Submitted by Ching (not verified) on 6 May, 2006 - 01:47.
Sorry I took so long to reply; but have been swamped with work and sleep. Anyway, back to the point at hand-
I did use IM a lot; less so now I'm in uni and have less time (also because my Mac refuses to sign me in automatically). So I would say no, I don't (probably on average about once a week, if that)
As regards smileys, I do tend to use a few of them relatively frequently, such as this one- :D. Generally, it's because I'm actually smiling, or happy- and it's something I always do in normal conversation (smile, I mean); so I think it's actually a more accurate portrayal of me in that sense.
Oddly enough, I rarely feel that IM limits me- I talk to a lot of people more on IM than I ever would in real life, and it's another way of communicating with people. I've never had misunderstandings with people, as I generally make myself very clear whenever I 'speak'. In fact, having to type something out generally makes me stop and think about what I'm saying a bit more; possibly avoiding misunderstandings in certain cases. I know of cases where IM HAS caused misunderstandings, but that arises more from the individual rather than the actual medium of communication itself.
Essentially, IM can never replace face to face conversation. There are certain things that can never be conveyed through an electronic medium- the way they smile, their body language, their mannerisms, which, ultimately, is what a person really is. If you're looking for it as a means of replacing real, tangible contact, it will obviously never be perfect. Nonetheless, IM allows you to communicate with someone, and connect with them on a thoroughly intellectual- well, intellectual is debatable, given phenomena like text speak, but I think you know what I mean. The downfall is that it's much easier for someone to conceal who they really are when they're typing as opposed to when they're standing in front of you, and as such, unless one is totally honest (as I would like to think I am), you're probably getting a filtered view of the person, or worse, a completely different and dishonest view of the person.
Sorry I took so long to
Sorry I took so long to reply; but have been swamped with work and sleep. Anyway, back to the point at hand-
I did use IM a lot; less so now I'm in uni and have less time (also because my Mac refuses to sign me in automatically). So I would say no, I don't (probably on average about once a week, if that)
As regards smileys, I do tend to use a few of them relatively frequently, such as this one- :D. Generally, it's because I'm actually smiling, or happy- and it's something I always do in normal conversation (smile, I mean); so I think it's actually a more accurate portrayal of me in that sense.
Oddly enough, I rarely feel that IM limits me- I talk to a lot of people more on IM than I ever would in real life, and it's another way of communicating with people. I've never had misunderstandings with people, as I generally make myself very clear whenever I 'speak'. In fact, having to type something out generally makes me stop and think about what I'm saying a bit more; possibly avoiding misunderstandings in certain cases. I know of cases where IM HAS caused misunderstandings, but that arises more from the individual rather than the actual medium of communication itself.
Essentially, IM can never replace face to face conversation. There are certain things that can never be conveyed through an electronic medium- the way they smile, their body language, their mannerisms, which, ultimately, is what a person really is. If you're looking for it as a means of replacing real, tangible contact, it will obviously never be perfect. Nonetheless, IM allows you to communicate with someone, and connect with them on a thoroughly intellectual- well, intellectual is debatable, given phenomena like text speak, but I think you know what I mean. The downfall is that it's much easier for someone to conceal who they really are when they're typing as opposed to when they're standing in front of you, and as such, unless one is totally honest (as I would like to think I am), you're probably getting a filtered view of the person, or worse, a completely different and dishonest view of the person.