Learning to Write or Learning Not to Talk?

[dinglewood]

We've looked at a lot of the possibilities surrounding blog writing, but what do you think?  Does this really help conversation or help people avoid learning to communicate in person and to respectfully work through confrontation when differences of opinion arise? 

Comments

[bebemochi]

Too often in discussions about the internet, I see people responding as if internet communications are going to replace personal communications. In the cases of some people, they have, but for most, it's a way they communicate in addition to communicating directly with others

[gracefuleigh]

One of the benefits of blogging vs. communicating in person is that you can self-edit and (hopefully) thoughtfully get your message across- helpful in confrontations. I've found, however, that blogging and most forms of internet communication are a double-edged sword. By communicating online, so much of the nuances of language (inflection, tone, etc.) are up for interpretation and your message may not come across as intended. Also, I think its interesting that many people, in a weird disconnect with social mores, end up typing things that they would never utter aloud in public; that there is a liberating (though dangerous) safety in online communication.
Though I am in total agreement with bebemochi's comment concerning "unteaching" bad grammatical habits. I think emoticons are the devil. I also agree with bebemochi's icon.

[bebemochi]

Hey, thanks for icon love! I stole it from somebody else, so you can have it if you want.

I agree with you about the fact that inflection and tone are lost when communicating online. I think that's why emoticons are so popular. However, a lot of people take it too far and absolutely fill their posts and comments with them, counting on them to convey meaning when, in reality, they don't have much meaning at all.

One time I posted a picture of myself online after I dyed my hair bright pink. A women commented on my picture, "If my daughter dyed her hair pink, I would cry for a month! ;) " Obviously, I was offended, and I told her as much. She then got huffy with me, saying, "But I put that smilie at the end so you would know I was joking!" She assumed that the smilie would negate the insulting content of her sentence. When people use emoticons like that, it really drives me crazy.

[kumanoki]

I subscribe to John Gabriel's Greater Internet F***wad Theory. This theory states that a normal person, given anonymity and an audience, will become a total f***wad. Like climbing Everest, people unfurl their jerk flags and wave them boldly in the face of others simply because the opportunity to do so is there.
Just like any form of communication, internet communication is a learned skill. We pack up the interpersonal communication lessons we've learned throughout or lives and translate them into this written medium. Most people have an understanding that, no matter what medium used, there has to be a certain amount of respect, reciprocation, and willingness to listen. Within the framework of the internet, though, these communication skills can be applied as liberally or as infrequently as you'd like, with the desired effects. It really boils down to the desire of the user to communicate effectively for blogging to work.

[anonymous]

At this point, I think the question is not whether online communication is good or bad -- it's here and becoming more popular by the day. There are going to be positives and negatives to it, just as there are to any form of communication. People don't always understand my sarcasm when I communicate electronically, but hey, people don't always understand it when they're standing in front of me either