Conversations in Real-time

~Parting Note~

As per the dictionary definition, the innocuous word “chat” means to converse in a friendly and informal manner. But, in the social networking world, it means much more.

An online chat lacks voice, gestures, touch and expression. Still, in spite of the fact that in an online chat, we are using none of the four senses of perception namely sight, smell, touch and hearing, it is becoming one of the most popular mediums of communication. It is precisely the lack of these senses that gives the person an opportunity to project an image of herself which she would prefer the world to see. It gives the person a lot more personal space. It gives her time to frame her sentences, to think a bit before expressing herself. It is a boon for people who are not blessed with the gift of the gab, but have a good command over the written form of language. An emotionally charged individual would always find it easier to communicate through an online chat.

This virtual world makes up for the lack of visual expressions by devising its own means of expressions. Animation can be conveyed through a liberal use of capital letters and punctuation. One can employ a range of emoticons to laugh, cry, smile, scowl, wink, grimace or even look sheepish. Spoken words, however profound, are forgotten sooner or later; but chats running into thousands of lines and running for a couple of hours can be saved and read and savoured later as many times as you would want to.

In a virtual community, you can let others know about what is currently on your mind through status messages. This can make the start of a conversation easier by breaking the ice. One can also display their willingness or unwillingness to talk by posting an “available” or “busy” status message. Another key aspect of the online chat is the fact that it allows for interaction with several persons at a time through different chat windows. Since the people involved are not sitting face to face nobody feels alienated or ignored, as often happens in a social gathering. This also depends on the person chatting and his ability to handle different conversations at a time. One of the key things that the advent of online chat has accomplished is to revive the culture of writing letters, albeit in a more sophisticated form. It is on a real time basis where both the sender and receiver exchange information within a short time gap.

Critics of this form of communication say that it has led to a propensity among young people to use short forms and incorrect grammar which may in future lead to a change in ‘literacy norms’. But it has to be kept in mind that languages exist so that people can freely communicate with each other and choose words that best express their emotions. The English language with its precision, simplicity and diversity is why it is one of the most frequently used languages and a natural choice for teaching subjects.

And so, as I finish writing this, I switch to my chat window and there is it, that special “ping” I’ve been waiting for since evening. Time for some chit-chat guys. {t}

An engineering degree from NIT Rourkela and a good amount of work experience in various companies should have turned Sandeep into a talkative, bumbling personality. He shows his awesomeness when he smashes, bowls, bats and strikes in various sports activities. He does not like hypocrisy and is known by various different names, some of them funny, some of them full of respect. Sandeep is one mystery all of us would like to unravel (even his own room-mate.)