tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6538917798088258920.post56082937393119258..comments2008-11-13T11:36:43.986-08:00Comments on PsychoBabble: Interpersonal Relationships: Cyber versus Face-to-FaceEmily Oettingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16657334753349750268noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6538917798088258920.post-82764212871348709452008-11-04T09:45:00.000-08:002008-11-04T09:45:00.000-08:00Emily this is a fantastic topic! You articulately...Emily this is a fantastic topic! You articulately brought attention to a topic that is a constant source of conversation within my discipline (will the internet replace the need to plan for good space for social interaction) and among my cohort. <BR/><BR/>Two things that you could have addressed that would have, at least for me, strengthened your argument by considering both sides of this issue would have been the use of web cams and the using additional examples of behavior.<BR/><BR/>Your discussion did not address the use of web cams. Video is a tool that overcomes part of your argument that “you are what you write” because it is possible to see and speak with another person in real time. Facilitating the ability to detect sarcasm, see facial expression and in general close a great deal of the information gap of cyber-relationships. <BR/><BR/>Another issue that would have strengthened your case of questioning the legitimacy of cyber-relationships is to not use such extreme cases. By using the two women who are clearly deranged and who probably step over the line on a regular basis in real-life, distances the average reader from the story. The majority of us understand that there is a significant difference between real life relationships and cyber-relationships, and that cyber-relationships have limitations. Obviously one is the lack of touch, which Harry Harlow showed in 1958 in the “Mother Love” studies as imperative to development (at least for baby monkeys). There are some up sides to a cyber-relationship as well, it broadens cultural access, creates a network that is much broader than one could encounter in “real life”. An example of one such community that is analogous of the cyber-community is the culture of HAM radio operators thorough the world. The mention of a group like this that has had a long term community established without actual physical contact would have presented a more balanced argument for the reader and shown us the limitations of these type of relationships without the extreme examples of disturbed people.<BR/><BR/>This is such a valuable topic and I hope to see more research on it in the future within your discipline.In Memory of Jamie Chivershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01855224198875298237noreply@blogger.com