Skypophobia

Note: This is a digital platform blog entry for COMM601

I mentioned my aversion to video chats in a previous post.  This is something I would like to overcome because I am a communication student and I live in the 21st century.  If I am being realistic, I may never learn to love or to embrace the concept of video chatting.  I believe I would have already embraced it, much in the way I have embraced other types of communicating in the digital age.  Still, I am fairly progressive-thinking, and do not wish to be a dinosaur.  I am torn between my discomfort with video chatting and my desire to take full advantage of technology as a communication tool.  I hate when I meet someone who refuses to email, does not know how to text, or worse, does not even own a cell phone!  I do not want to be one of those people.

One of our class assignments this week was to interview a classmate via Skype.  Aside from my previously mentioned hesitation with video chats, I also found myself filled with anxiety over finding someone to Skype with.  I had flashbacks to middle school and my fear of not having anyone to sit with at lunch.  Fortunately, one of my colleagues offered to be my Skype partner for the assignment, which I appreciate.  The problem is that I did not see the message right away, my weekend was even busier than normal, and my family is fighting a nasty cold.  One thing led to another, and I was not able to connect with my kind classmate.  I decided the way to accomplish the assignment while remaining (somewhat) within my comfort level was to do a Skype interview with someone I already know well. 

I conducted an interview via Skype with an old friend who lives in another state.  This took the pressure off, although I still found the experience somewhat unnerving.  We discussed topics we normally would not cover during a typical “catching up” session, and kept the format similar to an interview.  I asked about a project at her job and she asked me about my coursework so far.  I think conducting periodic chats in this way will help alleviate my irrational hang-ups.  At least that is my hope.

I think my issue with video chatting, or Skypophobia as I like to call it, has to do with boundaries or being prepared.  I’m not quite sure which. Chatting on Skype brings up the same feelings of having someone drop in unannounced when my house is untidy or when I skipped washing my hair or putting on make-up because I thought I wasn’t leaving the house.  Perhaps scheduling time to Skype will also help as I work through overcoming my Skypophobia.  I am curious, however, if this quirk plagues anyone else who is otherwise comfortable with social media and communicating with technology.  Understanding my problem is the first step to getting over it.