after their first in person encounter, while I found the experience too uncomfortable to attempt again. My young age may have been a stronger factor in the awkwardness of my date rather than simply the impersonality of email, as was the main factor for Ullman. She was brave enough to continue her online romance, but I am leery of ever attempting such a situation again. Overall, Ellen Ullman and I found comfort in nighttime internet communication, and we both have learned that it can be difficult to form relationship in that realm.