My
on-line persona has no fear of offending others, liberating me to give an
honest opinion that I might hesitate to do in company. I sometimes feel less
real offline, when disengaging is going to mean giving an explanation, than
when I can simply log out or go to another thread. My created self has been an
inspiration for personal growth.
Tuan
(1991, p686) says hunter-gatherer societies live in a human environment "because
they have named it". The present citizens of the first world live in a largely
posthumanist environment where complex systems have been enshrined for
generations before we were born. It’s the same in our virtual networks; others
have conceived and built the site, and we play by the rules or we fail. Our
power lies in choosing a site whose rules are a good fit with our values.
Van
Luyn (2013) said the widespread belief that society is developing and that
technology is progress is a myth; we know the future will be different but it
won’t necessarily be better. The Uncommon Forum, ironically, shows how
isolating online networks can be. Dozens of younger members say they don’t know
how to make real-world friends, which makes online 'unfriending' and break-ups
painfully significant.
 |
|
There’s
no need to run away. You’re really not such a
rat, you know. It’s all very
understandable, in your
circumstances…
|
Site
naming determines who will gather. While Facebook is for those wanting
connection and Twitter encourages fly-in fly-out brevity, Uncommon Forum is
populated by misfits, outcasts and other lost souls. The narratives offered
under pseudonyms benefit all members. Writing out a dark secret diminishes its
power, there is kinship in adversity, there’s always someone worse off and no
one is shocked. Much as the Water Rat gave Mole a new vision of his own home
(Grahame, cited by Tuan, 1991), the bulk of Uncommon Forum communication gives troubled
members a kinder, more empowering perception of themselves and their lives.
REFERENCES
Tuan,
Y. (1991) Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers,
Vol. 81, No. 4, pp. 684-696. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2563430
Van Luyn, A. (2013) BA1002: Our
Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of Place, Lecture 5: Stories and
Places. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au
Picture: Vin Mag Archive Ltd, reprinted in The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/8956452/Wind-in-the-Willows-when-it-comes-to-romantic-heroes-my-heart-belongs-to-Ratty.html
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