Editorial: : Online interactions should not replace authentic relationships

Tue, 24 Jan 2006 18:47:00 GMT

Going a little out of hand?

A mere 25 years ago, the Internet would have been a foreign term to most of the world. If one wished to communicate with friends, he or she would have to call the friend or walk over to his or her house. E-mail and instant messaging had no significance in the average person’s vocabulary. Computers were the most recent marvel, and would remain so for the next several years. Fast forward to 2006, where companies such as AOL and MSN have created free instant messaging (IM) programs that have grown to be extremely popular. Instead of asking for a person’s phone number, one might ask for his or her screen name. Web log or “blog” sites like Xanga and Livejournal have replaced old-fashioned journals and diaries. One has the option of creating a Myspace or Facebook instantly connecting him with new friends from across town or across the nation. While making friends and meeting new people over the Internet may sound like fun, is this escalating trend going in the right direction? Ten years from now, are we still going to want to see our friends in person? Are the friends we make online really who they say they are? When one communicates with others online, he or she is only able to see a person’s words, not actions or emotions. Studies show that 80 percent of all communication is non-verbal; where is this authenticity in communicating over the Internet? Online, jokes can be taken the wrong way, and emotions can easily be covered up. If someone is sad, he or she might rather have a hug than written condolence. Things like marriage proposals and personal conversations have little meaning if not done in person. Since the beginning of time, every year has brought new inventions and improvements to people around the world. Cars have an increasing number of special features, household appliances do more work with a simple push of the button, and computers and the Internet bring information to the world faster than ever. Because of this, people, especially Americans, have grown to expect everything the moment it is demanded. These days, if a new song is played on the radio, many people just download the song from the Internet instead of waiting for the CD to come out. Online abbreviations have caused people to gradually forget how to spell simple words and phrases such as “got to go” or “talk to you later”. It is expected that as one progresses through his or her education, his or her vocabulary and spelling skills expand. However, teachers have difficulty to translate papers written in Internet slang into proper English. William Shakespeare would turn over in his grave if he knew what people were doing to the language he helped pioneer. The Internet is probably always going to be around. Although the World Wide Web has countless benefits, at the same time, it is hurting its millions of users’ abilities to speak and communicate properly as well as form genuine and healthy relationships with others. And, as always, for students who just can’t handle actually touching paper and having to manually turn pages, The Colonel is online at http://my.highschooljournalism.org/oh/kent/rhs/.