posted on Oct, 2 2020 @ 04:35 AM
I don't know what you mean by 'halo effect', but this topic is actually complex, and very interesting, as there are so many different facets to it,
and so little written about it.
Firstly, any social life is social life, regardless of communication format. If someone says something to you, I don't care if it's text, voicemail,
phone call, face-to-face, or a painstakingly written letter - someone reached out and said something to you.
To me, it's all "real", and the people that use the internet to communicate are just as real as people who only talk face-to-face.
There is so much to say about this topic, I hope I can do it justice.
Many people seem to regard only 'face-to-face' communication as something real, and on the surface, it's easy to agree. But think about it a bit
more.
People have hang-ups, fears, social phobias. People have all kinds of 'blocks' inside of them - some are good, of course, so people won't just beat
each other up each time they disagree. There are things someone would never dare say or do in 'real life', that they happily and easily do in the
internet.
This makes 'face-to-face' communication always a bit fake. Most people always have a bit of a mask on, a little bit of 'politeness' or some other
manipulation going on. What you see is NOT what you get in 'real life'. There's no similar need for such direct, automated pretense in the internet,
so people can be more direct and honest, and more 'themselves' in the internet. They can reveal their true selves and thoughts, takl about real topics
with real opinions through anonymity.
Of course this also frees complete jerks to reveal themselves to be amazingly toxic and hostile, especially towards people that never lash out on
others, but try to keep at least some kind of civil conduct going without sacrificing the directness or the honesty.
So, you could make the argument, that people are _MORE_ real in the internet, because they don't have to pretend anything, or be 'socially pleasing'.
They don't have to be afraid that if they say something out loud, someone will punch them in the face.
There are taboo topics and 'dangerous' discussions that could never be had in purely face-to-face situations - without any anonymity. The internet
allows such discussions to take place, and this can only enrichen (if such a word exists) humanity.
The thing about internet is, it opens these possibilities, but it also opens the door to many, many other possibilities that people just don't think
about. For example 'cyberstalking' is possible, if people really are stupid enough to constantly broadcast their current location (Phone Losers of
America has done many prank call episodes about this, and those people freaked out - they should've freaked out BEFORE broadcasting their own
locations to the whole world to see, though).
There's nothing wrong with using the internet as a communication format. Before the internet, we had newspapers, TV, radio, amateur (HAM) radio,
BBSes, telephones, and so on. They're JUST as 'real' or 'non-real' as the internet.
I don't see how a video chat through internet is any less real than a phone call through phonelines before the internet.
A message is a message, communication is communication, social life is social life, regardless of how PHYSICAL it is.
Isn't it amazing that in 2020, people still WORSHIP the most animalistic side of themselves, the most temporary, the most illusory, that can be
compared to a vehicle, like a car? No one thinks they are their car, so why do people think they are their body? Why is only bodily pleasure
worshipped and appreciated, but a spiritual connection between people isn't?
There's a lot that can happen through the internet that you might never be able to get going in 'real life'. What if two shy people meet, but are
never able to talk or look at each other much in 'real life'? But in the internet, they can talk about philosophical things they didn't even realize
each other was thinking about!
Cypher made a good point about The Matrix; it can be MORE real, because it offers much more, and it allows more honest and direct discussions.
Why anyone would attack a FORMAT anyway.. people won't become good or bad just because of the FORMAT they use to discuss with each other. A jerk will
be jerk in the internet and in real life - the difference is, the jerk might be afraid to SHOW their true selves when there's a social situation going
on, so you might not KNOW they are a jerk.
A good human being will be a good human being in real world and in the internet.
There's nothing wrong with communicating, regardless of what FORMAT you use.
If someone tells me something interesting, I don't care what format they used. I would probably PREFER something I can save for later, and observe
more often than just once. I would probably PREFER something I can experience 20 years from now and reflect upon what they wanted to say.
'Real-life' communication can always be interrupted by so many things, it's a miracle that anyone gets any communication done that way. But try to
interrupt my text here while I am typing this! You can delete this message, but you can't stop my typing right now, or my saving this message for
future reference.
People should focus on people and the message, not the FORMAT they're using.