Online Stalkers....

I have always heard those scary stories about those creepy online addicts who stalk profiles and start conversations with random people they have never met before. Today, I was one of those stalkers. I decided to search AIM profiles until I found someone who seemed appealing to talk to. After searching many profiles, I finally came across a person's page whose 'interests' and 'about me' caught my attention. He had spent a lot of time updating his profile, so I automatically judged him to be a friendly on-line chatter. We began talking and did not seem too worried about the fact that we had never met in person (I on the other hand found it very strange to be talking to him without even knowing his name).

My conversation was a good example of the hyperpersonal model because I over-attributed my first impressions and generalized many of his statements . He had a picture of an animated guitar in his AIM screen and used emoticons frequently. He mentioned that he was from Texas and followed sports at UT. He also told me he was a double major at a university in Texas and one day wanted to be a pro golfer. From these small details, I concluded that he was a very warm, out-going person who was a good student, with goals and ambitions, was into music and enjoyed a variety of different sports.

It was very interesting to see how easy it is to judge a person based on an online conversation. Reflecting back on the conversation, especially with some of the knowledge I have already gained from this class, I realize that based on the chat I had with this male, I really don't know very much at all about him. I may know specific details about him, which may or may not be true, but I really don't know much about his personality or character. I understand more after completing this assignment the dangers associated with judging and stereotyping others based on online conversations.