The "Chatting" Room (Assignment 2)

"Hi, would anyone like to have a pm with me?" Instantly three private messages are sent from "hunkyguy," "horny guy with a hard ****," and "Phil--." "Hunkyguy" and "horny guy..." immediately asked for my asl, but not "Phil--." I thought instantly, these guys are experienced at using this synchronous space; something that I have never done. I already had pre-formed impressions of the people I would meet, considering I had just entered an adult chat room. They would be single, lonely, and presumably very attractive. The first two men I ditched right away, they were creepy as they began describing what they wanted to "chat" about. Phil was different.

Phil did not ask me for my asl, rather gave his to me after saying "hi." He was 46 year old male in Texas. My immediate impression was that he was a horny, old man who liked young girls because he had asked me if I would like to "rp." After explaining to him that I did not know what that meant because I had never been in a chat room before, he proceeded to tell me that rp meant role-play. The conversation changed after he realized I was not in the chat to do what so many were doing at 9:00 at night. Phil started to take interest in me, why I was in the chat room and whether or not I was intelligent. All of these things surprised me. As our conversation progressed, I began to see that Phil was not the dirty old man who wanted to cyber with a 19 year old, rather just a man who was lonely. The things he told me helped me form an impression of who he was, or rather who I thought he was. He was rather intelligent, wise, open and helpful. He offered me advice on life and after one hour of conversation, I dear say I knew more about him than I know about some of the people I see on a day to day basis.

The impressions I formed were most closely related to the hyperpersonal model. I felt I could focus more on the conversation and what was being said because I did not know have to focus on how this man looked, or his physical behavior. He was extremely open, agreeable and conscientious; these traits compelled me to talk to him for such a long period of time. However, our conversation did not give me any hints on how extroverted or narcissistic he was. I do feel there was definitely a selective presentation on his part. As soon as he realized I was in college, he began to describe his academia in more detail and became more conscientious when he wrote to me. Although I believe this interaction closely follows the hyperpersonal model, it is possible that revisions need to be made or a new theory may be in order. This is mainly because the hyperpersonal model believes that a single CMC interaction does not allow for us to evaluate the agreeableness of a partner, but I found no problem in doing so. This may be because as the current population becomes more familiar and comfortable with current technologies, people are able to behave more freely in the CMC world.

http://comm245purple.blogspot.com/2007/09/late-night-chatting-with-andreww.html

http://comm245purple.blogspot.com/2007/09/online-first-impression.html