Online World & 21st Century Social Dynamics

I was in a chat room earlier this week with some of my friends from World of Warcraft, when a new visitor joined the channel.  As is the standard for #lightninghoof, he was immediately interrogated by no less than 3 people on his origin, personal life, and what his purpose was in this channel. The visitor, a bit taken aback by these questions, responded with something to the effect of “why do you need to know all this about me, it’s not like you know everyone in here personally”.  When he said that, I stopped and took a look at the chat room list, about 25 people - and realized that nearly everyone in the room had met at least one other person in the room, in the flesh.

That visitor ended up not fitting in, but my point is that my friends and I in that chat room represent a whole new and unusual social dynamic that most people can’t get their head around.  My friends online are some of the people I’m closest with - I spend more time talking to them than I do anyone in real life on a daily basis. The idea of this kind of relationship is so foreign to so many people I talk to.  And adding an additional layer of confusion is that the common thread that links us all is not a real-life pursuit, but an interest in a video game.

WoW is a fascinating game in that way;  it brings people from all different places, all walks of life, all different beliefs, to work together to achieve a common goal.  The goal is meaningless, but the bonds formed between players in working towards these goals is as strong as any other friendship.

I’ve helped form a new guild, for Cataclysm. It’s got some new faces, and it’s got people that I’ve been playing with for years - literally years. The one thing I hear from all the guild members is that they really like the vibe of the guild, that the raids are fun and they enjoy playing with their peers.  Thats really the most important part of a successful guild, because there are going to be times when you’re banging your head against the wall on something, and its important to keep a good attitude, otherwise things just go downhill and people end up getting offended.

The experiences I have with my guildmates may only exist in a virtual world, but they are still activities I am choosing to do, with my time, in my life.  More importantly, they’re not just my experiences - I have a whole group of close friends who I share these memories with, who I can reminisce with and who i can rely on - both in game, and in reality. And the friendships I’ve made over the past 5 years have been some of the best and closest friendships I’ve come to know.  Here’s to the online friendship, to Cataclysm, and to another couple years of online shenanigans.