I, like I am sure many of you, am a member of an online community, namely this one. We are all familiar with the acronym of IRL, or In Real Life. It refers to meeting someone who you have met online in person.
I say that this acronym is acrchaic and inapplicable.
How is online interaction not "real life" anymore? In the olden days of the birth of the internet, such communications were alien and refered to as "fake". However, with the growth of the internet, to an almost ubiquitous status, how can one say that it is not "real"?
I mean I am a person. I have thoughts and emotions, opinions and concerns. I portray these traits to other people by means of a medium. The medium should not define their validity.
Me speaking in person, as to be communicating over a forum are exactly the same. The point is made, and the thought is communicated in both cases. So why is the latter percieved to be "fake"?
How can this stigma of internet nerds/geeks still be prevelant, when an arguably large population of most 1st world nations use the internet daily? Forums or chat rooms, even social networking sights like Facebook are used everyday by millions if not more to talk to one another. This interaction is just as valid as to meeting them in person.
That is why I say that the acronym IRL is no longer useful, since any interaction is real.
What do you say Escapists?
I say that this acronym is acrchaic and inapplicable.
How is online interaction not "real life" anymore? In the olden days of the birth of the internet, such communications were alien and refered to as "fake". However, with the growth of the internet, to an almost ubiquitous status, how can one say that it is not "real"?
I mean I am a person. I have thoughts and emotions, opinions and concerns. I portray these traits to other people by means of a medium. The medium should not define their validity.
Me speaking in person, as to be communicating over a forum are exactly the same. The point is made, and the thought is communicated in both cases. So why is the latter percieved to be "fake"?
How can this stigma of internet nerds/geeks still be prevelant, when an arguably large population of most 1st world nations use the internet daily? Forums or chat rooms, even social networking sights like Facebook are used everyday by millions if not more to talk to one another. This interaction is just as valid as to meeting them in person.
That is why I say that the acronym IRL is no longer useful, since any interaction is real.
What do you say Escapists?
