Acorn

Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Shaina Mirsky Chairperson and Professor at the College of Saint Elizabeth Mary Chayko spoke on internet relationships yesterday in the second installment of The Business of Pop Culture series.

The second installment of the Business of Pop Culture Series was given by Chairperson and Associate Professor of Sociology at the College of St. Elizabeth Mary Chayko, who gave a lecture called "Work, Play and Love Online: Social Networking on Mobile Phones and the Internet" yesterday

Chayko started out as a disc jockey in her early 20's. She described her interactions when taking calls or meeting people that knew her from the radio. "They acted like they knew me," Chayko said. "It was strange at first." Later, she attended graduate school at Rutgers University and received her Ph.D. in Sociology.

In her book, "Connecting: How We Form Social Bonds and Communities in the Internet Age," Chayko researches how people interact on the Internet. "These bonds that we form on the internet are real," Chayko said. "Different, but still real."

Chayko's presentation went on to talk about the impact of Internet on work, play and love in human relationships and interactions. "The Internet and cell phone tap into the real deep human desire to connect with people," she said. In her research, she came across many people who would talk about the amount and depth of the connections they had with people over the Internet.

Though the Internet and cell phone were originally invented for work purposes, they are being used for much more than that. For example, the blog was originally a work tool, but now they are used for a variety of reasons that very often do not include work.

E-mails can also be legally checked by anyone, including employers. "When I heard that your employer could read your e-mail, I was really surprised," Giselle Javier ('11) said.

The Internet has lots of dating sites, like match.com and eHarmony.

"Dating over the Internet is proving to be just as successful as dating face-to-face," Chayko said. "No better and no worse." Flirting was one topic that came up as something that happens all the time on the Internet. "Internet fits the aim of flirting," Chayko said. The ambiguity oAf words makes flirting easy and emotionally safe. "You can always take something back and say that you meant something else."

Along with all of the great aspects that come with the Internet and cell phone, there are also issues that give Chayko some concern. "Be aware that technology can invade our space," she said. "There is no period that we cannot be reached and that can be exploited by people. How are we going to be able to handle stillness?"

"There is also a blurring of private and public space. Is there a private space anymore?"

Stephanie Leondis ('09) agreed with the statements made by Chayko. "I thought she keyed on important topics-that in a society that with cell phones or internet, we can always be reached," she said. "It can be prohibiting and positive."

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