You make a lot of sense. Without relational context, the bluntly written
word, devoid of non-verbals, does come across harshly (and instead of harsh
meaning insensitivity or cruelty, it could me truthfully, justly, etc.) I
never considered the positive aspects of this: that e mail users
unshackled from the chains of societal niceties and fear of retribution,
will communicate their emotions, and essentially themselves, in a much more
authentic manner.
Now, it seems that even when people engaged in face-to-face interaction
pillow their darker emotions in soft words and anesthesia smiles, the real
truth of the matter (their true emotions) are still being communicated
(sent and received) through the synchronistic-body knowledge we've been
talking about. This creates a dual reality, which in someways seems quite
pathological: there is the explicit, surface, societal reality, which tells
us we are all getting along productively; and the implicit, hidden one, the
personal one, which tells us the other is full of "dangerous" emotion.
What would happen if all of us only communicated on that honest, personal
level, like nutropsych did in his initial e mail? I ask this because the
proliferation of electronic comm. channels could be taking us in that
direction. Is this possibly one path to a societal Utopia? Has anyone out
their ever been in a relationship where you said exactly what was in your
heart at all times, and the other person reciprocated? On one hand this
seems like this would lead to an ideal relationship. But what kind of egos
and trust would be a prerequisite for this type of interaction to turn out
productively? If one person was bluntly honest about their emotions, but
the other couldn't handle this, we would likely label this as an abusive
relationship. Does the Internet then become a tool for taking society to a
higher level of closeness/consciousness/inter subjectivity, or will it be a
weapon for breaking hearts/beating down egos/whipping up anger? What
happens when we consider that the tool and the weapon are essentially the
same thing?
Amy
>At 11:05 AM 2/27/98, you wrote:
>>At 09:50 AM 2/27/98 EST, you wrote:
>>>Wow, Nutropsych provides us with a great example of how negative emotions
>>can be sent over the computer!
>>
>>I wonder if our emotions/affectivity are effected differently depending on
>>the channel of communication? If synchronicity between people is largely
>>related to voice/body movement, and this has an effect on our emotions,
>>than what happens when there are no bodys or voices present?
>>
>>Amy
>>
>I have wondered the same things. Surely it is just this problematics which
>spawned the emoticons/smileys that were (and still are, though less so)
>ubiquitous in electronic communications. Subtlety and nuance of expression
>(meaning in the facial, rather than the lexical domain) are crucial for
>communication, certainly. Smile when you say that, podnuh, etc., is one of
>the expressions (there it goes again, to paraphrase that clownish,
>orange-haired, rosy-cheeked, chain-saw weilding, "great" communicator) which
>point to the ameliorating influence of the physical presence upon speech.
>OTOH, on the web, those influences are formally absent; and this absence is
>what the smileys are supposed to alleviate?
>Then there's this: This very proximity, which facilitates and amplifies
>communication also exists to suppress it. There is an intimidation factor
>present, in the eyes, the demeanor, the stance of the physically present
>interlocutor that isn't a factor in electronically mediated communication.
>Anybody can "flame" anybody else, without the threat of the fist or the
>brick upside of the head, and this isn't bad, either; especially for those
>whose normal or usual modes of communciation are (perceived to be) overseen
>by those (others) who have actual power to reprobate breeches in their
>authority with "real" consequences. So, among friends communicating via the
>web, it is possible (to choose a particularly egregious example) to say
>"Shut up, bitch" in the knowledge that the respondent is neither going to
>shut up, nor is in fact a bitch. But the same iteration, typed into the void
>of the ether, and directed at another similarly faceless "voice," expresses
>an intentional violation of conventions and the demeaning of the object.
>Make any sense?
>cheers
>+ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = +
>| John Konopak, EDUC/ILAC,820 VanVleet Oval,U.of OK.Norman,OK73019|
>|E-mail: jkonopak who-is-at ou.edu; Fax: 4053254061; phone:4053251498 |
>+_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_+
>| "You may not be able to change the world, but at least |
>| you can embarrass the guilty." --Jessica Mitford (1917-1996) |
>| "Those who can, must!" --Anonymous |
>+ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = +
>In a marketplace of ideas, there are going to be ideas that you find
>abhorrent. The best thing to do is to respond to them.
> --Barry Steinhardt, President,
> Electronic Frontier Foundation
>
>
>
>
>
>
On Mon, 23 Feb 1998, The ISCRAT '98 webmaster wrote:
> hi fellow xmca'ers,
>
> you may want to know that the ISCRAT '98 web-pages have been updated with
> detailed information about the contributions which have been accepted for
> the congress. the information can be found at:
>
> http://www.daimi.aau.dk/iscrat98
>
> please also remember that the deadline for early registration is march 1.
>
> regrads,
>
> /olav
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Olav Bertelsen CIT -- The Danish National Center for IT-research
> Computer Science, Aarhus Uni., Ny Munkegade 116, DK-8000 Aarhus C, DENMARK
> email olavb who-is-at cit.dk, olavb@daimi.aau.dk, http://www.daimi.aau.dk/~olavb
> phone +45 89422440, dir +45 89423281, home +45 86107492, fax +45 89423255
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
---------------------------------
Vera P. John-Steiner
Department of Linguistics
Humanities Bldg. 526
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
(505) 277-6353 or 277-4324
Internet: vygotsky who-is-at unm.edu
---------------------------------