Role playing in virtual culture

In Cybersociety 2.0: Revisiting Computer-Meditated Communication and Community by Steven G. Jones, chapter 5 ( Gender, Mask and Masquerade in Virtual Culture) explores the trend of using the internet as a vehicle for experimenting with one's gender identity through typed text. When a woman is masquerading as a man or vice versa , this is called textual masquerading . The typed text provides the mask. Because of the playful and impersonal atmosphere, many people feel free to express themselves in a way that they feel that they are not able to do in their everyday lives. Gender swapping is not the only trend that is growing in cyberspace. Many people have chosen to keep their gender anonymous is order to experiment in living in a gender free society. While the reason for textual masquerading on the internet varies , many people are able live double or multiple lives in cyberspace.

*Cybersociety 2.0: Revisiting Computer-Meditated Communication and Community can be found at google.books.com

Politics and Games

The subject of politics can be seen as BORING to children and young people. I used to think that politics only concerned older people and that if I did decide to vote, my opinion would not matter. It's easy for children to become disinterested in politics because they may feel the way I used to feel -like they are powerless and their concerns about everyday life are not valid.
What better way to get kids interested in politics than to put it in a form as a game........? Alphaville, a fictional town in on The Sims online is a great example about using technology to teach an important subject in an unconventional way. Jenkins states that, "pop culture may be preparing the way for a more meaningful public culture." Do you agree?

The Shame of Voting Naked........

The last section of chapter 6 is entitled, " Vote naked". Naked in this chapter is meant both literally and metaphorically. Being naked can mean, " without covering or nude" . It can also mean , "unprotected or exposed. I would like to focus on the latter definition . Jenkins says on pg.237 , " We vote naked not in the sense that we feel an intimate engagement in politics but in the sense that we feel raw, exposed and vulnerable."Why are we afraid to vote naked (metaphorically speaking of course)? Why is expressing our political views intimidating to us and why would talking about politics gives us a feeling of "nakedness?" Because politics has always been viewed as a very important subject, many people (myself included) are guilty of avoiding their opinions on a political subject or even fail to explain why they have joined a particular political party for fear of backlash from their peers.
Watching "The Young and the Restless" does not affect one's livelihood, but many flood soap opera forums to discuss their concerns about the characters and how they think a particular storyline should go. Many find that expressing opinions and ideas on subjects on pop culture easier than leading a discussion on politics-a subject that greatly affects our lives. The internet has given us the opportunity to learn more about political matters . From there, we can form our own opinions but we should also respect someone else's opinion on political matters.