Deception on the Internet, to me, seems to be a concern that is fading away. Growing up alongside the Internet, I've seen it change from a place where parents would warn of all the fraud that was sure to be be found, to a place where many serious relationships have not only formed but thrived. As we discussed in class, it is difficult to lie online because much of your online life is rooted in your offline life.
So, what kind of threat is online deception? A bill has recently been introduced to the state senate in Washington that would make it easier for someone to sue another for impersonating them online. If someone creates a false Facebook account in your name, and that account causes you physical or financial injury, or injury to your reputation, you would be well within your rights to sue them. This bill was introduced after a fake ad was put up on Craigslist and a Tacoma woman's home was ransacked because the ad welcomed anyone to come and take the things in her home for free.
There is definitely a case to be made for deception in Internet dating. It is easy to make up a fake account and pretend to be someone else, even to completely swap genders. Dr. Jeffery Hancock said that lying happens more often than we think, but its not about how big the lies are but how many. About 8 out of 10 people lie on online dating sites, for example when asked about their height it is common to post 5'11'' instead of 5'10''. But even in the real world we use these "white lie deceptions". Women wear high heels and makeup, men wear shoulder pads under their coat jackets; isn't dressing taller than you are the same as saying it? However, online users are careful to make their lies small so if they ever do meet offline, it won't be noticeable enough on the first date to ruin their chances of a second.
Dr. Hancock touches on "evolutionary psychology" (how each gender behaves in ways consistent with evolution) where men and women lie about different things. In a study he found that men tend to make their lies more about themselves, for example, how much money they make, and their height. Where women tend to lie about their body weight and lying to make other people feel better about themselves. Dr. Hancock speaks about some women lying about their weight online but thinking of it more as a promise or a goal. So when they say they weigh less than they do, they will have a promise to keep and be that weight by the time they first meet face to face.
Although we spoke about many of the social norms in class that prevent us from completely making up an identity it seems smaller lies are much more prevalent than we think. Although the lies may not be big deal breakers, they could start a relationship on the unsteady foundation of a deception.
(I would encourage you to watch the video hyperlinked to Dr. Hancock's name, its very interesting!)
I really enjoy reading your blog posts. You have such an interesting topic and could go so many places with it.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few things that I have noticied that I think could really help to enhance your blog. Really think about pulling in some more sources to your writing. Make sure you go more in depth with your referencing. For example you reference Dr. Jeffery Hancock, instead of just saying Dr. Jeffery Hancock says, make sure you list some of his credentials behind his name like, what kind of medical doctor is he, or where his practice is.
Finally just make sure to watch your overall writing and make sure to realy proof your post before you post it. I found a few small spelling and grammatical errors.