Post 7

I have heard the debate, held within this article, many times. Mostly from adults twice my age. They argue that technology, namely computers and phones, are slowly turning out society anti-social. The funny thing is, one of the main uses of computers and phones is to connect people who, in some cases, would not be able to connect. To this Jones makes a good point:

“Ironically, then, what makes CMC so attractive, especially for activities in which users desire greater control over their information preserve, is not just the sense of “connectedness” it fosters, but also the sense of “disconnectedness” (Jones 21).

On the outside computer-mediated communication or CMC seems to connect the un-connectable, but in fact it might be disconnecting the connectable. While the ability to communicate with anyone is always there, Jones makes another interesting point that looks at CMC in another light:

“Computer screens have a dual function—they allow us to project information onto them, but they also allow us to hide information behind them” (Jones 21).

This “dual function”, Jones speaks of presents an issue. While CMC allows us to communicate like never before, it also lets us lie and deceive like never before. An example could be, a 40-year-old man creating a Facebook and pretending to be a 20-year-old college girl. Then becoming friends with other, real, 20 year old girls and the creeping begins. Obviously CMC is not abused like this 100% of the time but there are predators out there that do abuse it in this manner.

In all, CMC has its pros and cons. In a “perfect” world CMC would allow us to become even better, more social humans. In this world it allows us to be, well human. Just like CMC, humans are not perfect.