LaRonda shares the joys of social networking in the Deaf community.
Transcript below. Hosted by: Videoserver.us (2:10 Mins.)
Transcript:
Hi. Have you seen the words “social networking?” What does it mean exactly?
Some communities clique together like in neighborhoods or high school. People who have the same interests, hobbies, thoughts or beliefs tend to clique together and socialize among their kind.
Here, online, the Deaf community has this social networking too. Seriously, it’s my favorite part of vlogging.
Earlier today and yesterday, I found myself cracking up because a ton of vloggers headed over to DEAFOIC (”Oh I See”) - Mike Schmidt’s vlog over at DVTV called “Healthy Discourse or Influence.” He was talking about commentaries, and how, while the original vlog itself has it’s own content, the commentaries below have their own different topics that weave in and out of each other as they follow. These discussions can lead to new ideas or old ideas. They can create new friendships or build on existing friendships.
I’ve just been laughing so hard at these comments. I realize that many of us have stress in our lives like graduate school and papers to write, stress from our boss or our jobs, or the approaching end of the school year, and so on. Whew! Sometimes it can feel like a heavy load.
But, then, when we come to these social networking sites, like DeafRead or DVTV, and just chat, we lose ourselves in laughter and dialogue. Yet it’s a release and it feels good!
Anyway, I want to say thank you to those of you people who are willing to open up and be silly and playful. That.
Spread the sunshine!
Bye (ILY Wave)
I’ve always steered clear of social networking, because I believe there is a distinct difference between that and e.g. aggregates like deaf.read that are political/rights areas mainly. I think for in-depth discussions and educational purposes social networking doesn’t cut it.
It is a ’social’ network, and such social areas by their nature don’t talk ‘issues’ all the time, which is my area of interest. I’ve looked at a few like FB and Twitter/My Space and was struck by the trivia in them, it put me right off, a lot seemed to talk like a group of silly teenagers, and I still believe deaf people prefer face to face personally, you cannot conduct real friendships over the net, only face to face makes that possible.
Deaf people love their meet ups and talks, texting and even vblogs isn’t quite the same, and many psychiatrists suggest social networking is actually disengaging people, not bringing them together, and they are very disengaged from real events in real time. One has visions of many such contributors sitting alone and not really out there mixing with real people and forming tangible relationships. 500 imaginary friends, is just that. If you have 3 real friends in Life you are very foirtunate, FB demeans and reduces relationships to mere trivia, to be disposed of, as and when…
Left by MM on May 17th, 2009
MM,
While I can appreciate and even agree with parts of what you’re saying such as the concern for social networking online disengaging people, I think the opposite is true for the Deaf community. Those psychiatrists are norming their concerns on a hearing population. I think that the advancement of technology with online social networking sites, including those that are trivial and those that engage in deeper discourse, have actually brought the deaf community out of its isolation and into each others lives. Deaf folks living in rural areas can jabber and pass on ideas from deeply heated political debates to the frolly and foolhardy playfulness we see on some of those “trivial” sites. I must say that my work and family life keep me bound to my home area, yet I can take an hour or two and make friends with someone in Australia or Germany. I can laugh and share tea with someone in New Haven or Seattle. I can party with someone in Texas or Chicago. This is amazing to me and I cannot knock the value of this kind of connection. It may not be your cup of tea and that’s ok, but I’ll let you know, I’ve made some of the closest friends online through social networking in the last 3 years than I have made in a lifetime. I have met many of them in person and continued our relationships. I think social networking rocks!
~ LaRonda
Left by LaRonda on May 17th, 2009
It’s age driven I think in most part. I too can contact others I would never meet in real life who live far away (Like yourself !), but I could just as well do that via an e-mail or response to your blog, I would not require a social networking site to do that. I could never personally understand using social networking to contact people I can visit anyway, but often we see this happening. It is socializing via proxy. I do not even see it as a ‘community’ although some claim it is that too. The fact social networking it not safe or secure is also an issue of FB, and now twitter where advertisers are using mobile tracking devices to target where you go every day, by monitoring where you call from and, where you go (Shopping habits etc). Many are sleep walking to Big Brother ! When we read a young lad hanged himself because he had a lot less ‘friends’ than his peers on FB, I though that’s it, I’m outta there ! Social networks are not for me…
Left by MM on May 17th, 2009
MM,
Thanks for your thoughts. I encourage the dialogue.
I’m 45. Age has little to do with social networking these days. Professionals are using sites like Facebook to network. I think social networking has evolved. I do agree with you however, in that some of those sites ask a wee bit too many personal tidbits of information. I think it requires folks to be sharp about what they share and what they don’t. You’re right in that it can be dangerous. But I think you’re overlooking the joys and benefits social networking can bring, especially to the deaf community, who has historically been isolated and unheard prior to this kind of technology.
I do find some of the social networking sites trivial and immature, and yet, there are times when I just wanna have fun, and jabber. This has more to do with me being an extrovert.
Not everyone who enjoys social networking is going to hang themselves if they have less friends on Facebook than others. That’s an extreme. Those scenarios happen without social networking online. I wouldn’t point fingers to online sites as the sole cause of that kind of deviated behavior.
I was also thinking…. responses to vblogs are a form of social networking. Email is a form of social networking. So I wasn’t just referring to the traditional social networking sites alone. I was talking about socializing via connecting in cyberspace in general. I just have found it to be way fun!
~ LaRonda
Left by LaRonda on May 17th, 2009
Interesting comment on vblogs is social networking. Depends where the blogs are I suppose. Just put me down as anti-social
I think you can spend too much time on these sites. At the deaf club they put in two computers and we saw one young deaf girl spend 3 HOURS on facebook, I would think that excessive, she said 4 hours is the norm for some of her mates, and one her friends spent all night on it often…. and struggled to get out of the house in case she missed something.
The deaf club had them removed after, because young deaf monopolized the computers and nobody else could use them. The idea was to utilize them them for job searches and CV’s etc as well as literacy, clearly young deaf had other ideas….! They appear very addictive. I’m a chatty person online, but that amount of time, what WOULD you talk about ? I went to the cinema today ? my car broke down yesterday ? I’d not think anyone remotely interested.
Left by MM on May 18th, 2009
MM,
Aye. There is definitely an addictive element in our technological lives today. I won’t argue with you there. It could be about addiction, it could be a way to eliminate feelings of isolation that some deaf feel, or, it could be that these young people are growing up in a world that is so technologically advanced, that this is their norm. We all grew up with environmental factors that shaped our lives. Internet has definitely shaped our young people today, and we are living this history with them.
Still, I remain strong in my belief that social networking or the exchange in commentaries like you and I have been doing here IS a form of social networking. This dialoguing back and forth does build connections. I find that awesome!
Thanks for taking the time.
~ LaRonda
Left by LaRonda on May 18th, 2009