The Source Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Why Our Status Online Means Nothing In Real Life. While driving from interview to interview, I was listening to an interesting conversation on the radio. One of the talk show hosts on local 96.9 FM brought up an issue, which is geared towards the next generation of workers. According to several people who I have talked to offline, I found out that Generation 'Y' is called the Milleniumists. It turns out that the 'Milleniumists', young adults between the ages of 18-27, have problems with distinguishing between online life and real life. As a result of buying into their online status, they believe that they are actually someone in real life. When it comes to working for an actual employer, the ‘Milleniumists’ are having issues with assimilating. Instead of staying to finish a project, they leave exactly at 5:00. (Other words, they don’t stay overtime.) Instead of doing certain small annoying tasks that come with a job, they believe they have a choice in picking what jobs they will do. According to what I have learned on the radio and television, some ‘Milleniumists’ believe their online persona is actually important to real life. Most ‘Milleniumists’ believe that an online prestige actually has weight on what you do offline. I am unsure if all this is true, so I want to hear your words on this topic. Just because you are special online, it does not mean you anything offline. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jae Onasi Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I don't consider people any more special online than offline. If they're great people, they're going to be that way whether on or offline. If they're complete jerks, they're going to be that way no matter where they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Source Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 I don't consider people any more special online than offline. If they're great people, they're going to be that way whether on or offline. If they're complete jerks, they're going to be that way no matter where they are. I understand what you are saying. What I am looking at is the psychological aspects to how people perceive an online life, and how they weigh it against the real world. Example: You are Jae Onasis a member of LucasForums online, but in real life you are someone's mother and wife. You have an actual job, which you use your real name and credentials. When you are online in a forum, you will say things differently than at home or in work. I hope you do anyway. Lol... Imagine if you walked around work saying, "I am the Super Moderator at LucasForus.com, and I demand respect for my online status and prestige." Some of the stuff I am hearing is that 'Milleniumists' actually believe their online prestige means something in real life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mur'phon Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 What's the big deal, either the employees will be forced to adapt or be fired, or the employers will be forced to adapt or have a hard time adapting. Either way, no problem. some ‘Milleniumists’ believe their online persona is actually important to real life. Most ‘Milleniumists’ believe that an online prestige actually has weight on what you do offline. The online persona can give them the confidence to "be something" offline. I have seen nerds get the courage after first "beeing something" online. So yes, it can have an effect. I might be biased though as I'm (barley) a "mileniumist myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Source Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 What's the big deal' date=' either the employees will be forced to adapt or be fired, [b']or the employers will be forced to adapt [/b]or have a hard time adapting. Either way, no problem. The online persona can give them the confidence to "be something" offline. I have seen nerds get the courage after first "beeing something" online. So yes, it can have an effect. I might be biased though as I'm (barley) a "mileniumist myself Interesting statement. Please give more information on this logic. (The bolded stuff.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tk102 Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Sidenote: I think the more commonly used term (and one that's easier to pronounce) is "Millenials". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totenkopf Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 They're basically kids that haven't (or refuse to) grown up. In high school, even college to a lesser degree, people form clicks and may achieve status within that group. Unfortunately for most of them, it doesn't translate into the real world very well. You can even see this with rich and pampered kids who think that b/c their parents were wealthy or important that they were too. Usually, it only takes an introduction to the real world (or immersion in it) to beat the snot out of that preconception (at least for those with any sense). @TK--you are correct, sir! (*leaves to catch ride to the house of the next PCH sweepstakes winner*) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@RS Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 What's the big deal, either the employees will be forced to adapt or be fired, or the employers will be forced to adapt or have a hard time adapting. Either way, no problem. The online persona can give them the confidence to "be something" offline. I have seen nerds get the courage after first "beeing something" online. So yes, it can have an effect. I might be biased though as I'm (barley) a "mileniumist myself Dude, I can't think of ONE person who made it big because of confidence in their online status, give us a celebrity who made it big... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Source Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 Sidenote: I think the more commonly used term (and one that's easier to pronounce) is "Millenials". Thanks man. I couldn't remember the actual designation. They're basically kids that haven't (or refuse to) grown up. In high school, even college to a lesser degree, people form clicks and may achieve status within that group. Unfortunately for most of them, it doesn't translate into the real world very well. You can even see this with rich and pampered kids who think that b/c their parents were wealthy or important that they were too. Usually, it only takes an introduction to the real world (or immersion in it) to beat the snot out of that preconception (at least for those with any sense). This came up during the conversation. It’s good to see that I wasn't the only one who may have heard of such phenomenon. I wonder if this is what psychologists were looking for. Studying the online affects on younger people has just begun, and maybe this is just the beginning of something new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mur'phon Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Employers need workers, if the workers are too few to meet demand, the employers compeete with each other for the workers. If the workers wish to leave at 5:00 pm, then an employer who gives them that option will, everything else being equal, be the prefered choice for the workers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jae Onasi Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I think it gives 'nerds' a chance to practice social skills and to learn to take some risks without real-life consequences. Those skills do transfer over into real life and can help people that way. As for my importance here--my status is about as important as the pixels it comes with. If LF disappeared tomorrow I'd miss the people here surely, but being an s-mod here doesn't mean squat in Real Life, nor does it matter on the other forums I visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achilles Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Sidenote: I think the more commonly used term (and one that's easier to pronounce) is "Millenials". Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Det. Bart Lasiter Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Dude, I can't think of ONE person who made it big because of confidence in their online status, give us a celebrity who made it big...Didn't Tila Tequila make it big by taking her whoring from offline to online? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan7 Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 To be honest I think the above is part and parcel of culture, and if an individual leaves work exactly at 5pm is everything to do with the culture an individual is surrounded by (which the internet is a part of). The internet has many psychological implications for individuals, and these can be both positive and negative; depends on the individual. I think internet persona's can say a lot about a person; if for example I have a virtual character I design it too look as close to me as I can make it. Perhaps I'm reading too much into this but many people don't; is this because they are not happy with the way they look? May I make a controversial statement and say; is there a relationship between inability to disgunish between the difference of on-line versus off-line activities and intelligence? I rarely mention my online activities as I think logic dictates that internet activities are not of any real importance. I certainly wouldn't stick in my CV that I'm a member of lucasforums, I don't see what it shows... I don't consider people any more special online than offline. If they're great people, they're going to be that way whether on or offline. If they're complete jerks, they're going to be that way no matter where they are. I think on-line activities may give more clues as to what an individual is 'truly' like in that, because people feel less prohibited by laws, they feel they can behave more 'freely than in 'real-life' - so the question arises, why are the change on-line? I think perhaps that dangerous phenomenon of forgetting that on the other end of a computer is a human being with thoughts and feelings. Policing the internet has proved very difficult so far for the authorities. I'm not sure it says too much for humanity that on the last statistics I heard porn sites out weigh all other sites by 3 to 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mur'phon Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Dude, I can't think of ONE person who made it big because of confidence in their online status, give us a celebrity who made it big... Greetings, I'm M, reigning champion of suicide downhill, lord of killershots and teachers nightmare, in short, you don't need jack**** to "be someone".In my eyes I have made it big, and my eyes are the only ones that matter in this case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Source Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 I think it gives 'nerds' a chance to practice social skills and to learn to take some risks without real-life consequences. Those skills do transfer over into real life and can help people that way. As for my importance here--my status is about as important as the pixels it comes with. If LF disappeared tomorrow I'd miss the people here surely, but being an s-mod here doesn't mean squat in Real Life, nor does it matter on the other forums I visit. Both very true, healthy, and logical statements. I wonder what the long term affects of an online life will be on the 'Millenials'. When it comes to the actualities of life, normal cognitions would distinguish the difference between reality and online socialization. I don’t want to call it ‘online socialization fantasy’, but we are actually engaged in a roll playing schema. To be honest I think the above is part and parcel of culture, and if an individual leaves work exactly at 5pm is everything to do with the culture an individual is surrounded by (which the internet is a part of). What about your roll as an employee? If your job requires that you need to stay until a project is finished, why would you leave early from work? Wouldn't you want to stay to fulfill your obligations? P.S. - Thanks for keeping this civilized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mur'phon Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 but we are actually engaged in a roll playing schema. Just like in real life, as J7 wrote: I think on-line activities may give more clues as to what an individual is 'truly' like in that, because people feel less prohibited by laws, they feel they can behave more 'freely than in 'real-life' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan7 Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 What about your roll as employee? If your job requires that you need to stay until a project is finished, why would you leave early from work? Wouldn't you want to stay to fulfill your obligations? My 2 cents; a) family and friends come first b) depends on the boss, I will give you an example from my own history. c) I often think people think jobs are far more important than they really are. Depends on my boss to be honest; I used to work as an administrator and had to be in at 9am exactly and would get told off if late. Now I would more than happily fulfil my activities if I'm given leeway; however if the above attitude is that I'm told off for being 2 minutes late, then why should I work over time? Especially if I have another job starting at 6 and I finish at 5? So in the above case I worked 9-5 my direct boss wouldn't give leeway; so I worked only for my contracted hours; flexi-time makes far more sense, however some people are control freaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Source Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 Just like in real life' date=' as J7 wrote:[/quote'] Yeah. Psychologists do believe that we put on social rolls, which do not actually represent our actual selves. There is a massive definition of it, but I won't get into the boring aspects of the theory. Do you personally believe that your prestige online should be respected offline? Where do you see your online persona and its roll in real life? Do you believe that people should take notice of the social hierarchy online but in real life? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcesious Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 If LF disappeared tomorrow I'd miss the people here surely, In that case of a possibility, I think it's important that we all keep a backup forum soemwhere... On topic: I used to cling to forums for the same reasons many of you are describing, but not anymore... There was one time, a logn time ago, when I clinged to a forum all day long, every moment of my time when I was not at school... I was so addicted to it that over half a year I have already achieved a sum of over 2,000 posts... Ah, the dark ages of my forum going... If I have anything to say, it's that this forum has the best community I've ever seen, and it's very nice to come to each day to participate in the interesting debates and discussions here with so many great intellectuals. Edit: But look at my post count nowadays... I joined almost a year ago, and I only have 889 posts... As you can see, I've gotten past the horrible addiction of spam-posting. Sure, I'm kind of addicted to this forum, but my grip on and acceptance reality is as clear and solid as ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Source Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 I used to cling to forums for the same reasons many of you are describing, but not anymore... There was one time, a logn time ago, when I clinged to a forum all day long, every moment of my time when I was not at school... I was so addicted to it that over half a year I have already achieved a sum of over 2,000 posts... Ah, the dark ages of my forum going... Was that because your offline socialization was meager? I mean no offense by the question. Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcesious Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Was that because your offline socialization was meager? I mean no offense by the question. Just curious. Yes, at the time... At that time, I didn't have many good friends, and I lacked the logical, stong mind I have now... In attempting to be popular on a forum, I only made the people there very annoyed... You can read all about it in my blog... I do intend to reach a 1000 post count soon, which is why I've recently started postign more often, but that's only becaue I want to change my title to my own liking... I'm taking my time though, so that I do not spam up the forums in attmepting to reach 1,000 posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan7 Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Yeah. Psychologists do believe that we put on social rolls, which do not actually represent our actual selves. There is a massive definition of it, but I won't get into the boring aspects of the theory. Personally I think its more than a theory and is quite interesting Do you personally believe that your prestige online should be respected offline? Nope; if my online activies are so wonderful of needed prestige I'm sure they would be picked up in the real world. e.g. if an individual writes an outstanding blog, it may get recognized and perhaps lead to job opportunities. Where do you see your online persona and its roll in real life? My on-line persona has little effect on my life outside of being on the computer; I do try to be helpful and kind to those of you I consider friends; and don't regard any of you as any different to anyone I know face to face. Do you believe that people should take notice of the social hierarchy online but in real life? I dislike social hierarchies; people are people, I'm usually (especially in real-life) at the top of them, but I'll chat to anyone and I often dislike they ways those 'at the top' treat those 'at the bottom'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Source Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 Yes, at the time... At that time, I didn't have many good friends, and I lacked the logical, stong mind I have now... In attempting to be popular on a forum, I only made the people there very annoyed... You can read all about it in my blog... I do intend to reach a 1000 post count soon, which is why I've recently started postign more often, but that's only becaue I want to change my title to my own liking... I'm taking my time though, so that I do not spam up the forums in attmepting to reach 1,000 posts. It looks like there are two sides to online life. We have a set of positive aspects, which actually help people learn about themselves. On the flip side of the coin, some people take their online persona as if it actually has meaning. Interesting. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Web Rider Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I think this has a lot to do with the mindset that the young are worthless and nothing. It also seems to feel like some of the sentiment I've heard from corporations that want you to be a good little cog and sit down shut up and do what you're told, regardless of how you are treated. If may be true that even though you have 50,000 myspace friends, you are not popular in real life, but that kind of online status can give you real courage, self respect, heck, if you travel in the right internet circles, you can gain some good life skills. EX: debating online has made me a better debater in person, and debating in person has made me better online. That new found self-respect, courage, and so on, is expressed in real life, if you respect yourself, you're not going to allow yourself to be treated like poo. If the boss says you're job is done at 5:00, you are under no obligation to work for free. Yes, there is a respect of others issue in that you should help out if it is necessary, but not to an extent that you are losing money for somebody else's benefit. At the same time, much of this attitude of "leaving when the bell rings" has been ingrained in them in high school and college. For the formative years of their lives, millennials, (which apparently I'm part of, though I don't feel like it), have been trained to get up, move, go, stop, sit down, eat, chew and swallow to the sound of a buzzer at a specific time and within a specific amount of time. It takes time to break out of that kind of indoctrination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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