Session 2
Some people view online communities as their haven, while others avoid forming them. There are many opposing views because of different life preferences. I never really understood the importance of online communities until 2020, when COVID forced everyone into a lockdown. I was stuck at home without my support network because I was too afraid to go out. One boring night, I started playing League of Legends after one of my friends invited me to join her. This invite changed my life because I met many people while playing the game. After two years, I formed a close community with these friends on Discord. Not only do we play games together, but we also form a special bond together where we support each other through different phases of life. I believe this experience heavily influenced my views on the technological determinist discussion. I supported the soft technological determinist perspective because I believe societal changes forced me to use technology differently. Before, I would never spend over 2 hours online chatting with people because I enjoyed face-to-face interactions. I thought it was awkward having conversations online without seeing how people reacted to what I said. The lack of body language was something I had to get used to. However, I defaulted to online communities because I had no other choice. Funnily enough, after meeting so many close friends, I am now unable to detach myself from my online community. This drastic change illustrated that technology usage and demand change based on societal needs and wants. However, it also shows the dangerous side of technology. It can get addictive because inventors usually leverage our needs and want. In my case, technology got addictive because I found a community where I could connect with people. I can bond with my community through various methods, like watching shows together in real-time and chatting with them through voice calls, video calls, or text messages.
Hi Kelly, funny enough, I am on the opposite side as you, where I did not make any friends or socialize with anyone other than my family during the pandemic lockdown back in my home country, Malaysia. Surprisingly I am aware of what technology addiction could bring to me, so I decided to practice my hobby, such as cooking, during the whole lockdown time XD.
ReplyDeleteFor technology determinism, I always feel that it depends on how people use the technology itself; as for your case, it looks like online gaming has helped you gain many beautiful friendships and get you through the "isolated" COVID phase. It is great to see that you are experiencing it positively. However, you are having technology withdrawal symptoms at the same time, which ironic enough to call it "unpreventable." From my perspective, if a user is aware of their intention while using technology, it could limit the chance of experiencing how technology determines their life.
Hey Kelly. I had a similar experience as you! I feel like I am more of a face-to-face person before, but the pandemic changed my perspective on how communities and friendships could form. Back in 2021 I caught COVID after a night out with some of the friends that I just met. One of them was contracted with COVID the night before and the rest of us ended up having symptoms shortly after. It was around Christmas time and we were all pretty upset that we had to spend Christmas at home. We formed a group chat and started playing games together to kill time. Little did we know that week of binge-gaming was really the start of our deep friendship. We started talking about games, life outside games, our hobbies and interests, and became really close friends even after we recovered. Now it's been nine months since we first formed that group chat, and we still talk to each other on a daily basis and hang out in person during weekends.
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly, it seems we all have a lot to reflect on about the impact of technology on our lives in the context of the pandemic haha. I totally agree with you that technology has largely freed me from "social isolation" during Covid. Before Pandemic I rarely had the opportunity to meet people with similar interests through online communities because I was always making friends with people I could meet in real life. It's a great feeling when friendships are no longer limited by space and time.
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly! I think it's amazing that you found an online community to be a part of despite the unprecedented chaos of COVID, after that is what digital technology is for, to connect people regardless of distance and time. As I read how different your online communication is to in person, I wonder if you've noticed any differences as we've slowly transitioned back to in person. For me, I found that some of my communication is now hinged // difficult when lacking the access of visual representation when speaking verbally. Transitioning in these times has been such a challenge and I wonder if this is a phenomenon for people nowadays.
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