Chat Roulette: The Creepy Internet Meme

This website chatroulette is another Internet meme in which you are randomly paired up with another webcam on the site. If you are not enjoying the conversation with one person, you can simply hit the “next” button to move onto another randomly chosen webcam. While the idea seems intriguing, being able to talk to another essentially anonymous person somewhere else in the world, after going onto the website I realized why this is another deviant Internet meme which should not exist.

I stumbled upon this website the morning after a party with my friends Evan and Gigi. They had already seen the website and we decided since we had nothing better to do we would use it. While we talked with some people across seas and at home, I slowly began to realize how the website was another Internet phenomenon designed to waste our time. At any point in time, there are around 4,000 users on the website. Out of these 4,000 probably only a third of them are interested in actually talking while the other two thirds are doing deviant and strange things. Luckily I had Evan to warn me that many men will be naked looking for girls, because for whatever reason they get a kick out of it, so I was spared the horrifying experience of seeing an old guy’s penis. In addition, the site is has a disproportionate number of guys on there, most whom are looking for girls to flash them.

But I have not even mentioned the best part. What I found after doing some research about the site is that there are internet programs such as ManyCam which allow people to add graphics to their video. This creates a new dimension of absurdness as people can now take pictures of others on the site, post a “looping video,” and basically tries anything to get a reaction out of others.

The reason for this post? Well as a psychology major I was curious as to how this would affect people’s interactions with others in real social situations. Although no conclusive studies have been conducted which illustrate the effects of social networking sites such as Facebook and its effects on social interaction, I propose that if sites like Chat Roulette become popular they will drastically change the way people interact. From my initial introduction to Chat Roulette to the moment right now, there are about 9,000 people online (at this moment) which suggest that the site is growing in popularity. While in real social interactions we have to learn to get along with a multitude of people, the site will condition people to simply hit the “next” button if they do not like the person they are meeting. I have seen many people that at a first glance, they immediately hit the “next” button because I did not fit their ideal “chat partner.” Thus when these people are let into the real world, they have been conditioned to this style of social interaction and will have limited to no intrapersonal skills when dealing with less-than-desirable people. However it’s a necessary part of life – we all have met students, teachers, employers, friends of friends, or others who we do not necessarily like but have to be able to get along with them for the achievement of higher goals.

While I might be wrong about interactions online affecting one’s real social life, I still firmly believe that sites such as these will affect the development of personal skills for the worse.

Plus that site is just creepy.

Second blog for English 102 completed.

Words that should be eliminated from daily conversation

Obvious (as a noun, adjective form works) and obviously

This word has been used by students to put down other classmates, both in serious and sarcastic wit, or essentially in any other context to demean, insult, or criticize another person. While this itself is not a valid reason to discontinue the use of the word in conversation, it is a start to showing how the word is at its core is useless. I give an example:

“How can you not see the cause of Fidel Castro’s downfall? It is obvious!"

Really? Is it really that obvious? If so, how come I can’t see it? The purpose of this word is supposedly to “point out” to another observer how easily the fact/relationship/event is to comprehend. However, the speaker automatically reaches a paradox the moment the word first escapes his lips. If the fact/relationship/event is obvious, then anyone should be able to instantly spot the fact/relationship/event. However, if it is so easy to see, then if another person does not realize it without additional thought then it really is not obvious.

Thus the person has spoken falsely.

Conversely, if everyone does reach the same conclusion and the event is truly obvious, is it not simply redundant to point out the fact that it is obvious? Here lies the contradiction, given the case that only one person understand or everyone or every case in-between. The word destroys itself the moment is it uttered in everyday language.

Now some of you can be thinking, well sometimes speech is redundant and the word is meant as a sarcastic quip, not used in serious conversation. To that, I agree that the purpose can be to insult the other person and point out his lack of comprehension. However, if that is truly your purpose, there are SO many other ways to accomplish the same goal effectively. Be creative; George Orwell would criticize your lack of ingenuity in using such a common cliché phrase.

Lastly, while obvious obviously has a place in the English language, the fact remains that there are a variety of other words which suit the purpose better. So instead of trying to put someone down by illustrating your superiority in noticing something, perhaps using other phrases like “it became apparent” would be more helpful.

*Note: Not obvious/ly is logically correct but if we destroy obvious/ly from the language, then it not obvious/ly is not logically correct anymore either!*

As for the rest of these words, they are simply words that are illogical and have probably already been addressed by other people.

Irregardless

Funny how Word ’07 gave this word a red squiggly, after all the Merriam-Webster online dictionary gives it the following definition:

Irregardless originated in dialectal American speech in the early 20th century. Its fairly widespread use in speech called it to the attention of usage commentators as early as 1927. The most frequently repeated remark about it is that “there is no such word.” There is such a word, however. It is still used primarily in speech, although it can be found from time to time in edited prose.

Any variation of illogical words like “unravel, unthaw, unloose, invaluable, etc.”

Basic explanation: these words are illogical. Take the example “unloosen,” it means the exact same thing as “loosen” but the prefix “un” suggests that “unloosen” should be the opposite of “loosen.” I have neither the time nor energy to research why these words exist, but I’m sure you could read this explanation of the word “inflammable” to give you a sense.

First blog for ENGL 102 completed.

Introductions?

First post. Ground rules:

I have no intention of sharing my private life on this blog. It was created for an English class, but I might continuing it after I complete the course. I'm still deciding my views on blogs (but I am 100% sure that I will always hate video blogs. Face it, well all know anyone who has subscribed to "Hot for Words" on Youtube is just doing so because she somehow manages to show more cleavage each week).

I am not a particularly good writer so I know that will not keep people reading. So I am left with my own unique thoughts, which are very difficult to express when I am trying to keep my private life out of this blog. So from the beginning I'll state a devil's advocate approach to topics, that way no one will ever figure out my actual thoughts (unless you're a sneaky psychology major like myself, which in that case enjoy). But in all reality that will probably be easy.

This should be interesting.