etisoppo yllaer t'nsi sihT
This isn’t really opposite.
How can I get any more opposite? The fact that I have an avatar is contrary to my current lifestyle. I am an over 50 male who has been in advertising for the past 30 years. My Meez profile lists me as a 21-year-old female and my avatar fits that description. She is young and is ready to party at the penthouse pool. I would imagine my avatar would fit many similar male choices. Young and wild, ready to party. I didn’t see many older, overweight boring choices on the Meez site. It seemed like they were all clones of each other. Did I miss the option on the Meez site for a grandma?
Guark had a few observations from Janet Gardner (p71). Gardner’s discussion focused on the problems women had accessing the online community and the reasons for the difficulty. The temporal issue focused on the time available to learn the technology necessary to interact online. Linguistics created a roadblock because of the special language needed to communicate on the internet. Topical issues deal with the real life biases that bleed over into the internet. Are women perceived the same way online as they are in real life? The last issue Gardner mentioned was psychological. Do women feel comfortable and can they identify with the goals, values and styles on the internet?
I think all of these issues can be transferred to other demographics. It seems these questions and observations posed by Gardner can be observed in many other people besides women. Depending on their ages, think about your parents and older relatives. Many people 65+ shun the internet and don’t want to take the time to learn a new system of communication. There is a fear of “going online� because it is unknown and they are out of their comfort zone. This lack of access can be viewed just as important as the slow growth of women on the internet.
Along with the age issue, we can also add income to the barriers of the online society. You can’t surf if you don’t have a computer or access to the internet.
Comments
I thought you made a very good point about MEEZ. I also did not find any overweight grandmother MEEZes to select from. Of course, our assignment was to create an opposite.
Posted by: Dale | February 6, 2007 08:56 PM
Great identity! :) I would agree with the description of your avatar; young, wild and ready to party!
It is true that other than gender, age is another factor. People 65+ would prefer not to use the internet. Although, funny because my boyfriend who is 25 despises the internet, does not want to learn a new 'communication' system and finds it the last thing he would do.
Posted by: May | February 6, 2007 11:18 PM
You make a really good point. Where is the oppotunity for older people to enjoy the Internet. My parents are still just getting used to teh whole idea. I cannot see them doing this sort of thing however, I think that we as a community should help older people learn the Internet so they can relate to their grandchildren and stay connected. Also, I believe that a program like Meez and second life might help with lonliness. Good job.
Posted by: Mark Mahan | February 11, 2007 09:47 PM