Monday, September 24, 2007
5 OPTION 1 McKenna's Factors
McKenna has five relationship facilitation factors: identifiabliity, removal of gating features, interactional control, connecting to similar others, and getting the goods. Two of these factors played a major role in my relationship with my boyfriend freshman year of college. The first factor that played a major role in this relationship was getting the goods. Getting the goods is finding out information about someone online before actually meeting him or her. I met my future boyfriend at a fraternity party, and that is where he asked for my number. I gave him my number, but before he had a chance to call me, I went to my dorm that night and looked up his profile on facebook. I discovered a lot of information about this boy from his facebook profile. For example, I found out he played a sport at Cornell, I found out his favorite music and movies, and I also found out where he was from. I believe this is a perfect example of McKenna’s relationship facilitation factor called “getting the goods.” Although I had a brief encounter with this boy before I stalked his facebook profile, getting the goods definitely applies. The second of McKenna’s relationship facilitation factors that played a major role in this relationship was interactional control. Interactional control is when you use selective self-presentation. During winter break, I went home to Wisconsin and my boyfriend at the time stayed on the east coast. During these five weeks apart, we used selective self-presentation when communicating through text messages, phone calls, email, and instant message. For example, when I had a really exciting day with numerous interesting events, I would call my boyfriend or write him an email. When I had boring or uneventful days, I would send him a text message. If I was in a really good mood I would call him, but if I was in a bad mood only send a text message. Since I never saw my boyfriend using any of these forms of communication, I never worried about how I looked when we did communicate.
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2 comments:
Your online relationship with your boyfriend seems like a typical start, though it was interesting how you mentioned using Facebook to obtain more information on him prior to receiving a phone call from him. I believe we defined "getting the goods" as the ability to get information about others prior to meeting them. Though you did meet him and then looked up his information, I guess it could count that you got his information before going on an actual date.
Also applying your factor of selective self presentation, in a way, your boyfriend was using that when you were looking at his profile, because as we discussed in previous classes, we selectively put information about ourselves in our Facebook profiles.
Some questions I would ask are, if you guys had any similarities that you found from viewing his Facebook, or even afterwards when you started to email, instant message, and use the phone? This is also a facto of McKenna's the connecting to similar others. The other question that arises is if you became more attracted to him after viewing his profile? And what about it made him more attractive or unattractive? At the same time, was using CMC more useful when you were on winter break than when you were back at school because of proximity? This brings up a factor of Wallace's that intersection of frequency is the CMC equivalent of proximity in FTF.
Mallory,
I found your post to be very interesting. I think you accurately applied two of McKenna factors.
Your description of "getting the goods" is certainly something I am sure many of us can relate to. I agree that even though you met him in person, it was only briefly so facebooking to find out more would most certainly be considered getting the goods. You mention that when you viewed his profile you noticed that he liked sports, and you found out his favorite music, etc. If you could relate to him based on his facebook, this could also be a good example of connecting to similar others. Your decisions about using the phone, IM, text on break accurately describes McKennas interactional control.
Anyways, good description and overall good job on your post!
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