Whatever (you think) . . .

The evolution of the word “Whatever” reinforces this idea of narcissism that is so prevalent in today’s kids. I liked his example using the book “Generation Me” about how kids all want to be the next American Idol because it is seemingly the only way they feel they can have a voice to be heard and are disappointed when they fail. It leads nicely into his discussion of Youtube as a social medium. I believe the reason social frameworks, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger are so successful is due to the anonymity it offers to people. It is true that on networks such as Twitter you have to communicate what you’re feeling in 140 characters or less, leading to this sort of truncated communication and more l33t speak, although l33t speak was already prevalent due to other mediums (i.e. online RPGs, video games). Actually you might make the argument that online RPGs and video games were the first forms of this new society that allow people to communicate anonymously. Video games allowed people to create this alter ego who was the person you wanted to be. Honestly, perhaps online social networking applications wouldn’t have succeeded as well as they do now because this is a “gamer” generation. More kids today spend time playing video games than ever before; realistically you know that is because they didn’t have the technology back in the day. The point is it is video games that have made it possible for online networking applications to succeed like they have. Companies capitalized on the fact that people want to create the better “me” they can be.

Back to the point at hand, social frameworks take away this feeling of self-consciousness that you experience in face-to-face interactions. It is true that you are not communicating with a real person “in the moment” but people must realize that there is a real person out there who is going to read, watch, see whatever you create. If people didn’t, then there wouldn’t be this push to monitor kids’ online behavior. Perhaps there is more anonymity on Youtube because you are reaching a much larger audience. Applications like Livejournal, Facebook, and Twitter are slightly different though, for me anyway, as I have met the majority, if not all the people on my personal accounts. It makes me wonder if I use it differently than other people. I know when I fill in those 140 characters on Twitter or update my status on Facebook that people I talk to on the phone or see everyday are going to read those words. Blogging on Livejournal is slightly different because we use it among our friends to share stories with all our friends, some of whom might not be local, so someone who doesn’t have a journal misses out on stories because they have already been told via LJ. I think it also comes from the fact though that people sometimes communicate stories better on paper, or in this case the computer, than in person.

I can even say that after a while of playing MMORPG people do get to know each other eventually. So, initially, it might be about being someone else, but once you feel comfortable that a person isn’t going to run screaming at the sight of you, you tend to reveal more of yourself. So, based what I know of myself, has social networking changed to me? Not really. I was pretty aware of what it was going into the game, since I’ve been “online” for about ten years. To me, it has just become easier and more streamlined, not to mention prettier to look at.

As for its use in education, I think in order for kids to succeed into today’s digital world, it is a must have in the classroom. It makes communication so much easier, especially when you using apps like Ning, Moodle, or Twitter. It makes me excited to think about how to implement these applications in the classroom.

Do you use Twitter, Facebook, or other apps of that nature with the idea that you experience a type of anonymity allowing you more freedom in what you can say or do? Are you like Batman or Superman, do you have an alter ego online?