Online/offline are words that are familiar to all of us,
living in this digital age. We can watch when others are “online” on Facebook,
while some choose to “go offline” and take a break from technological
interference. They present our lives as two phases. Online, which I think of as
being “switched on”, available and connected to a virtual network. Meanwhile offline
conjures up both ‘reality’ and mundanity.
But do dichotomies like these reflect a truth about our lives?
Or have they produced it? According to the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, “the real
world is… unconsciously built upon the language habits of the group” (lecture).
Wouldn’t this be even more true with the internet, a world we have created?
Naming ‘online’ and ‘offline’ created as phases what were
once many distinct states and actions. Talking, walking, seeing, touching–
these are completely different, as are messaging and posting photos. Once
collectedly named though, these words have affected the way we think and act. Similarly
‘Asia’ was once not a place, nor were ‘Asians’ a collective. It is a continent
with borders strategically placed, with several civilisations that show no
unity. But once ‘Asia’ was named, people identified as such. There are now
Pan-Asian Conferences and Asian, as well as an entire stereotype of people (Tuan, 1991) .
 |
| The way we sometimes see online vs. offline |
A dichotomy like online/offline means we think one is closer
to the “real”. Among my friends, one of
us could “talk” to someone of the opposite gender online nearly every day without
these relationships “meaning anything”. People post photographs of themselves
on the internet posing as they would never do “offline” – especially not in
front of many people. ‘Online’ is also associated with danger and crime,
especially to parents warned to always “Check what your child is doing online”.
It’s a lot harder to be fearful when their actual action is looking at photos.
I’m not saying there aren’t definite differences between the
way we communicate with technology and without, such as mediation by facial
expression vs. emojis, as elaborated on by TravelDudes blog in“What’s theDifference?” (AnnJason, 2015) However many of the
traits we place on “online” and “offline”, and the difference exist through our
own creation.
Bibliography
AnnJason. (2015,
August 21). What’s the Difference between Online and Offline
Communication? Retrieved from TravelDudes:
http://www.traveldudes.org/travel-tips/what-s-difference-between-online-and-offline-communication/65009
Kuttainen, V. (2016). BA1002: Our space: Networks,
narratives and the making of place, Week 5. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved
from http://learnjcu.edu.au
Tuan, Y.-F.
(1991). Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach. Annals
of the Association of American Geographers, 684-696.
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