I had this dilemma yesterday and started contemplating on the new communication abilities of the Internet and the opportunities to stay in contact. Has technology improved our lives, or does the possibility of being reachable 24/7 impact on our privacy and to what extent? There are no existing rules for Internet communication etiquette as the technology changes faster than social rules can keep up with.
Scenario:
If a friend, whose Internet communication patterns you have come to know and who is an avid Internet communicator, does not show up on the Internet for two days, do you:
- Assume (s)he has found something more exciting to entertain him/herself with
- Assume (s)he may be sick and in need of help as (s)he stays alone.
My dilemma: How long do you wait before phoning to make sure everything is fine? Too soon can be seen as bridging privacy and as nosiness. Too late can be a disaster.
Any answers to this dilemma?
2 comments:
Well I suppose it has to do with a lot more than just this person's internet communications pattern. We need to pay attention to said person's behavioral pattern in general ... is this person prone to sporadic bouts of depression that sees him/her going off on their own avoiding all forms of social contact on an (ir)regular monthly basis ... has this person been known to go on a drinking binge that sees them hung over for days - thus choosing the comfort of the couch with much fluid and sweets within arm's reach (many hours of unscheduled sleep would also be required ... sleep be the best known hangover remedy to date).
Let's say for a moment you did make that call and could not reach said individual due to the fact that his/her cellphone battery died well before his/hers did - would this not send you into a fit of panic over nothing.
My guess would be that if this person cannot be reached at the office on Monday either and has made no attempt to communicate to the office and/or other parties that have a vested in our a-social friend's well being; our dear friend might well be in trouble.
I'd say a fair margin would be around 48 to 72 hours. I am convinced your friend would surely want to thank you for your concern, but would not like to see you work yourself up over nothing.
There ... 20 cents
Yeah I guess that sounds pretty sane, I guess we have to get used to this interconnected digital living where it's funny not to know exactly where people are. I want a GPS enabled phone so that I can send minutely updates over the internet to a central secure location where my friends can go and check where I am, preferably also what my status is, etc. Imagine a phone that can read your vitals, your health condition, even determine things like hangovers and drukmess, etc.
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