Globalized Technology: Unity & Displacement
Much in the spirit of my earlier post on immersion, travel and day to day reality, I have been thinking about the promise of a 'unified global community' that technology offers, and the contradictory feelings of displacement it can produce.
I would never have met my friends in Denmark had it not been for the technological advancements of the internet and global networking. The friendships I have made online have always been 'real' to me as they are wrapped up in 'real' emotions. Although we met in the game space of EverQuest, the relationships developped 'in' that game were (and still are) real.
Many of these friendships have made it through the transition from online to physical space, several trips across the ocean later. I am thankful that I live in a time that allows for such geographically challenged relationships to flourish. But often, I am left with a hollowness inside reminding me that I miss these people. That no matter how many emails and in game chats we have, I cannot simply pop over to watch a movie on a quiet friday night. I know that I cannot do this with my family either, who live 10 hours away, but somehow, using the technology to maintain existing relationships is (to me somehow) different than nurturing ones born through it.
Then I start to question ... as my friends have over time; do these long distance friendships inhibit the potential for friendships that are more physically attainable? I know that these questions aren't earth shatteringly new to anyone who has done any reading surrounding the field of digital studies, but everytime I travel to see my 'online' friends, I am left with a sadness that we don't share each other's lives on a more regular or rather physical basis.
So is it a blessing or a curse? Until they get around to inventing teletransportation, am I doomed to feel torn between two kinds of friendships, longing for a physical closeness to match the emotional closeness that the internet offers?
Much in the spirit of my earlier post on immersion, travel and day to day reality, I have been thinking about the promise of a 'unified global community' that technology offers, and the contradictory feelings of displacement it can produce.
I would never have met my friends in Denmark had it not been for the technological advancements of the internet and global networking. The friendships I have made online have always been 'real' to me as they are wrapped up in 'real' emotions. Although we met in the game space of EverQuest, the relationships developped 'in' that game were (and still are) real.
Many of these friendships have made it through the transition from online to physical space, several trips across the ocean later. I am thankful that I live in a time that allows for such geographically challenged relationships to flourish. But often, I am left with a hollowness inside reminding me that I miss these people. That no matter how many emails and in game chats we have, I cannot simply pop over to watch a movie on a quiet friday night. I know that I cannot do this with my family either, who live 10 hours away, but somehow, using the technology to maintain existing relationships is (to me somehow) different than nurturing ones born through it.
Then I start to question ... as my friends have over time; do these long distance friendships inhibit the potential for friendships that are more physically attainable? I know that these questions aren't earth shatteringly new to anyone who has done any reading surrounding the field of digital studies, but everytime I travel to see my 'online' friends, I am left with a sadness that we don't share each other's lives on a more regular or rather physical basis.
So is it a blessing or a curse? Until they get around to inventing teletransportation, am I doomed to feel torn between two kinds of friendships, longing for a physical closeness to match the emotional closeness that the internet offers?
posted by Kelly at
13:10
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