research essay about On-Line Communities

关于在线社区的学习
 

第一节：我所知道，假设和想象的。
 

我所知道的，或者说，我假设我知道的，关于在线社区是有极其严格限制的，尽管我本身并没有真的参与过这些类型的社区，我实际上在在线社区领域上并没有经验，实际上也从来没有尝试加入它，甚至是浏览下它们而已，我对这个领域兴趣的全部了解只是简单地从朋友或家人们那听到在各种聊天室和其他在线社区的经验，我以为我知道的是基于部分零碎的信息，偶尔也从媒体上收集一下信息.

当确切调查报告项目信息揭露了不同网站的研究，例如可以使用的不同类型的网站和可以在聊天室发现的不同类型的人，我开始变得更好奇，事实上，我有一次看到一份调查报告显示在你自己的起居室就能建立一个自己的网站有多么简单，因为不同原因而决定开创自己网站的人的数量对我来说还没有比那些被引诱而去登陆这些网站的人更让我感兴趣。
 

Learning About On-Line Communities 

 

Section 1: What I Know, Assume or Imagine. 

 

What I know, or rather, what I assume I know, about on-line communities is extremely limited since I do not really participate in these types of communities myself. I have virtually no experience in the area of on-line communities and have never actually attempted to join, or even browse, through them. Everything that I think that I know about this area of interest is simply what I have heard from my friends or family regarding their experiences in various chat rooms and other on-line communities. What I assume I know is also based partially on the bits and pieces of information that I gather occasionally from the media. 

 

When certain investigative report programs air information that reveals research from various web sites such as the different types of web sites that are available, and the types of people that might be found in certain chat rooms, I begin to grow more curious. In fact, I once watched an investigative report show that revealed how easy it is to set up your own web site from your living room. The amount of people that decided to create their own web sites for assorted reasons is not as interesting to me as the amount of people that are enticed into logging on to these web sights. Several areas of interest even include simply watching the creator of the web site as they go about their daily activities in their living room. Some online "groupies" have even become so fascinated with certain web sights that they enjoy watching the host of the site sleep or use the bathroom. I am sure that these types of communities are merely the tip of the iceberg in the vast ocean of what is available as far as on-line communities. #p#分页标题#e#

 

What interests me most about the various web sites and on-line communities available to the public is the fact that so many people are consumed by these alternative realities and seem to enjoy living in a world where they can create their alter egos. A lot of people seem to really enjoy, or perhaps even have a deep need, to create enriched versions of them. People that often engage in this activity of creating a generous picture of who they actually are have a purpose of attracting other individuals who the embellishers might feel would, otherwise, not be attracted to enlist in conversation with them. Other people who enjoy boosting their public image to other on-line viewers may just be doing so for the purpose of entertaining themselves and this may be just as dangerous as the latter. 

 

I find it amazing that so many people have such a great need to attempt to make friends, and to embellish a lifestyle that is, somehow, not their own. I assume that this is, obviously, a type of escape from reality. I assume that some people must have a deep desire to spend a few hours out of their day in a fantasy world, since the vast majority of us spend most of our lives dealing with the harsh realities that we call life. Yet, the extreme that some people will go to in this alternate reality is not only dangerous it is shocking. 

 

What is also interesting to me about the individuals who use these online communities are those individuals that take recreating themselves a step farther than just describing themselves as more beautiful, more successful, and even, simply, nicer than they actually are. What scares me is the people that actually start to believe that the alter ego that they live through in these communities begins to become more real to them than their actual self. What disturbs me greatly is the sexual offenders who participate in these chat rooms for the single purpose of luring young, naove, and disturbed individuals into their manipulative grasp. Often times, you see a story in the news where one of these individuals attempted to meet with a young victim, face to face, without the mask of their computer screen to protect them. 

 

I assume that there is a lot of danger associated with the internet and certain web sites, particularly for minors, because, often times, there is not enough parental supervision to oversee the potential dangers that arise from developing relationships with people that are complete strangers. Parents are often so busy that they do not always have the time to monitor their children's activities in chat rooms leading to other potential problems. 

 

This brings me to another fearful assumption that children and teenagers who join certain web sites and chat rooms, in the hopes that they will be able to talk about their problems, are often not getting the logical or professional responses that they so desperately need. I assume that most children who reach out for help in these types of communities are not guaranteed an adequate response or, even, any response at all. How many chat rooms have professionals who will be able to intervene when the situation calls for intervention? How many chat rooms have phone numbers for professional counselors when an individual's problems seem to be out of control? These are, certainly, fears and questions that I have concerning on-line communities. #p#分页标题#e#

 

On the other hand, I have also heard of several meetings in these chat rooms that have led to successful and long-standing friendships, relationships and even marriages. So, the question that I would have, would not be whether these on-line communities are a productive outlet for engaging with other individuals who you do not know and will not, probably, ever meet face to face. Rather, the question lies in who should use these chat rooms and how closely should their activities be monitored? 

 

第二节：调查——Section 2: The Search. 

 

I decided to focus my topic of research on self-help web sites with chat rooms, particularly for children and teen-agers. In particular, I looked for sites that were designed to help children and teenagers of abuse in its various forms. The search for these types of sites really interested me because I wasn't even sure if something of this nature would be available, especially to individuals who are under age. 

 

Another reason that researching this area interests me is because I feel that these types of outlets, with the proper adult and professional monitoring, are crucially important in helping kids who might, otherwise, have no where else to turn to. This topic also peaked my interest because, often times, you find that children and teenagers can more easily confess something that is troubling them to a perfect stranger than they could to a parent. If these types of self-help rooms were available I wanted to see how much trust a child would place in a perfect stranger and how reliable would the stranger's advice be. 

 

One of the first web sites I looked at was called "Support-Group.com." I realized that there were no chat rooms but the extent of their message boards was so great I decided to check it out. Not only were there over two hundred different areas of interest you could talk to other people about but also there was no need to register, which I liked. I think that the anonymity of not needing to put in your real name or your e-mail address would be very appealing to young kids and teenagers since I later found out that many of the web sites required you to become a member. This allowed kids to use an alias with no worry that the site might want to e-mail them later with responses of any kind. 

 

I went directly to the message board under the link "Child Abuse." I noticed that there were certain groups of people who would respond back and forth to each other. Clearly, people had migrated to other people who shared similar problems and I could count about four of five small groups of people that seemed to write back and forth to each other. As I read through some of the messages I only found a couple of people that stated that they were between the ages of twelve and seventeen. They seemed to be happy that they had people to listen to them and respond to their questions and concerns about their own abuse. I even noticed that new people who left messages did not have to wait long to get a response. By checking back every day or two I realized that no one's questions or outcries for help seemed to go unanswered for longer than a day. I actually even posted a note about some of my own experiences with this topic and I found the responses to be touching, thoughtful and sensitive. Although I didn't notice any professionals that were monitoring over the messages and the interactions between the guests I did notice that every one that responded seemed to be of some substantial help. The main idea behind these types of exchanges is that most everyone that is going to respond to you or vise-versa has been in your shoes to some degree. Everyone seemed to be able to relate with one another, to sympathize without mockery. All in all, I would say that there were several small communities in this particular site, each there for the purpose of helping and supporting each other. #p#分页标题#e#

 

The next site that I looked at was called "Suite 101.com." At this site you had to become a member by logging in some personal information about yourself including an e-mail address. The nice thing about this web site was that it did have pretty active web links although it was very difficult for me to find a room that pertained to my needs. I tried several different links concerning the areas of child abuse and some took me to rooms with no one in them at all. Other links took me to rooms with one or two people in them who seemed to be having discussions about things, which I did not care to engage in. 

 

I would assume that for a child or a teenager it would be very difficult to find a room that suited their needs without displaying quite a bit of patience in getting into an appropriate room. I did notice that some of the other rooms had large amounts of people logged on but, again, they were not discussing issues that would have been pertinent to my search. The last thing I noticed about this site, which I thought was a nice feature, was a monthly calendar that listed different topics of interest, the day they were going to be held on, the time they were going to be discussed and the room that they were going to be discussed in. I think that this calendar of dates would certainly help to develop a community of people within each group the more that they got to know each other. 

 

I ran into a lot of trouble continuing my search for self-help rooms and web sites for abused children and teenagers. I only found one other really great web site for this area of interest and two more that were fairly average. One of the mediocre web sites entitled "Dissonant Dreams" seemed to be very helpful for victims of rape. I noticed that there was a lot of helpful information in here about victim's rights and where you can go for help. In order to get into a "ring" or to be able to join in a chat room or participate on message boards you had to create your own site. This might really appeal to some people but the idea of the time and future responsibility associated with this really turned me off. 

 

The other mediocre sight was entitled "Abuse Recovery UK" but the major problem I had with this site was that responses to people's postings seemed to be few and far between and there were even some messages left about that were over a year old. The last web site that I looked at for the support of young victims of abuse was called "Delphi Forums" but once on the site, was entitled "Child Abuse Survivors' Forum." This site seemed to be well organized with the option to use the message board or participate in chat rooms. All of the links were easy to get into, there was a large community here, and most of the discussions seemed to be very intelligent, sensitive and relevant to this area of interest. Some of the discussions on this site were very moving and emotionally heartfelt. The people seemed to have real concerns and the responses that I read seemed to be considerate and sincere. I found a few postings that seemed to be written by children but most people did not specifically state their age. This seemed to be an extremely helpful site and there were so many people in this site that I imagine it is a successful one. #p#分页标题#e#

 

第三节：我的发现——Section 3: What I Discovered. 

 

When my research finally came to a close I realized that, if you look closely enough, there are some really great on line communities out there that should certainly be able to serve most anyone's needs. One aspect required in participating in these type of communities is certainly a personality that is willing to try new things and is not afraid of opening up to strangers. The nice things about some of the communities that I researched is that you have the opportunity to get help with your problems from people that have similar experiences without having to expose yourself or your true identity. After the research that I have done I can see how this sense of anonymity is so incredibly important, especially in areas of discussing personal details about one's life. 

 

The way that perfect strangers are so willing to open up to one another in order to help each other was, also, quite a pleasant surprise for me. I found people's sense of compassion and concern for one another refreshing and, I think that with proper supervision some on these self-help web sites would be advantageous for children and teenagers to use as well. 

 

Although I suppose that parents should still be cautious and fearful in letting their children access these types of sites, I realized that many of them are safe and helpful. The rare cases the we see on the news or read about in the paper are certainly not the norm and should not discourage someone from reaping the benefits of such an easily accessible medium of human interaction. 

 

It was also quite refreshing for me to learn that so much of what we considered to be taboo, as far as what people were allowed to talk with each other about in the past, really seems to have become acceptable. There were open chat rooms and message boards where people shared their most intimate concerns. I saw many issues that were being discussed like racial issues, gay and lesbian concerns, incest survivors, rape victims, child abuse survivors and women in abusive relationships. These topics went far beyond the original scope of my interest and inquiry, so I was not able to delve into them as much as I would have liked to. Yet, I still realized that there is an enormous network for social and personal issues of all kinds and, more importantly than that, there are people who are eager to participate in these networks. 

 

This research has led me to even more questions. One question that I have in particular is if it is easier for people to talk with strangers than people that they know? I probably would have assumed that, without a doubt, it is always easier for people to talk to a friend, colleague, companion or family member than it is to talk with a stranger. After visiting many of these online communities I would have to disagree with myself. The people that I listened to in these communities seemed to be able to open up and talk about personal issues that they had not shared with anyone for many years. They seemed to need and desire an impartial point of view. Exposing one's insecurities and personal traumas is certainly not a side that you would want everyone to see. When I turned off my computer, as I am sure is the same for many people, I felt better without feeling embarrassed, exposed or ashamed. I was able to find a community of people with similar concerns about life while still keeping my personal life in control. Privacy is an enormous quality that most people strive for and few people get. #p#分页标题#e#

 

In conclusion, I was pleasantly surprised with my research into online communities. I found them to be helpful for those who are ready and looking for that type of help. Although they are not for everyone, and there are certainly some that are not appropriate for most people, these types of communities are something that an individual would not be able to find anywhere else on earth. The computer is a powerful medium and I am glad that I finally learned how to use it. 

 

Works Cited 

 

Delphi Forums. "Child Abuse Survivors Forum." 25 Nov. 2000. http://www0.delphi.com/hectate/ 

 

Abuse Recovery UK. "Parents of Abuse Survivors." 3 Dec. 2000. http://aruk.co.uk/parents/index.htm 

 

Dissonant Dreams. "Victims No More Web Ring." 29 Nov. 2000. http://www.dissonantdreams.drak.net/intro.html 

 

Support Group.com. "Child Abuse Support Group." 3 Dec. 2000. http://www.support-group.com/ 

 

Suite 101.com. "Real People Helping Real People." 3 Dec. 2000. http://www.suite101.com/login.cfm