Sharif Azizinamini was a TV junkie. Unlike his parents, who grew up without television in their home, Sharif thrived on it. Television was his escape from tests, papers, and lectures—it was his way of dealing with the stresses that go along with attending college far away from home.
September 11, 2001, changed Sharif’s view on television altogether. He watched with anger as one news report after another told of destruction to his homeland. Just that summer Sharif, his best friend, Ted, and three other graduating classmates had taken a trip to New York City and toured the now destroyed World Trade Center. Sharif was mad and scared. Besides fearing further terrorist incidents, Sharif also feared that he would be blamed, as a Muslim, for what happened.
As the days wore on, Sharif pried himself from the TV. He had missed several days’ worth of classes and knew that he needed to get his life somewhat back to normal. On the Friday after the attacks he left his residence hall and went to the campus computer center to check e-mail and do homework.
Before starting his homework, Sharif thought he would check to see if Ted or any of his other friends were on instant messenger. To his relief, Ted and Kim were online. Sharif quickly sent a message to Ted.
SharifAziz: Ted, what’s up? Can you believe what’s going on?
Ted2001grad: Hey Sharif. This is CRAZY. I have been watching the news nonstop.
SharifAziz: I know. I was scared to death. The pentagon is a short train ride away from me. How is everyone back there holding up?
Ted2001grad: You know. A lot of people were walking around in a daze. State U had a vigil service today and I went. They had speakers from several different faiths talk—it was nice.
SharifAziz: they had one here too but I did not go.
Ted2001grad: hey man, how are you really holding up? This can’t be easy for you.
SharifAziz: Thanks for asking. I have just felt afraid. I can’t explain it. People have been cool to me, but I have never felt so lonely.
Ted2001grad: I can understand how you would feel like that. Hey, maybe you can fly home in October and we can hang out for a while. I just got done talking to Kim and she wants to see you too. We can get the gang back together.
SharifAziz: Yes, that would be good. I’ll e-mail Mom and Dad. I had better get to my homework.
Ted2001grad: Hey, I’ll expect you back online tomorrow. I had not heard from you for a few days and was starting to worry.
SharifAziz: Will do. Thanks Ted — it is good to talk to you.
This conversation between Ted and Sharif illustrates the role that CMC can play in a person’s life. Sharif, who mentioned that he felt isolated in his current environment, was able to talk to his friend and receive support. What role did the type of CMC used by Ted and Sharif play in this interaction? Was it asynchronous or synchronous? Could the same type of interaction have taken place on e-mail or a bulletin board? Are there other methods of CMC that would have been more effective?
This story also illustrates the role of the media. What did we learn about the media from this story? Based on your experiences of watching the news after September 11, do you think the news stories could have contributed to Sharif’s feelings of isolation and fear? Why or why not?
