“Making Friends in Cyberspace”
Malcolm R Parks, University of Washington
Kory Floyd, University of Arizona
Human relations in Cyberspace, what a concept! Looking back at the introduction of the World Wide Web I often wonder if the founder could have even imagined for a moment how this new environment would evolve. According to Parks and Floyd there are over “5000 Internet discussion groups today" and growing rapidly. This study reviewed cyberspace and friendships and they came up with four questions to lead their research. “How often do personal relationships form in Internet newsgroups, who has them, how close or developed do they become, and do relationships that started on line migrate to other settings?” (Parks, Floyd, pg1)
First question that was tested was how often relationships formed. Test conducted sampled different newsgroups by randomly selecting participants that were involved several times during a certain time period. A survey was emailed to those individuals and the results were then studied. Only 33% responded but of those 60% stated that they had formed a friendship through Cyberspace.
Second and third questions looked at “Who” has or is looking for a personal relationship through Cyberspace and how involved did they become. This was interesting, as in the past, often it was believed that those participating were either socially unlucky or extremely shy. Study showed this was not the case and in many ways was just the opposite. Study also showed that as one became more and more involved with a group of one or more they also began to self-disclose more personal information. It appears that these relationships were very real and friendships seemed to be evolving rapidly. Additionally individuals from all walks of life are getting involved. According to the Parks and Floyd, “It may be that developing personal relationships on line is more a function of simple existence than it is of demographic or personality factors.”
Last question, “Do on-line relationships migrate to other settings?” (Parks,Floyd, pg 9) Answer from this study was, yes they often do. 63% reported that at some point there on-line conversations eventually went off-line. Forms of communication ranged from the telephone, postal service and 33% met face-to-face. Authors note that assumptions about on-line relationships remaining on-line are incorrect and many times do lead to other forms.
Both authors agree that more research needs to be conducted to really determine exactly how broad human relation’s has become through Cyberspace. It is however apparent that communicating through cyberspace has become another way for people to meet others with like interests or just to be social. Even using basic email has become very personal through the use of idioms and images.
Opinion:
There are many ways in which each of us can become involved. Have you explored any of these opportunities? As I was doing this project I thought about what life would be like without Cyberspace and the ability to communicate with others through it. Are we losing value in having a face-to-face conversation? In many ways I don’t believe we are. My opinion is that communication through Cyberspace is just another method of interacting with others.
Parks, Malcolm, University of Washington & Floyd, Kory, University of Arizona. (1996) Making Friends in Cyberspace. Journal of Communication 46(1). http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol1/issue4/parks.html
Nicole Johnson
2 comments:
In your opinion section you asked, “Are we losing value in having a face-to-face conversation?” I believe in some case we are losing value from not meeting face-to-face. We hold several virtual meeting with people in many locations, but often a small group is in the same location. Rather than have this smaller group meet face-to-face and interact with those in remote location, they often sit isolated in at their desk and listen. We are losing the value of personal interaction in the case.
I agree that cyber communication can be very useful for keeping in touch and meeting people. I also think that we are starting to rely too heavily on it for casual day to day conversations. Often messages sent through a digital medium can easily be misinterpreted. Where with face-to-face contact a message can be made very clear and be explained on the spot if necessary.
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