Give me a little help.

[ducam]

Hi. I need everyone's help. I am writing a paper about this forum. About how people act and are communicating online and how this forum acts as a virtual community for pre-med students. So I have two questions for everyone:

1. Do you think you communicate on the forum differently then in other mediums (i.e.. AIM, email, phone, face-to-face, etc.)? How?

2. Do you consider members to be your friends? How?


I know this might seem like i'm trying to get you all to do my work but i'm not. For the class I have to ask these questions and bring in answers so in the spirit of help any response would be helpful. Besides, who doesn't want to be in a paper of mine. Thanks to everyone who posts. Feel free to IM me if you have any opinions about this topic.

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[rgporter]

Originally posted by ducam
So I have two questions for everyone:

1. Do you think you communicate on the forum differently then in other mediums (i.e.. AIM, email, phone, face-to-face, etc.)? How?

2. Do you consider members to be your friends? How?

I'll answer the 2nd question first. No I don't really consider the members my friends, but I might if I weren't a newbie. Right now I think of them as colleagues, some are helpful, and some aren't.

The answer to the first question is related to the second question. I think about what I post very carefully before submiting. When I am communicating with friends (i.e.. AIM, email, phone, face-to-face, etc.) I am much less formal. You can say anything that comes to mind because you don't have to worry about offending people, friends know when you're kidding. This forum is a resource, I try not to pollute it with random thoughts.

 

[Gleevec]

Originally posted by ducam
Hi. I need everyone's help. I am writing a paper about this forum. About how people act and are communicating online and how this forum acts as a virtual community for pre-med students. So I have two questions for everyone:

1. Do you think you communicate on the forum differently then in other mediums (i.e.. AIM, email, phone, face-to-face, etc.)? How?

2. Do you consider members to be your friends? How?


I know this might seem like i'm trying to get you all to do my work but i'm not. For the class I have to ask these questions and bring in answers so in the spirit of help any response would be helpful. Besides, who doesn't want to be in a paper of mine. Thanks to everyone who posts. Feel free to IM me if you have any opinions about this topic.

1. I think people are more anonymous here than in another venue, which is why some people will troll and take advantage of naive people (Squat and Squeeze). I also seriously doubt many ppl on SDN are the same way online as they are in real life, otherwise they would be in DEEP SHIIITE.

2. I dont really consider anyone on SDN my friend, though I have met some really cool people that if I met in real life, I could see a frienship developing. I consider most of the prolific SDN posters my "colleagues" I guess, for lack of a better word. Or at least my "partners in crime" There is definitely a certain subset of SDNers that I talk to more and of whom I respect their opinions to a greater extent, so I think there is some degree of networking and respect going on here, though not to the level of being classified as "friendship" persay.

 

[spumoni620]

Interesting project...

For #1, I think my communication on this forum is pretty typical of most of my written communication (e-mail, AIM etc.) except I am definitely much less formal w/AIM and e-mail to friends. Also, I'm pretty honest in the way I represent myself here but like rgporter said, i think a lot about what i write b/c unintentional hurt or misunderstanding can rise from a wrongly placed word or accusation. in writing it's a lot easier to offend someone than if you're with the person face to face.
in an anonymous forum it's quite possible to develop a slant on your personality that, say, you may not normally display in real life...and lead almost a "double-life". who knows, maybe squat and squeeze is a shy young introvert who relishes in the attention and emotion he evokes in this forum. (or maybe not.) here it's all speculation as to how a person looks, what they value, what their personalities are really like. some of it definitely comes across in posts, but as i mentioned there might well be a split b/t the "sdn personality" and the person in real life.

now, as for "friends"...this is interesting, b/c i definitely find myself respecting and gravitating toward some posters over others. i've thought to myself that some of these posters would be awesome classmates in med school, and hope to meet a few in real life. strangely enough, i've formed mental images of what some posters here are like (sometimes i can predict where they're from, etc.) Note: choice of avatar really has a lot to do with this one! heck, one of these days i might even develop a pseudo-crush on a few. it's funny when you actually HAVE met an sdner in real life (i.e. at an interview) and find that your mental image of them is at odds with what you'd pictured.

but forming a friendship over the internet? hmm...maybe possible, but so far not happening. maybe in the lounge? maybe yet to come?

 

[TexasRose]

Funny, you're getting a bunch of Texans answering!

#1- My philosophy is that I wouldn't say anything on here that I wouldn't say in real life. I might be more quick to state controversial opinions here because I'm not trying to avoid losing a job or a friendship, but they are still my true feelings about things.

#2- I wouldn't say that I have true friendships here. There are several people whose opinion I value and who I keep my fingers crossed for when I know they have interviews! I think a person's true personality shows through when they post often enough. There are some SDN'ers I would like to meet (have met) and some who I hope to never know!

I think it's interesting what Spumoni said about avatars. Avatars, quotes, and names have a way of becoming a personality!

Theresa