John, an old roommate of mine, is a 53 year old who has been unemployed for the last three years. John’s inability to secure a job has little to do with his effort to find another job or with his lack of technical qualifications and experience, but is a direct result of inability to interact on the phone and in person at interviews in a socially favorable way. John realizes this, but finds hard to improve his social skills.
John is divorced and lonely. In the short time that I lived with him, it became very clear to me that John spent far too much time at his computer trying to develop friendships. One of John’s hobbies is photography. In hopes of creating other job opportunities for himself, he created a website where he could post his work and advertise his skill. Judging from the amount of time that John spends working on his website and trying to network as a photographer, he has become obsessed with the talent industry.
John’s excessive Internet use can be explained by McKenna’s relationship facilitation factors. Because John lacks the social skills necessary to build strong FtF relationships and find a job, he spends his time surfing the web trying to build promote his photography career. The removal of gating features, allows John the opportunity to overcome his social insecurities and develop relationships through website and in various talent networks that theoretically help him find work as a photographer. His online interaction also affords him the opportunity to connect with similar others and provides him with interactional control so that he can make a good impression. However, these self-presentational tactics fail John once he is hired for a project. The consistent poor quality of FtF interaction mean that John is rarely called back for repeat work meaning that even as a photographer, John is unable to make a living, yet each time John returns to his computer and his website to try again. This vicious cycle has been defined by Caplan in her idetification of Problematic Internet Use (PIU). She explains that “maladaptive cognitions and behaviors involving Internet use…result in negative academic, professional, and social consequences.” PIU is characterized by excessive internet use that leads to degradation of one’s livelihood.
John’s impulse, after failing to obtain consistent reliable work, is to return to the computer where he devotes his cognitive resources to finding more job opportunities rather than developing stronger social skills. As a result, he suffers severe professional and social consequences. Caplan argues that psychosocial disorders perpetuate these negative effects. John’s loneliness and lack of social aptitude are the underlying psychological issues that have created his unfortunate circumstances. Until John is ready to address his problems in a more constructive way, it seems that he has little hope of maintaining a healthy and sustainable livelihood.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
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8 comments:
Good job! I enjoyed this post, and found it easy and fun to read. I find this situation very interesting. John turns to his computer to help him find work, because he lacks the social skill necessary to find work on his own. I think that this fits the models we have discussed in class very well. The computer is less intimidating for him, and allows him to express himself in a more positive way than he would ftf. In the mean time, his problems communicating ftf have severely impacted his self impression, which in turn has made him even more dependent on the computer to secure work. When he does secure work, however, his lack of social skills puts him back in the exact same position that he was before, yet he turns back to the computer to find work. I think the problem here is his access to the computer. Instead of improving his social skills, he turns to his computer, where he is more comfortable. Despite the fact that his situation has turned out the same time and time again, he still chooses to use his computer. I'm sure that he has the "Maybe next time..." mentality.
I loved your post because it was like reading a story rather than a scientific journal. However it still did a great job of applying and describing Caplan's theory. Since your friend John is probably depressed by his inability to maintain a job or have a group of friends and is also lonely he was the perfect example to show how someone may develop an addiction to the internet. In my blog I tried using the example of how people get addicted to eBay, but it was difficult to apply the theory since it isn't strongly related to depression or loneliness.
It's sad to see that at age 53 he still hasn't improved his social skills and has not learned from his mistakes about how to keep his photography jobs. Have you ever thought to talk to him about his problem and advised him to seek help with a professional? It may be beneficial for him! :)
Hey, I really enjoyed your post. The introduction caught my attention and developed well into an analysis of Mckenna's relationship facilitation factors. I also liked your analysis of PIU in relation to John... especially how you describe his impulse to keep returning to his computer and how that leads to negative consequences. My only question is if you could have associated his impulses with what Caplin refers to as compulsive internet use? Awesome job.
I think your post presented a unique situation and I had fun reading it. I talked about online gaming in my post and how people who feel they are socially inept often turn to the internet worlds because they know they won't have to confront anyone in the real world. I think that it relates to John's problem with becoming obsessed with the talent industry through his online photography website.
I found this post very interesting! I loved that you approached this assignment a different way and related Caplan's PIU study to a specific situation. John definately needs to learn to change his ways after losing a job instead of repeating the save vicious cycle becasue he is clearly a decent photographer if he repeatedly gets jobs. I would actually find it intersting to know what type of photography he does; whether he photographs inatimate objects or people, and if he photographs people, if he is able to socially interact with them well while working, because he clearly has trouble with those superior to him. Great job relating both McKenna's factors and Caplan's PIU to John; maybe eventually he'll learn the err of his ways?
Melissa,
You’re blog caught my attention because my little sister also enjoys photography and online forums for sharing, discussing, and commenting on photography. I’ve often noticed how these sites pull her in for hours, taking away time that could be spent doing homework or something more productive. She waits for others to comment on her work, while picking out her favorite collections from other photographers. I hadn’t really considered this as a possible problem until I read your post. I often perceive Internet forums catered towards specific interests a good way to learn and get more involved with something you enjoy doing – but when an adult chooses such activities rather than facing the realities of the real word, there is obviously an issue. Nice post…pretty thought provoking in terms of when indulging a hobby online might go too far. You tied the theory in nicely too.
I am attracted immediately, cause I am one of those photography website addicted people. I can easily lose my sense of time while navigating though the website. And whenever I posted some thing, I will check it throunds times to see if anyone reply to it. It may not involve much of the loneliness, but more about the sense of "show off"
Hey there, this is a very well-written post. I think that John could learn a thing or two from you.
Check out my blog if you have a chance: eight-thirty.blogspot.com.
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