Virtual Dating

I found the topic of discussion quit interesting on pages 257 & 258. Bell discusses different opinions on intimacy and virtual relationships. Bells talks about Bauman's theory on how relationships formed on virtual sites are simply "bonds without consequences". Bell also addressed Gibbens' theory of the "pure relationship", meaning people are able to test out a romantic relationship(virtually)without feeling pressured to stay in the relationship if it's unsatisfying.

A few years ago online dating was viewed as a place for desperate people to go, and was compared to the men seeking/women seeking columns in newspapers. People were once afraid to use online dating sites, as a tool to meet potential partners. Today, we turn on our TV's and see ads like Harmony.com, and hear of many people meeting their boyfriend/girlfriend through sites like these. Also, there are couples who have met by interacting in gaming communities, such as secondlife.com.

Society does not view dating websites as negatively, as it once did. I disagree with Bauman's theory of relationships that form on virtual sites are simply "bonds without consequences" or are "short-lived". New technology provides a tool for people to interact and form relationships in ways we were not able to in the past. I personally know a few people who currently have a boyfriend/girlfriend they met online and plan to move closer to each other when the time is right. I think this type of dating is becoming more common, because people feel they are more able to take thing slow, and really get to know a person before rushing into a committed relationship, which is much more common in the physical world.

Virtual Communities...What is the Definition?

I participate in the virtual community Facebook.com. I primarily use this site to interact with my friends and family, and to keep them up to date on my mood or things that are going on in my life(sometimes), and they do the same.

I feel this site is a virtual community in some aspects, but also a technological tool I use to communicate with people who live within my community. The virtual community aspect is that I am able to communicate with several people I have never met, and Facebook allows me to form these friendships, which I cannot experience in "real" life. Facebook is also a technological tool I use to interact with people within my "real" life community, such as setting up study dates and times with fellow peers.

Wilson describes the virtual world as a place where one can have separateness and togetherness at the same time. People can live in separate cities, and never meet in "real" life, yet still be able to have meaningful relationships within a virtual community. A virtual community to me is bonds that are formed online that cannot take place in the "real" world.

Here is my example of the commonalities of a "real" and "virtual" community...

I live in Richland, which is a community, but that does not mean I share common interests and values with everyone in this community. I only interact and share my interests with a very small portion of this community. I think the same thing applies to the virtual community. I had to learn how to operate within a virtual community, just like I had to learn my way around Richland. That doesn't mean I will interact with everyone within the virtual community, only a very small portion. To be a member of a community that's "real" or "virtual" you need to know how to function within one or you will not be able to meet and interact with people. This is why there are many different virtual communities, as people have different interests and needs. People do not want to be members of virtual communities, which they have no interest or sense of belonging.

DTC 475 "Cyberspace: First Steps"

I found that #5 in Michael Benedikts' ten different descriptions of Cyberspace most closely matches my own thoughts, in regards to cyberspace.



Cyberspace: Its corridors form wherever electricity runs with intelligence. Its chambers bloom wherever data gathers and is stored. Its depths increase with every image or word or number, with every addition, every contribution, of fact or thought. Its horizons recede in every direction; it breathes larger, it complexities, it embraces and involves. Billowing, glittering, humming, coursing, a Boresian library, a city; intimate, immense, firm, liquid, recognizable and unrecognizable at once.



The interesting thing is Benedikt wrote this essay before we had Internet, and the web. Cyberspace does indeed form wherever electricity runs with intelligence, as we see today via laptops and IPhones. The world-wide-web is an ever expanding data base of knowledge and thought, which continuously changes and updates. What one may see as recognizable today in cyberspace will become unrecognizable in the future, due to new technology and information. Cyberspace will continue to expand and change just as our cities have over time.

DTC 475-Introduction

Hey Everybody,

I made it! This was not as complicated as I imagined it would be. Well...my name is Saundra and I'm a student at WSU. I look forward to learning how to be a professional blogger! :)