Online communication allows people the ability to create new identities. People can switch genders, race, age, etc. since the visual and auditory cues used in face-to-face encounters are not used. Do you think this practice is helpful, harmful, or both to people's self-concept? Does it create ethical issues when presenting oneself as something they are not? Why or why not? What might be some reasons people do this?  How could this be both useful and not useful? 

 

Discussion Prompt #2

Find a popular magazine and identify examples of the generalized other's perspective. How does the media define desirable women and men? How is that different than what "regular" people define as desirable?  Analyze the messages and how society responds to them. What impact does this have on our relationships? 

 

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