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Has IT Changed Our Lives? Freud Weighs In…
As the “Daft Punk song, Technologic touts, “Buy it, use it, break it,
fix it, Trash it, change it, mail - upgrade it, Charge it, point it, zoom
it, press it…”
Have we been changed by the influences of IT? As the technology
advances, our perceptions have taken wholesale change out, for
we have adopted a whole new persona with the advent of the
internet. So what are these new behaviors, perceptions, and
personas? Psychology studies should ferret that all out.
However, It has been argued that psychology is being quite slow
to catch-up with the progress, but rest assured, research is being done, as psychologists realize that not
only their main subjects of interest (namely people) are changing but also that psychology as a discipline
with its methods and practices is being affected. So with that, let’s us peruse the world of psychology
and see what important ways in which the development of Information Technology has influenced our
behavior and what seems to be all the fuss about this insurgence of technology.
Anti-Social? networking
Because social networks online are
much more clearly defined than
offline connections, they have
been a boon to researchers. And
studies are finding that despite
dire predictions from naysayers
who that this is a prescription for
isolation, depression, and anti-
social behavior, the opposite
appears to be true.
The findings, trickling in from early research, suggest health and psychological benefits for those who
"friend" and are "friended." But as with all new media, critics say it's much too soon to know about all
the possible long-term effects online social networking might have — from growing obesity and
musculoskeletal problems to loss of privacy and overwhelming commercialism.
For the most part, being part of a social network is good for you, research suggests. For example, a study
in Scientific American finds that social support and social networking offer benefits, from additional
resilience to greater life satisfaction to reducing the risk of health problems. Other studies in the past
two years have found that feeling like a part of a larger group helps in stroke recovery and memory
retention and boosts overall well-being. "In many ways, human beings behave like flocks of birds or
schools of fish," says Nicholas Christakis, a physician and Harvard University sociologist who is co-author
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of a new book, Connected: the Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives,
out today.
However, some believe there is a competitive gene in some of us that are influenced by this new
information that poses the question, “Are they living happier lives than me?” The answer is, yes,
waaaaay happier, hahahaha. Kidding, odds are, they are only posting the upswings and not the redoes,
or epic fails, and it’s just not our nature.
Virtual communities and blogging behavior
This subject interested us here at Wasabi the
most, we wanted to see why we really do this,
is it because we hate our mothers, products of
latch key kids, or is it just a good old fashion cry
for help? The researchers (Ko & Kuo, 2009)
administered a 43-item self-report survey to
596 college students who were mostly
between ages 16 and 22 and female (71
percent). The college students were young
adults who had blogging experience, and
specifically with blogging for the purpose of
keeping a personal journal.
The researchers found support for deeper self-
disclosure from bloggers resulting in a range of
better social connections. These included
things such as a sense of greater social
integration, which is how connected we feel to
society and our own community of friends and
others; an increase in social bonding (our tightly knit, intimate relationships); and social bridging —
increasing our connectedness with people who might be from outside of our typical social network.
They also hypothesized and found support from their data that when these kinds of social connections
increase or grow deeper through blogging, a person will also feel a greater subjective sense of well-
being or happiness.
Hmmm... seems to be a trend forming here… Internet = happiness. So that’s why the team here at
Wasabi is always laughing, we have a deeper sense of well being. Hah, poppycock, these guys are just
nuts.
Mobile device behavior (or the evils of Mobile phone use…)
Ok now for the dark side of technology. The extensive community adoption of mobile phones coupled
with the development of its own specific slang is seen by some as emerging new phenomena.
Nevertheless existing psychological approaches to135 the impulse control disorders and the addictions
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can definitely serve as useful starting points for understanding phone use. Can heavier mobile phone
use be viewed as an addiction?
Building upon previous research on internet
use, studies demonstrate that specific
psychological traits can explain mobile phone
use and misuse. For instance, both mobile
phone use and internet use are linked to
lower levels of the agreeableness trait.
Nevertheless, in contrast to the introverted
stereotype of the heavier internet user,
mobile phone use is more strongly linked to
extraversion. As the mobile phone is a
communication device, it is not surprising
that its use can be predicted by psychological
traits such as extraversion, and as
extraversion is also associated with sensation
seeking, this trait can also explain the self
stimulatory behaviors and risk taking
behavior associated with mobile phone (e.g. use while driving).
In particular, the mobile phone elicits problems for heavier users, with a section of the community
reporting difficulty managing their time, financial problems, and aches and pains. The development of
problems can be understood in terms of distraction and traits like procrastination. Tendencies towards
procrastination can explain messaging behavior, distraction from important tasks, and hence loss of
resources (i.e. time or money) that influences quality of work. It is likely that some elements of
problematic use will be resolved by innovations such as Bluetooth (hands free while driving), gesture or
handwriting recognition (aches and pains), and video (antisocial behavior). But other innovations such as
location aware advertising and gambling are likely to create new problems. In short, don’t text while
procrastinating, working, managing your time, and for heaven’s sake, while driving, or you will DIE or
have a headache, or both, whichever lasts longer.
Internet addiction
Since the craving people have to use the Internet
unrestrained is a fairly new concept that has been
brought to public attention just recently there has
not been much research done in the field to
date. And it is still a very debatable question
whether it exists or not. Some say that the Internet
is addictive to the point where it controls one’s life;
others say that it is not the same as getting high or
drunk to an extreme. Nevertheless the Internet is
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affecting the people who use it extensively whether it is called addictive or not.
According to Dr. John Grohol the original research cases were exploratory surveys which do not explain
the relationship between the supposed behavior and its cause. In other words, the surveys can explain
why a person feels and behaves in certain way, but they cannot conclude that the behavior has been
caused by the prolonged usage of the internet, Grohol does, nevertheless, agree that people do have
problems from spending too much time on the computer, and he relates to the idea that people engage
in the activity because they do not want to deal with the problems in their lives. It is similar to the
behavior that a person who watches a lot of TV reveals, or the person who reads an abundant amount
of books, or that of the person who goes out for a few drinks regularly.
So, the answer on whether Internet Addiction exists, well, as the song says, “I’d like to help you son, but
you’re too young to vote” Maybe next year you can be a real “addiction”.
Cyberbullying
Well, we are finally addressing the
elephant in the room. From landmark
cases that involve teen suicide, to the
recent Indy film, bully Weinstein Company
Movie (2012), bullying has gained
international status as the issue of year.
Much like drugs of the 80’s, the efforts on
anti-bullying are surmounting.
Research indicates that as many as 75
percent of teens have been bullied online,
but only one in 10 have reported the
problem to parents or other adults, a new
study shows.
The study, published in the September issue of The Journal of School Health, is the latest to sound the
alarm about so-called cyber-bullying, which can occur on social networking sites and in e-mail and text
messages. Sometimes cyber-bullying involves taunting or threatening e-mail or text messages or putting
embarrassing pictures or personal attacks on teen networking sites like MySpace or Facebook.
Despite the prevalence of cyber-bullying, many teens don’t realize how common it is and often believe it
is only happening to them, Dr. Juvonen said. “When kids start thinking, ‘It’s just happening to me,’ they
likely blame themselves, and once they do that, it increases their risk of depression,” Dr. Juvonen said.
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“Kids don’t know how common cyber-bullying is, even among their best friends. Cyber-bullying is not a
plight of a few problematic children but a shared experience.”
Teens in the survey said they didn’t tell their parents about the problems for a variety of reasons. Half of
the teens who were cyber-bullied said they just “need to learn to deal with it.” Nearly one-third said
they worried parents might restrict Internet access, a fear more commonly expressed among girls than
boys. One-third of 12- to 14-year-olds said they didn’t tell an adult about the bullying out of fear that
they could get into trouble with their parents.
The solution… To coin a phrase, (T3), i.e., tune up, turn in, and turn on when it comes to your kids… you
are your only advocate for your children, nuff sed… Or-Rah!
In conclusion…
Ok, so now that psychology has weighed in on the social impacts of
the new technology in our lives, what have we learned?
Social networking and blogging will make you a more cheerful person,
Mobile devices are the spawn of Satan and will give you a headache,
Internet addiction doesn’t exist, and cyberbullying is killing our kids.
Other than that, it’s great. Glad we can help. Next…
Source(s):
http://www.city.academic.gr/s3ctit03/Abstracts/Tamara.pdf
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/parents-often-unaware-
of-cyber-bullying/
http://allpsych.com/journal/internetaddiction.html
http://www.psych.ucla.edu/special-news-events/cyber-bullying-study
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/02/16/can-blogging-make-you-happier/
http://psychcentral.com/blog/
http://dwighttowers.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/cyberpsychologybehaviorandsocialnetworking.jpg
http://online.liebertpub.com/toc/cyber/15/4
http://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/02/27/22245.aspx
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http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1235035
So “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;”
____________________________________________________________
About Rick Ricker
An IT professional with over 20 years experience in Information Security, wireless broadband,
network and Infrastructure design, development, and support.
For more information, contact Rick at (800) 333-8394 x 689
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