"Ethnomethodology is a sociology theory that describes how people in certain situations, such as online environments, create the false impression of a collective social order when they don't understand, or perhaps don't care to understand each other fully. Inevitably, the different points of view within this forged community can lead to total anarchy if not intensely moderated by an unbiased member.
Within these online communities, notions of hierarchy are quickly established by the more seasoned posters who exhibit a rather skewed sense of importance and authority. Cliques are formed and mimic real life by picking on weaker or less popular individuals within the group.
In forums saturated with women, passion and possessiveness trumps kindness and rationality. In male-oriented groups testosterone takes over as insults fly, everyone suddenly belongs to Mensa and the discussion can turn into something along the lines of locker room bullying. Above it all, sarcasm reigns supreme, of course sarcasm doesn't easily translate online."
Gotta love a gender-line analysis in a place where nobody knows your name, let alone your DNA.
"Forums have become widely-known for their hostility and major corporations have begun to take notice. David Benady of Marketing Week points out how corporations often use forum hostility and social structure to their advantage. Benady discussed the advertising tactics of BMW marketing executives:
'They have their own blogger IDs such as Scott 26. They certainly come on forums around new model launches. They are not high-posting users, they just come on and say this is coming soon. BMW deliberately tries not to sound as intelligent as you would expect a marketer to.' [Steve] Davies argues that brands need to understand the psychology of online forums, where people crave self-esteem and status, both as individuals and for the whole community. By giving advocates exclusive pieces of information that they can then disseminate to a forum, it creates goodwill. Potential brand advocates can be identified on forums from users with the highest post counts or the ones starting the most widely read threads. But Davies says it is important the brand owner doesn't put any spin on the information it contributes to a discussion. Instead, it should simply give data and information and hope the advocates spin it themselves.'(Benady, 2007)'"
"One could say an online forum is a microcosm of society; however, a true microcosm would be comprised of unique individuals with a full range of interests and backgrounds."
"People might suffer from low self-esteem, shyness, or a physical disability that prevents them from feeling comfortable enough to socialize with others in real life. For these people forums can be greatly therapeutic and fulfilling. Some people are passive-aggressive or have other control issues and find themselves in an environment where they are free to assert their aggressive nature in full force with no repercussions. Others can be tremendously passive in real life yet anonymously they are finally given a voice in a place where their opinions mean something to a captive audience. Also present are 'trolls' that are just itching to start flame wars no matter that the topic is about and live to argue."
More psychological lingo thrown about by someone who is not trained in the field. But we all use the language now, right? Do we even know how to describe the behavior anymore without reverting to our mental pop psych library? And what about the apparent irony or hypocrisy of people who use the language while also deriding the field? Ever been accused of projecting or being passive-aggressive by someone who would never deign to visit one of those "quacks"?
"Class consciousness is brought into the mix by individuals who suffer from inadequacy or lack of validation and feel compelled to flaunt their real life social status, education, Mensa affiliation, employment or monetary status (whether genuine or fabricated) in an attempt to make others feel insignificant or to catapult themselves into the stratosphere of the forum's rank structure.
No matter what the individual's agenda or personality happen to be, people become intertwined in the drama of forums find it addicting and empowering to behave antisocially. One of the aggressors in a show's forum was a married mother of three who accumulated over 30,000 posts over a year and a half. That equals out to an average of 54 posts a day, seven says a week. The addiction can be very real and staying angry for that period of time can't possibly be good one's health."
Class consciousness and prejudice in a potentially "utopian" virtual world fascinates me.
"I've seen others who according to their own dialog, are online all day playing games and complain when their children are hungry or that they want attention period."
The world's new addiction...the internet. Hook up and bliss/zone/amp up and out.
"Certainly not everyone who steps foot into these forums are monsters or addicts, it's just that the monsters have a habit of taking over."
"There's a difference between healthy debating and blatant antagonizing. In an online setting where you can't see facial expressions or always sniff out witty sarcasm, people can easily misconstrue others' intended words. Next time you find yourself in a hostile thread, try to take the high ground and shrug off offending comments. Users should also try to gracefully respect comments that differ in opinion even if they are unpopular statements about highly controversial topics."
"If you are the offender, and are going off for the gratification of starting chaos or inflating your own self-esteem, perhaps seeking therapy might be in order or at least ask yourself why you harbor so much animosity towards the world. It is never okay to rationalize personal attacks with anonymity. Respect the person's rights, regardless of viewpoint. I'm just waiting for the day when someone turns around and sues a forum's host for damages caused by anxiety, high blood pressure or a heart attack. The way forums are going these days it's bound to happen sooner than later."
Noted for future reference.
"Published by Alicia White
Alicia is a former air traffic controller who lived in Japan for several years. She's currently a freelance writer in California, and a full-time pre-med student. View profile"
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Link:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/504197/the_psychology_of_online_forums.html?cat=9
I used to work for an advertising agency in London in the mid to Late 80's. Greed was good...till it wasn't.
ReplyDelete( You know me well enough to know...I only do real auto-biography...not faux auto-biography ala Pep
Anyway...the agency was full of people who had read Freud Cliff notes...and use this to sell hard to clients who had never read any, and felt inadequate.
That Freud's ideas had been largely discredited by Phsych's with hard evidence,was never known or understood by the dudes with the checque books...so they always signed.
I have read a bunch of Physch stuff...but remain a fuckwit on this endlessly fascinating subject...The internet in general is full of fuckwits such as myself...though it seems rare to confess to ones ignorance these days.
I loved the gender analysis: it sounded just like The Ladies Who Lunch versus Mean Ole Pep.
ReplyDeletePep (Sarcasm? Surely not!)
I am a relative n00b when it comes to forum participation. I have lurked in several, but never had a voice. Then came SL fora. SL allowed a broader topic range, an international audience, and a "your world, your imagination" catch. I lurked for several months before I participated. I knew the strong personalities-I knew the weak. I had a lot of angst around where I would fit in.
ReplyDeleteAlthough SL offers anonymity, I was determined to be 'myself'; whatever that meant; I was determined to have some fun, laugh, and most of all laugh at myself (especially if Pep decided to 'take a run' at me.)
Pep had the strongest voice, but by no means was he alone. Some of Pep's posts to other personalities taught *me* to be very careful with my words; understand that I will be held accountable for my words, and to make sure I read or was following the OP and responses. Although I still make many foolish posts, I am grateful for what I learned.
I am sure many fora 'suffer' the same maladies that affect the SL fora, but I am not of their world. I am a SL forum participant/contributor - it's where I cut my teeth; it's where I will stay. I just want to laugh and enjoy. I want people to laugh with/at me and enjoy my participation, but we can't please everyone - can we?
Hell no. For one thing, quite a few people on forums actively and consciously do not WANT to be pleased.
ReplyDeleteEveryone that participates in forums is a masochist.
ReplyDeletePep (Except me, of course.)
PS I please myself, if it need be said.