Ullman and I do have some things in common. To start, I have met someone in person that I have previously only encountered on the internet. After my sophomore year of high school, I went on a program for six weeks at UCLA. A Facebook group was started by a person attending and many of the program's participants joined the group prior to the summer. Because of the group, I was able to meet many kids my age before embarking on the trip. Although this was fun and seemed like a good idea, I was surprised by my first interactions with them just as Ullman was when she met Karl. Even though I thought I knew my Facebook friend very well, I still felt like a stranger to some extent because it was my first time interacting with them in person. Just like myself, Ullman too experienced a sense of awkwardness the first date with Karl because although they had known each other for months online, they had little idea who the person behind the composed, well-written email responses that they received.
Although Ullman and I share similarities, I have never had a relationship with someone through email correspondence. For me, email is a very impersonal form of communication. In my opinion, a phone call or even a text message is more personal. Ullman completely opened herself up to this man over the internet and was fully engaged in a healthy, yet odd relationship. When I had met people through Facebook, I would still have not considered these people my friends, only acquaintances. It is her ability to allow herself to become open up and make herself vulnerable through online communication that differs between Ullman and myself.
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I Think that you have it right that its Ullmans ability to open up that let her make email personal. I think that developing a friendship online requires that ability. This one person I had never really even talked to in real life became one of My close friends because the two of us shared some experiences and opened up. I think that just developing relationships online can be done if you just work at it.
ReplyDeleteI like your example of meeting new people through a Facebook group prior to actually meeting them in real life. I also joined a Facebook group for people living in my residence hall this year, and I was able to see who each of my hall mates were before I actually got to Michigan. However, I disagree that a text message can be more personal than an email. In my opinion, text messages are the most impersonal form of communication, and I would much rather receive an email from a close friend rather than a text message.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree with your point that email is a less personal form of communication. From experience, email can be extremely personal, as much as a real letter. When emailing, the writer is forced to be more clear and exact about their emotions, especially in writing an important email to a boss or a loved one. You in turn read and tend to rewrite the email over and over making sure it's perfect. The process of writing an email is very personal and is important if one wishes to try and convey their emotion through the email.
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