In evaluation of the proposed model for DDHG-DisHarmony, McKee concludes that while it will get the job done, the purpose of the site cannot be fulfilled in its currently proposed state because of human nature when it comes to romantic relationships and ending them. Let us review this argument and the method by which he reaches this conclusion.
McKee states that the design of a typical database access website, with members-only access to the data, will be sufficient for keeping and conveying the required information. However, this is not the basis for his argument.
First, McKee acknowledges the distinction between the nature of the relationship among users of the Deadbeat database and that of the future users of DDHG-DisHarmony. While there is a mostly professional relationship between landlords and tenants, the relationship between potential users of DDHG-DisHarmony is of a more personal, romantic nature. Drawing upon somewhat potentially limited and biased personal experiences, McKee claims that ending such relationships yields some form of hurtful exchange. He purports that evidence of this claim is readily available on various social networking websites, such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Yet he fails to elaborate or provide precise examples, instead making a broad generalization of the type of traffic these sites normally experience.
McKee then makes the claim that there is little likelihood of an amicable end to a romantic relationship. The resulting heartache and hard feelings intensify human beings' social need to "get things off our chests." He uses this claim to imply that the original purpose of DDHG-DisHarmony will be corrupted. He then attempts to support this claim with a variety of biased and unverifiable...
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...ative communication; and that humans are social creatures with an unrelenting need to convey their emotions and experiences. Making these assumptions, we could see the supposed validity of his argument that the purpose of the site cannot be fulfilled in its currently proposed state because of human nature when it comes to romantic relationships and ending them. However, his argument is invalid. We can imagine a scenario where DDHG-DisHarmony users never began a romantic relationship with one another, or where such a relationship has not yet ended. His argument is also unsound, as many of his claims are based on his personal bias and opinion, and are unverifiable in the real world. While, McKee brings up many interesting and valid social and ethical concerns, he does not present a valid nor sound argument against the implementation of the proposed DDHG-DisHarmony site.
For example, he describes how couples might “exchange email for weeks or months” (221) when using a dating site, effectively slowing the dating process and adding more structure to courtship. He displays the transactional and sensitive side of Internet dating when he points to Internet exchanges between couples that “encourage both extreme honesty (the strangers-on-a-train phenomenon) and extreme dishonesty, as people lie about their ages their jobs, whether they have kids and, most often, whether they are married” (222). Brooks’ history of publication in widely known periodicals (like the New York Times (221)) and insightful, yet logical, writing style give validity to his essay; as, for
In this era we live in, we are brought up to think divorce is bound to happen. According to The American Psychological Association, “about 40 to 50 percent of married couples in the United States divorce” and “the divorce rate for subsequent marriages is even higher.” Many adults decide that it is less messy to just live with one another rather than actually get married. This is beginning to drive the rates of marriage down. Many have speculated that relationships will continue to evolve, especially if the human lifespan continues expand. Fiction writers such as Drew Magary and real world scientists such as Aubrey de Grey have explored this very topic of relationships.
In her article “Friends Indeed?” Joel Garreau explains that for two decades, online social networks have been touted as one of the finest flowerings of our new era. But what is the strength of ties so weak as to barely exist? Who will lend you lunch money? Who’s got your back?” Technology has overtaken individuals by social media, allowing many people to communicate online rather than having face-to-face communication. Many “relationships” begin online, and end online. Although, true relationships are rarely created fast, it gradually grows and becomes stronger and stronger over the years. However, in our immediate society this is not the case. But the questions still remains, as Joel Garreau points out “Who would lend you lunch money?” in other words, who will help you physically not online. In our impatient society, technologies influenced the way individual communicate, and that often times leads to depression, loneliness and addictions.
People feel they are on top of the world due to the numerous friends that they have on their Facebook page. Having Facebook friends provides them with a sense of acceptance they had never experienced. These experiences are a gateway to a stream of emotions that has the potential to harm as well as to help. Social media has helped to emotionally feel connected and is an easy and efficient way to stay in contact with family and friends; however, it is harmful when it is the culprit for facilitating and fueling arguments and unhealthy relationships. “As the Danish academic Anders Colding-Jorgensen argues: ‘We should no longer see the internet as a post office where information is sent back and forth, but rather as an openarena for our identity and self-pro...
Advances in technology have complicated the way in which people are connecting with others around them and how it separates people from reality. In “Virtual Love” by Meghan Daum, she illustrates through the narrator 's point of view how a virtual relationship of communicating through emails and text messages can mislead a person into thinking that they actually have a bond with a person whom they have stuck their ideals onto and how the physical worlds stands as an obstacle in front of their relationship when the couple finally meets. In comparison, the article … While Daum and X discuss that technology pushes us apart and disconnects us from the physical world, they evoke a new light into explaining how technology creates the illusion of making
As older siblings, friends, and cousins were denied position at school and in the work force, we realized that adults and employers had found Facebook. Our uncensored character was on display for future bosses, colleges, etc. and they were there to stay. Instead of references being the test of character for a job, it was the online identity that determined whether or not the application got even a second glance. In light of this revelation, we changed. Our Facebooks no longer reflected our true selves, but rather the person that we thought colleges and employers should see. Much like hiding our dirty laundry from prying eyes in the halls of high school, we could no longer wear our proverbial hearts on our internet sleeves, for the future was at stake. Much like what had once been the Old West, the internet was now connected with railroads—each leading back to the offline person. Tame and orderly.
“I didn't know what Facebook was, and now that I do know what it is, I have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time –Betty White (“Betty White Quotes,” 2014, para. 1).” This quote can be interpreted to fit with several of the social media avenues that many people spend their time on. Day in and day out people post, tweet, share, and pin countless times throughout the world. These different forms of communication were first created for an easier way for people to connect with others. Yet now, so much time is spent on these social sites that it has warped the interactive part and is causing more damage than good. Many are growing a desire and are living for the amount of “likes” they can receive on a post or how many re-tweets they can generate. Instead of going to these outlets to participate in a partial portion of their social lives, people are filling that time with the technological aspect of communication. As White said, this can become an inordinate amount of wasted time and can ultimately grow into further damaging circumstances. These different social media channels can cause emotional harm through disparaging the relationship between friends, conjuring of a narcissistic personality, and the retrogradation of ones self-esteem.
and family, and also “meet like-minded people” ( Metz, par. 1). In some cases, business people such as Ron West, claim that he uses Facebook “to become acquainted with new customers”( par. 8). Yes, these types of websites are great tools to stay in touch with old classmatesand faraway family members. It is a great source of communication, but there is always a con to every pro. Even though users are connecting with others, users of social networks never know exact...
Whitty. M. T (2005), The Realness of Cybercheating: Men’s and Women’s Representations of Unfaithful Internet Relationships. Social Science Computer Review [Online] 23 (1) p. 57-67.
The article “Love Via The Internet”[3]. The writer started the article by showing her own opinion clearly about the long distance relationships through the dating websites “I'm having doubts about a long-distance relationship that started through a dating site.”[3]. Then she started to give an example of a relationship via the...
The human need for affiliation creates the challenges and rewards of finding acquaintances, forming close friendships, as well as intimate relationships. Through technological advances cyberspace, or the internet, has become a place of multiple opportunities for people to be able to fulfill that need for affiliation. Websites, chat rooms, and online communities are just some examples of virtual platforms for people to seek others, come together, and find that special someone. These opportunities can result in positive outcomes allowing people to achieve what or whom they were seeking, but they can also result in harm to themselves and others, resulting with damaging consequences. Cyberspace does not come with a warning label. People who use the internet as a means to seek relationships are at risk of being exposed to positive as well as negative results. Being made aware of some of those risks and dangers, and realizing that forming relationships on the internet is not all fun and games, may be ways to help promote a positive future for cyberspace as a place to form successful relationships.
Facebook is a helpful website that allows people to build relationships and stay in touch with friends and relatives. People first create a personal profile to let users know more about the people they interact with online. This personal profile includes “personal information (birth date, gender, hometown), general preferences (movies, music, books), and status (student, alumni, current occupation)” (“Facebook”). This section of Facebook allows people to get to know the person better and to see if there are common interests that could eventually start conversations and build friendships. People enjoy social interactions and are “driven, primarily, by a desire to stay connected to and involved in the lives of friends who live close by, far away, or have just entered into their lives” (Henig and Henig). It is hard to see friends or relatives who live far away, so Facebook is a great source to stay in touch. Since people are connected with friends and relatives online, it keeps them from loosing touch with their relationships. Modern relationships “flow between flesh and technolo...
Another disadvantage of OSSGs are the short term relationships build. Tanis (2008) argues that interaction on OSSGs can expand their network, however these are people who otherwise are not be contacted (weak-ties). Most participants stop interaction in the online settlement when they feel better, as a result long relationships were not
Furthermore, browsing sites such as Facebook may lead to low morale, as people begin to measure their self-worth with the amount of “likes” they receive. Ironically, although social media sites boast their ability to connect people, they mainly separate society even more as people become isolated behind their screens. Social media is damaging to a person’s life because it can lower self-esteem, isolate people from real relationships, and cause privacy concerns as marketers, employers, and school officials can view information posted online.
... comfort or understanding from their primary relationships, they turn to the cyber platform as the other option. Eventually, this source of comfort will turn into a preference and the individual will end up choosing cyber relationships as opposed to their original primary relationships due to the pros and cons on both ends measured.