Internet Chat Rooms :: Technolgy Computers Communication Essays

Internet Chat Rooms missing works cited Over the course of the last several years I have explored several on line communities such as intimate adult chat, travel, dogs, trivia, and writers. Mostly I was curious about what draws people to chat rooms and what benefit, if any, is derived from their going to chat rooms. I was also curious as to whether people actually used the information gleaned, whether it was beneficial or did they simply just check out rooms because they were lonely and wanted to find new friends who had similar interests. On a personal level, I found that once I entered a community or chat room, the more specific I was about what I was looking for, the better the information provided. I found that the information given was given freely and was generally useful. Worse case scenario was if someone didn't know they generally referred me to a source that could provide the needed information. I believe you can find just about anything on line, but what about other people? Did they share my beliefs about the in formation obtained on line? And why do I sometimes still feel more comfortable if I can "touch" the information or "talk live" to another person? Did other people feel the same way? I must admit that the romantic in me kicked in when I read stories about people donating kidneys to chat room friends or arranged a reunion between people who haven't met in over 30 years. Would I find this in my classroom survey? I decided to experiment with my English 305B class and find out. Due to time constraints I sent them each a questionnaire containing 10 questions that would hopefully determine if they shared my feeling about information gathered on line. Although they knew who sent them the questionnaire, with our instructor's assistance they were guaranteed anonymity in their responses. I had no way of determining who they were and if they answered. I'd like to begin by first stating the questions asked together with a narrative of how I interpreted the results. I sent the survey during class on May 18, 2000. There were 20 people in class and I had 11 responses, or 55% of the group replied. Questions Asked of the Group as a Whole: 1) Male or Female 6 male; 5 female My only comment is that I'm pleased about the fact that both males and females responded in almost equal numbers.