Internet culture: Is it causing anti-social behavior?

[Panda]

With the growing popularity of chat rooms, messenger services and message boards are people becoming less social in real life since there is no need to "go out" to meet people? The second part of my question is do you think that the internet is also causing people to be less polite than they would be offline when interacting with people because being online is not "real life"?

My opinions on the first part is that the definition of "social" is changing with the times. Before if someone stayed inside all the time and rarely left the house meant that they were a shut in and anti-social...having little to no contact with other people. With the increase popularity of the internet I think that people now have a 24 hour outlet to connect with other people. It gives you a chance to be very social without ever leaving your home. I think the internet has actually made the world a much smaller place and lets you be more social than you could be going out and trying to meet people offline.

On the other side of the coin you have people who don't have any friends offline and only online friends. This is the type of person who I believe the internet has cause anti-social behavior since they don't have the social skills needed in the offline world.

My opinion on the second question is that I feel that some people, feeling safe behind the cloak of the internet, will act in ways they would never act to someone offline. I am sure you have all run into them on message boards, the ones who say "I would never do that in real life!". Those people I feel are lacking in social skills since they feel that online is not real life. It's almost like they see the people online are not real people and don't have feelings. Since they don't have a face to put with the name it doesn't matter what they say to them.

Now what are your opinions? Do you think people are becoming less social offline because of the internet and are people less polite online than offline? Feel free to share your views.

[Mitch]

[size=1][color=red] I think it's strikingly, obviously, conspicuously true that if you have something like the internet, then it's going to get a rise in anti-social behavior, since it helps make it easier to be just that--anti-social.

And I think it's obvious that there's those people out there who are the exact opposite online than what they are in real life. This doesn't mean that this is a side of said person that they don't have, it's just a sign that this side that said person has is one they choose to not use in real-life's social situations.

On the flipside, instant messaging and whatever else is a lot like a social situation, without the physical interaction (which is a lot of what a social interaction is), so in part talking over the internet is talking, but it doesn't carry with it the dynamics that a real-life social session would have. So in part, it's anti-social, but it's not.

And in the end, who really gives one care if the internet makes you more anti-social? I certainly don't. It's not like there's some epidemic going on. It's not like this is as bad as obesity in the US.

If it was that bad, I'm sure they'd make up something like the low carb diet, something unhealthy but something that also works. But is only temporary. And doesn't really fix the problem in the long-run.[/size][/color]

[Harry]

I don't think it's that big of a problem. People who are on the internet and are anti-social would be anti-social anyway. Sure the internet helps them, but they aren't going to be the most outward people in the world anyway. I'm more concerned what the internet is doing to our language. I hope when the current younger generation grows up they drop their nasty habit of typing like idiots:

[quote]dEn... aFteR DaT.. oK LiaO... dEn.. wEN i nD tO gO BaCk sCh... gOt diS kErjeR BaJiKaN NyeR sTudEntS[/quote]

It's a bit exagerated but still.

[James]

[color=#707875]I can't really speak to the anti-social issue, because I really don't know if there are any major trends out there.

But I can tell you one thing -- I think that the Internet is partially responsible for poor English. lol

I think that a lot of people who use the 'net frequently (especially those who don't pay much attention to their English online) are falling into a habit where they feel that they simply don't [i]need[/i] to use proper English.

Now, online, that's not a huge problem (depending on where you are and what you want to do). However, what happens if that laziness translates to the physical world? I mean, sometimes I am amazed when I see people who are my age, but who are terrible at spelling things when they're writing essays and such (some people even use Internet lingo in essays; that's bound to cause a problem lol).

In some ways it's kind of sad, because when I see txt speak and stuff, I kind of find that it doesn't provide much expression. Everyone who speaks like that comes across in the same way to me. So because they aren't putting any real thought into what they're saying, there's no sense of depth to their communication. Does that make sense?

In my own experience, the Internet has a mixed effect I guess. Obviously many of the people that I talk to online are not people who I talk to in the physical world...but still, I don't think that the Internet has made me anti-social or anything.

Actually, for me, the Internet has been a huge gateway to opportunity in my own life. The experience I've gained and the contacts I've made have, in many cases, directly influenced my career and education.

So I feel that you can take positive things from the Internet if you choose to use it in that way. But it's different if the Internet consumes your life to a point where it starts detracting from your social life and your career prospects.[/color]

[future girl]

I think most kids that become anti-social because of the internet were probably anti-social in the first place. It's very rare to see a person abandon all his/her IRL friends for on-line ones. However, when you have a kid that only has on-line friends I imagine it is really hard for them to break out of that shell. Communicating directly in front of a person and communicating through the internet are very different things. You can think about a response, there's no body language which is a big chunk of communicating with people in the real world and then you have anonymity, no one can ever call you on anything, you basically go along un-judged. Nothing that happens here can affect your true person.

I think in the case of those kids it can cause them to be a--holes in the real world. They become delusional in a way. I dated this guy who was basically what I'm describing. It lasted 19 days for a reason. He was homeshcooled and only had on-line friends. He was like moderator of some forum and thought he was God because of it and required people to kiss his ---. He had a very bad reality check towards the ends and I think at some point that's what happens to all the people that assume that the internet and the outside world are the same thing. I know that a person you meet on a forum deserves just as much respect as a person you meet at work and that it's possible to become emotionally attached to both, but I also know that you need to be able to touch and smell and savor with all the senses. Reading someone's responses will never be enough.

[Fall]

People can get very attached to the Internet. So attached that they start to spend nearly all day on the computer. And that's when, what can I call it... a "problem" starts. Withdrawal symptoms, when you've got no access to the Internet or a computer. This, if you ask me, is the big draw-back of getting very involved in the online-world. It happens to anyone... it happened to me ages ago.

I think the Internet can affect someone's social behaviour, more in the way they talk over the way they act. When you start talking to people with words like "lol" and "brb" is when you've got something to sort out. Not wanting to talk to anyone, even your friends, or maybe only wanting to talk to them about computer related crap, you know..?

Withdrawal symptoms can affect your lifestyle for a period of time, for a short time or long time. Doesn't matter how, but it can change the way you go about things while you go through it.

:smoke:

[DeadSeraphim]

[font=Arial][size=1][color=Indigo]Like has been said a few times, anti-social people who are always on the net, are, generally, anti-social period. I know a few people who seem to be always on the net, but you couldn't call them anti-social by any stretch of the imagination.

I mean... there is little you can actually do on a school night without having a hella hard time at school the next day, so its more something to do for them until the weekend comes (at which point many wild and crazy things can and do happen).

As for the bad spelling... I think its because people (in chats anyway) feel that unless they type fast in a chat they'll get lost. I mean, if you spoke as slowly as some people type (correctly that is) in real life the conversation you were having would be gone. My friends who type like that have great grammar and English in the real world.[/color][/size][/font]

[Fyxe]

[size=1][color=darkblue]Yeah, I guess the issue is that most people who are always on the internet either have nothing better to do or they don't have any friends, or even both. I find it sad that people think the internet and the people on it is just a big game. Treating people the way they do online sometimes. I guess another big issue is that people that have a bad offline life can just be who ever they want on the internet, it's a new start to them, some way to start off the way they want.

The whole anti-social thing, I guess that is true and a big effect on certain people after being introduced to the internet. I don't think I've ever experienced someone locking themselves in their house for a long time and just cutting off all contacts and friends besides those online. I'm sure it's happening somewhere, but doing that is definatly saying you have a problem.

Along with the language problem, yes, people tend to have awful grammar. Although not many people have perfect spelling, most of the stuff I see on the internet is just rediculus. I know I don't spell everything right, but it's better than me typing like this: WhoA! dAs Ist TOtaLyy WHaCkness. And I know people who type like that. My impression for people doing that is because they don't want to feel like they are at school or at work and have to have everything perfect. It's also because we are all so lazy, no question about that.

I think that the internet is causing the whole anti-social thing with a lot of people, but I would say it really depends on your personality and your life itself.[/color][/size]

[outlawstar69]

Hmm.. there are some interesting points being raised here. As our society becomes more integrated with the net (for example, I heard about a fridge that would keep track of what's in it, and you could have it set to tell when the expiration date is, or when you're low on something, and then order it online for you.), or like how it's standard on most, if not all job applications, to list your email address as well as your home phone number... what will be considered healthy and normal ten years from now?

Something I've noticed in what you have mentioned, and with previous experience, is that some people do have a two persona thing going... or do they? They may be a shy, quiet person irl, but when you get into an IM conversation with them, they make jokes (some dirty ones at that too, ha), talk / type rapidly, and voice what they think... seemingly opposite. Are they though? Is this who they really are, or vice versa? In school or work, you can't make that comment about the boss without repercussions, you can't say or do what you really would rather do because there are so many more complications that would arise because you are in a position where your job, or grades, could be affected by what you say. In an internet society (yes, we can safely say that we have them evolving even as we speak) you aren't judged by any of the characteristics that you are in the offline world. You are judged soley based on what you say; indirectly you are judged based on your thoughts that you choose to express, what you really think, because there is no stigma based on what you say. For example, if there is a family notorious for having bad relationships. Let us say you belong to that family. If you were to say to people you think that you might have found someone you could enjoy the rest of your life with, they'd just roll their eyes, and base that it will be doomed because of your family name. Now, go on a message board, or a chat room, or on the IM programs, and say that. You will instead get, "Congratulations!" or "I hope things flower between you two :) ". Of course, there are a few people I know who are exactly the same offline, as they are online, down to their mannerisms of speech. But that's a small number, comparitivly.

As time goes on, I still now believe that nothing can beat person to person, face to face communication. But... what about when it comes to the point where it can be argued that they are equal? Where, your net persona becomes just as important as the mask you wear when you leave home to go to work? Where, when the time comes that we will hold business meetings via video chat rooms as often as in real rooms, or something akin to that? I'm not even going to get into what will happen if we decide to augment ourselves with technology, via Ghost in the Shell or Matrix-esque type of things.

Will any guess as to whether or not one day, the person you are on the net is just as important as the person you make yourself out to be when you're not on the computer?