week 2 : social / psychological perspectives
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web of deceit can lead to ladder of trust
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Despite a lack of the traditional non-verbal cues that
we use when interacting with each other on a
face-to-face basis, complex Internet relationships are
still able to manifest themselves.
While we do not receive positive affirmation in the form
of someone nodding their head or batting an eye, we do
get it in other ways. One form of social feedback is
what I would call Whitty and Gavin's online 'ladder of
trust.' You start by having screen-name recognition.
After awhile there may be an exchange of e-mail
addresses. If mutual comfort allows, users might then
give out their phone numbers. Increasingly close
friends could then swap postal addresses or set-up an
actual face-to-face encounter.
The irony regarding this progression of trust is that
its very foundation is likely to have been built on lies
(or perhaps more accurately: omissions of truth). How
might this be possible? Whitty and Gavin help us to
understand by concluding their article as follows:
"...lying [on the net] does not necessarily signify
deception on the part of the liar, but instead can
signify a desire to reveal a deeper level of truth about
the self."
At first, unaquainted users often lie (or do not tell
the whole truth) in an effort to maintain their
respective anonymity. In my opinion, there is nothing
insidious about doing so. It has been shown that people
have an easier time initially expressing themselves if
it is done in an anonymous setting. As the reading
suggests, men feel 'liberated' by the chance to share
their thoughts without the fear of social reprisal that
a real world scenario might induce. Likewise, women
feel physically safer when their identity is concealed
online. This too creates an opportunity for a more open
and relaxed dialog.
If we are able to form a real and lasting bond by virtue
of such casual discourse, then we cannot be so hardened
as to expect absolute truth from our new partners in
online communication. We should give each other some
wiggle room, with the understanding that our doing so
may eventually lead to a series of more profound
revelations.
Though it may seem counter-intuitive to think that a
person's fibbing on the Internet can lead to deeper
truths about him or her, this is the paradox we are
faced with. |
