How about what comes after? Quotes, questions, comments, states, feelings and adjectives, lyrics, sappy whiny line about love… What do all these say about the people who chose them as their ‘personal message’?
In an online situation, communication belongs to the interactive model, as opposed to the transactional model with face to face communication. Aside from this though, there are many differences between the two. Due to the channel, all forms of nonverbal messages are eliminated.The effects of this are rather interesting. The need for expression is so high, that social modes become translated to a verbal form, or through signs, like this: =). Called emoticons, there are a whole range of these created to mimic facial expressions which are not present in online communication. This could show how communicating as people, we feel that pure verbal communication is limited, and as much as possible would prefer to have some nonverbal cues to react to the message.
Because vocal quality, tone, and pitch are all eliminated, we try to use certain ways of typing to further express ourselves. The first example that comes to mind IS TALKING IN CAPS, to indicate shouting, or perhaps emphasizing a point. A series of random symbols ‘GJ(*@GHP(*GH’ might be used to indicate frustration akin to nonverbal cues like scratching your head.
However, I feel that the remoteness, and the sort of ‘mask’ that the internet allows you to wear fosters some intimacy and candid conversation that would otherwise not happen in a face to face scenario.
Due to all these factors, when we ‘meet’ people online, we are given no cues to their current state.The sender in the communication holds control over what information he or she would like to share. Msn nicknames or messages could be viewed as the message we would like to give others as to our current state, as perhaps how we would behave in certain manners when we meet people to give them a certain impression.
So what is your msn nick and message?
In an online situation, communication belongs to the interactive model, as opposed to the transactional model with face to face communication. Aside from this though, there are many differences between the two. Due to the channel, all forms of nonverbal messages are eliminated.The effects of this are rather interesting. The need for expression is so high, that social modes become translated to a verbal form, or through signs, like this: =). Called emoticons, there are a whole range of these created to mimic facial expressions which are not present in online communication. This could show how communicating as people, we feel that pure verbal communication is limited, and as much as possible would prefer to have some nonverbal cues to react to the message.
Because vocal quality, tone, and pitch are all eliminated, we try to use certain ways of typing to further express ourselves. The first example that comes to mind IS TALKING IN CAPS, to indicate shouting, or perhaps emphasizing a point. A series of random symbols ‘GJ(*@GHP(*GH’ might be used to indicate frustration akin to nonverbal cues like scratching your head.
However, I feel that the remoteness, and the sort of ‘mask’ that the internet allows you to wear fosters some intimacy and candid conversation that would otherwise not happen in a face to face scenario.
Due to all these factors, when we ‘meet’ people online, we are given no cues to their current state.The sender in the communication holds control over what information he or she would like to share. Msn nicknames or messages could be viewed as the message we would like to give others as to our current state, as perhaps how we would behave in certain manners when we meet people to give them a certain impression.
So what is your msn nick and message?
12 comments:
haha =D nice post! im sure this relates to everyone, using certain ways of typing to further express ourselves. Traditionally, nonverbal communication is found in the form of written letters, people only write normally and expression is limited. However, we have took a leap in nonverbal communication by typing in different fonts and color, using short forms, making use of letters and signs like !,@,#,$,%,^,&,*,(,) to form shapes similar to facial expression and online messengers even allow us to use short animations and sound effects to further express ourselves.
As for nicknames or personal message, i find that people are using it to attract attention from other friends in their contact list. Some people use their personal message to describe briefly about the good or bad things that happened to them, some putting romantic phrases, some putting their little secrets that they do not actually dare to say it face to face, some putting complains to release their frustrations kept inside them or some simply putting reminders to remind their friends about something.
what you have brought up is very true indeed, and that is the reason why we are always being told not to believe/trust people who we 'meet' online. for beneath the facade of niceboy18, may lie a dirty old man waiting to pounce on young girls who are gullible enough.
as always, the transactional mode of communication is the easiest way of decoding the message being conveyed for we can see both the verbal/non-verbal cues.
it is true that msn or communicating online is a interactive model, even when you are on skype. because both the sender and the receiver are not in the same physical state and thus, miscommunication can occur.
speaking through personal experience, i found that people you talk to online can be very different people in reality. including myself, a few of my online friends said that i am not what had they expected me to be after meeting up. therefore, even with emoticons or other 'codes' to express our emotions, it can never be the same to talking to a person face-to-face.
lastly i agree with what nichika said, nicknames & personal messages can vary from person to person. some use them in order to get certain people to initiate a conversation with them. but there are also those who share meaningful quotes and get people thinking about stuff.
wow, i have never thought of msn this way before! good job!
it is very true what you have mentioned. MSN has bridged physical distances between 2 people, but the lack of actual human emotions may have unintentionally pulled them emotionally apart. for all you know, i could be playing on my PSP, watching TV and trying to eat dinner at the same time as i type this. how sincere can that be?
i already cannot find enough time in my physical life, so please forgive me if i do not subscribe to any form of online life!
I totally agree with what you said about an online nickname being a ‘mask’ for our online personas. As there is no 'face to face' communication online, our nicknames serve as our 'face' and give others a measure of insight into the mind of the person we are talking to. Some people choose to use quotes from books or movies, while others use the space to update friends on what’s happening in their lives. Although snappy one-liners and life updates are as different as night is from day, they both serve to give us insight on what is going through that persons mind at the time. However, as the term ‘mask’ implies, a nickname can also be used to conceal our identity, and hide our true selves and motives from others.
As for myself, I prefer to have something funny or witty, like “My ego is tiny compared to my talent and genius” as my nickname, as I feel this most closely reflects my personality (well, as far as you know anyway).
Interesting take on the "Personal Message" function of Windows Live Messenger.
I think the point that resonates with me the most in your entry is the fact that people often "mask" themselves or their true intentions and take on different personas as they communicate in a virtual setting. So i find it a bit..interesting.. that you associate masks with intimacy, as masks serve to disguise and hide; which in my opinion only creates more distance between virtual and reality rather than bringing about the notion of intimacy and closeness, maybe a false sense of intimacy perhaps?..
DARREN...u know how i feel about superficiality and this whole cyberspace nonsense with all the jibber jabber that we've shared. well, we cannot see the facade that people put over at the other end of the conversation and the thing that commonly occurs is miscommunications. face to face conversation holds no room for "hide and seek" (transactional) and i feel important messages should be communicated through reality and not cyberspace.
Rif, I think that sometimes when we have a mask on, and no one knows our identity, we can be abit more free and be ourselves. We won't need to be afraid of rejection as in a real social envirionment. Alot of times people speak up less because they're afraid. However, in an online setting, that might be different. Of course how we use that mask differs from person to person.
Interesting post, you remind me of my younger days when i would be more obsessed with online chatting, that I would pause in a RL conversation, and ponder the words to express '=P'.
All in all, i guess it boils down to discernment. In a sin-free world, there would be no wolf-in-sheeps-clothing online. In a sin-filled world, there would be people having face to face converstaions that are wearing a mask; or having questionable intentions.
Believe in the good of mankind, but have the wisdom of discernment!
Regards,
Shawn Lee Wei Bin
I guess its up to each and every one of us as to what we want to put in our nicknames and personal messages. For me, my nickname tends to represent my thoughts during certain events while my messages and just private jokes. This may or may not be a mask for my persona.
However, admit that my character and personality changes when I am online. In real life, I tend to contemplate my answer before talking to others, if I reply at all. I also tend to be more quiet and reserved when I am with a larger group of friends.
As such, online personas vary. Some people try to keep their online personas as similar to theirs in real life. Others behave very differently. It is up to the individual to discern who is wearing a mask and who is not.
Hi darren. ^_^
Well honestly I just find MSN a waste of time. I mean, I don't even like to leave any personal msges after my nickname, which most of the time is also just my first name. That's all. o_0 Just spamming emoticons now to "show my personality and to show my feelings at the moment". 0_o"
-tigerdj
Well msn conversations. To me i think its just a medium to interact with peers if you ask me. I personally detest emoticons, because they dilute the emotion. The basic ones such as smileys to convey the emotion at present is fine. But all this new lingo of LOL fails to connect with me. I mean half the time we see people on the other end of the computer going HAHAH or ROFL or LOL but they just have a blood straight face. I mean communication is one thing, portrayal of feelings is another. So i find the more technology is being used nowadays, and the more these lingos are becoming prevalent its harder to know the emotion, sort of dilutes it.
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