The Psychology of Cyberspace
a short essay by Storm A. King
"there is no there there" -- author unknown.
Cyberspace
The space between our terminals? Or a place in our minds? Definitions for
(and debates about these definitions) of virtuality, cybermind, or
virtual anything abound and conflict and occasionally coalesce. Through
cyberspace. What was once strictly the domain of computer nerds and
hackers or scientist and researchers is now increasingly occupied by
middle class America. The field of the study of computer mediated
communications started as research in to how people connected by computes
could become more productive and increase profitability by cooperation.
Now, it is shifting to look at the sociological implications of a new
phase in the information revolution. A phase that has millions of
ordinary citizens of the world reaching out to touch someone, keyboard to
keyboard. Interpersonal interactivity, on a scale un-imagined only a few
short years ago. Information is no longer constrained by the traditional
mass media. This new "from many to many" paradigm of
information exchange has permanently supplemented our reliance on a few
centralized organizations to assemble, edit and disseminate to us
information about others actions and ideas.
"No man is an island" Aldous Huxley
"He is a peninsula" The Jefferson Airplane
Psychology
What we think and how we act and the relationships between the two. Our
thoughts influence our behavior, our behavior influences our thoughts.
Either way, the opportunity to know what other individuals are thinking,
and to share ones own thoughts far and wide, has never been at a higher
level. The implications are astounding. Just how this new
interconnectivity, where geographic constraints are abolished, will
influence individual and social behavior is unclear, but we know it will.
The signs are everywhere. Each day brings new stories about the
transformational power of cyberspace participation. Minority groups have
become empowered, social movements have organized, and some third world
countries have leapfrogged over decades to connect indigenous peoples
through telecommunities. The ability to influence other peoples actions,
based on their having read ideas broadcast world wide by individuals with
access and motive, is a new, dramatic addition to the psychology of
social change.
"God does not play at dice with the Universe" Albert
Einstein
"He plays cards with it, and our connections to each
other are about to be shuffled" me
The social psychology of cyberspaces
I pay attention to you, you pay attention to me, and a social
relationship forms. Cybernauts have only each others ideas to pay
attention to, words on a screen, devoid of tone and inflection. Most
cyberspaces start by a surrounding of an idea by people that want to
discuss it. Yet our need for affiliation transcends the intellectual
nature of the medium, and emotional connections are made. In fact, people
fall in love, and fight, faster when not inhibited by possible local
repercussions. The imagination fills in what the senses do not report.
The meeting, the social space, is of one mind to another. The medium is
the written word. Both are being transformed in the process. Much to the
cha<g> of many in power today, the anarchy of the Internet is
establishing new precedents for the importance of taking individual
responsibility for harmonious social relationships, rather than assuming
order will be imposed by an external authority.
"I think, therefore I am" Descartes
"I am he as you are me as we are all together" The Beatles
Multiple identities, multiple cyberspaces
Public typing, like public speaking, is not every one's cup of tea.
Levels of involvement in cyberspaces varies according to the individuals
inclination for immersion and interactivity. Many choose a read only
mode, content to examine the thoughts of others and reflect on them in
silence. Others contribute no matter what, or self disclose all over the
place. Regardless of this choice, very few are single list, single space
participants. It could be real time chat, bullitine boards, email lists
or all three, but the role one plays is subtly different in each new
forum. Expertise on the stated subject can be a commodity exchanged for
recognition in one cyberspace. Questions posed to experts in another
space gain new knowledge, for the same individual. Just as our behavior
is different in real life when in church, at school, or spending an
evening in a jazz bar, so to does the level of and content of discourse
vary across cyberspaces. The difference is the range possible and the
juxtaposition in time of roles played. From one minute to the next, one
can redefine ones self according to the community standards of that
cyberspace. One can be associating with the highest highbrow intellectual
discussion of theories of philosophy, and then, with a few key strokes,
change to being an active member of a truckers for peace social
movement.
"We are what we pretend to be" Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
"Any
smoothly functioning technology will have the appearance of magic."
Arthur C. Clarke
The psychology of what is coming
In the near future, I will get up in the morning and my trusty
intelligent agent will inform me to dress warm, cause it will rain today,
and not to take I-5 to work because it is backed up. I will probably tell
it thank you. Future generations will not need to know what kind of
gopher searches or web worms were used to acquire information, they can
just ask Bob to go get it. The boundaries between what is private and
what is public knowledge are becoming blurred. As more and more people
discover the power of being connected to their peers, no matter how
esoteric their interests, they increasingly start to look for social
contact and information first from cyberspace, and secondarily from other
means. Just getting by in today's world means making many informed
decisions. Tomorrow's world will be even worse. Assistance from
artificial intelligence is on it's way. There will be a shift in the way
people perceive their interaction with each other, and with the machines
that allow that interaction. The information here flows horizontally, and
power, status and even self esteem can be derived from new and different
sources. How to win friends and influence people in cyberspace is
dependent on knowing the differences involved between the new order and
the old. Many more social interactions are possible, for there a reversal
of a fundamental social norm occurs here. Talking to strangers on the
street can be problematic. Talking to strangers in cyberspace is not only
encouraged, it is highly rewarding and very much reinforced. The
downsides must be understood as well. Social interactions in cyberspaces
are fraught with misunderstandings and are often much more brief that
those in real life. Future generations will grow up used to such
alternative environments where such different rules apply, and will
thrive on the mixing of cyber and real life interactions.
The ideas in this essay were influence by ones I found floating around
cyberspace, most notably those of Howard Rheingold, John Coate, and Jay
Weston
Copywrite 1995 by
Storm A. King Mountain View, California
stormk@netcom.com
The information revolution rolls on, don't let it roll over you :-)
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