Disembodiment?

I personally belong to a few different virtual communities. I belong to Facebook, MySpace, Blogspot, Callingducks.com, etc….Needless to say, I belong to more than three or four virtual communities.

My interactions in these communities don’t differ much (in terms of personal norms) from my conversations in a non-virtual environment. I “speak” much the same in written form as I would verbally speak in a real world environment.

It’s interesting to note how opportunities arise for individuals, in a variety of virtual environments, to act or behave in a different fashion than they would in real life or, in effect, become liberated in a way that they wouldn’t be in real life. While I can’t say that it hasn’t crossed my mind, I’ve found myself sticking to my norms when interacting with other individuals in a virtual environment.

I find it interesting to note that some individuals feel it necessary to express this liberating side of “who they’re not?” or “who they are?” Willson also touches on something right off the bat in her essay that tells us how people are increasingly feeling isolated and are looking for connections. This is an interesting point and as she relay’s it, is a product of our societies and real world communities. Maybe the invention of X-Box’s, PS3’s, and other technological inventions have hampered the way we communicate in the real world. Maybe, sometimes too much of a good thing (a.k.a. technology) can be bad. Children thirty years ago (or longer) were playing (and relatively safely I might add) outside, interacting with one another, scraping their knees, and figuring things out personally with one another in a real world environment. Now we seem to have a new way in which kids communicate…..ELECTRONICALLY. That’s not to say that there aren’t kids out there playing and figuring things out in the real world, but showing that there are far fewer of them.

Being a parent I can understand why our kids aren’t out playing in the streets anymore. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t help facilitate this though. Why do they need to be in a virtual community all the time? Perhaps they wouldn’t feel so isolated if they were to actively participate in the act of physical interaction. There is a lot to be said for actually being able to touch, taste, and feel what goes on in the real world. That’s why we have such a thing as real world or real life experiences. Not everything in the real world is gift wrapped and pretty as is often the case in virtual environments. I understand not everything is pretty in virtual communities either, but the perception that is cast upon us in places, such as Facebook, are snippets of people’s real lives, not their entirety.

Forgetting the previous ramble, let me talk about the barriers in people’s communities. There are barriers in any community. Whether one prescribes to this statement is purely up to them. The fact of the matter is that we all have pre-conceived notions and "walls" that we set in order to make us feel comfortable and safe. These "walls" are barriers that we utilize to let people in, or kick people out. They transcend as we grow older and gather more experience and knowledge.

These barriers don't only apply in our real world experiences. They often apply to our virtual communities as well. However, as stated earlier, some individuals let their "walls" down in virtual instances, when they may not do the same in their real life instances.

Personally, my most limiting "barrier" is "accepting friend invitations" from people I don't even know. Unless I know that we share some sort of common interest, I don't typically give them more than a second look. If I feel that we share some common interests I may "talk" to them, get to know what I like or dislike about them and make a decision accordingly. Sex-cam girls trying to be my friend....Why? What's the point when I can get the real thing? It's like drinking Coke. "It's the real thing." Sex-Cam girls aren't!!

I believe that literacy and competence go a long way in accessing virtual communities. They are the gateway to socio-status in real life and often virtual status as well. If you are able to be competent, abiding, and well spoken you are more likely to be received well in most communities, virtual and non-virtual.

But, as stated in Willson's essay, we're more likely to be ethically removed upon joining a virtual community since we have the capacity to disconnect at any point. Which really leads back full circle to why so many people are searching for fulfillment and virtual community in cyberspace.