Cautious at a distance?

For this blog post I'd like to pose a question. In physical life, are you more cautious at a distance? My answer is no (I'd think yours is too). Now, in distance education, are you more cautious? Moore and Kearsley seem to think you are as is stated in the following, "People are naturally more cautious at a distance, especially when they are not able to see the other participants, and more so in asynchronous rather than synchronous communication. For this reason, whatever the form of communications technology used, participation is not likely to happen unless it is well planned and instructors have training to facilitate it"(Moore Kearsley p120).

I personally don't agree. Look at forums for example, some people say things in forums that they would never say in real life. People say things in text message they may not say in real life. People get mad at telemarketers because they have the safety of being at a distance.

Sure Distance Education has its set of challenges but I don't think the distance is enough to make people cautious. This is an important topic to take a look at. Paying attention as to the challenges distance education would cause with just the physical aspects but the challenges it may cause socially/psychologically. We don't always think about how some people may not be antonymous learners. Or some may be an extreme of that and not feel the need to have conversations about the material and would want to show their grasp of the topics via assignments. But evaluation of students receipt of the concepts and topics is essential.

Moore, M. G., & Kearsley, G. (2005). Distance Education: A Systems View of Online Learning. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. (Second Edition) .