Relationships with Reality.....or Creepers.

Usually when checking into cyberspace, my first stop is Facebook. Here, I can interact with my friends and family quickly and easily. I can choose to flip through their pictures, write to them publically, or chat them threw a private box. I see absolutely no harm in this because these people I choose to communicate with already know who I am. They know my personality and what I really look like. Then a little red notification appears in the left hand corner of the webpage under the friend request tab. I see a grown man who I have never seen before in my life requesting to be my “facebook friend”. Having good judgment and common sense I hit deny and move on with my life.

                This is where a lot of people turn cyberspace into risky business. Fortunately I don’t consider myself one of those people because I choose to talk to only people I know. A lot of people out there think that cyberspace is a great way to meet people: WRONG! Yeah, it could be an excellent way to form a relationship with someone, but in reality you know nothing about that person. They could be nothing of who they say they are. It would be incredibly simple for me to put a picture of a 110 pound tan brunette female as a profile on Facebook with a different name and probably get the attention of a lot of desperate males out there. It is not hard to do, but it is really simple to stay away from the dangers of cyberspace.

                When it comes to the gamers on World of Warcraft I was appalled by what I was seeing. Luckily in this documentary these people were talking and forming relationships with others who had the same intentions. Heather and Kevin were the two individuals that really stuck out to me in the video. Yes, they communicated multiple times and multiple ways before arranging a face to face visit but in reality did she really know him? He could have manipulated her into thinking he was one person and when she flew to meet him in person he could have been a serial killer. I understand that I am saying the worst of the worst right now but these are things that go through my mind and I don’t understand why other people aren’t thinking the same thing.

                The question on the sheet that stood out to me the most so far (only after viewing the first half of the video) is, “Can ‘virtual’ relationships operate in the “real world?” My answer is very mixed but it leans further toward no. You can think that you are getting to know someone so well through the computer, a headset, a phone, and email but honestly that could all be a lie. The worst part about all these “what ifs” about cyberspace is, we have to question everything. We as a culture cannot avoid this new technological addiction. Culture is a learned set of beliefs, values, norms, and material goods shared by a group of people. We learn to operate through the real world and the virtual word. Our generation communicates both ways and it was gradually brought upon us by our society. The definition of a society is people who live in a specific geographic territory, interact with one another, and share many elements of a common culture. If we don’t interact through cyberspace like the rest of our society we become less of a part of it. I’m not saying that that is right in anyway but that is the reality of our situation. This is the new way of communication and we are bound to be connected by it. It takes will power and common sense to judge who we communicate with and if what we are engaging in is dangerous to our own well being.