How have people adapted to the new psychological, cultural, and linguistic environment of the Internet?

Kara Ward

How has the Internet become a new medium for beginning new relationships and enhancing old ones?

 Frustrated with the poor selection of potential

partners you meet in everyday life? eHarmony.com has over 20 million registered users. Approximately 4.77% of new marriages in the U.S. got their start through eHarmony.com.

 Many relationships

(both friendships and romantic relationships) begin through media primarily intended for entertainment. Proximity on the Internet differs from geographic proximity.
Note: the above comic is true for proximity to a computer with a video or picture of a cat as well.

 What constitutes infidelity on the Internet?

Transference contributes to meaning of online

relationships.

 Some positive effects: increased opportunities for

those who are physically different and may be judged because of their differences, an increased ease with self-disclosure, and the ability to explore oneself without consequences Some negative effects: increased propensity to lash out at others, excessive sexual exploration which may lead to interest in violent pornography, and a lack of feeling responsible for ones words or actions on the Internet

 Online conversations lack nonverbal cues.

Emoticons!

:) :P D:

:( :D C.C

T.T (O.o) :* (>_)>O

What are Flame Wars? What aspects of the Internet lead to Flame Wars?

 Huge, often public Internet battles between two or

more people. Usually started in one of two ways: through a misinterpretation or by a flamer (someone who intends to start a flame war) Usually continue with eye for a leg mentality

Hi, Im a 23 year old graduate student and would like to communicate with any females on this news net. Well, Howdy! Finally a request for a female that doesnt specify species you wouldnt believe how many people on this net want a woman, which of course means a person. *giggle* My name is Susa, and Im a five-year-old Lemur in the Philly Zoo. (Wallace 22)

 High levels of frustration

High levels of anonymity

Low levels of physical presence Impersonal atmosphere

How do Internet users use the anonymity of the Internet to experiment with their identity?

 Psychosocial Moratorium

Experimentation can be small or

extreme. Anonymity and lack of physical presence

 Avatars are digital representations of players

 Hard-core players typically play 5-6 hours every

weekday and 10 hours each day of the weekend. Quickly make friends online but offline relationships suffer.

How have new languages developed through the Internet?

 Acronyms are widely used in chat programs and

forums. Example: @TEOTD 1337 or leet Different ways to say the letter A
4 @ /-\ /\ ^ aye ci

 Computer-mediated communication reveals a new

form of language somewhere between written and oral language. Users speak/write online similarly to how they speak/write offline, but with many abbreviations and errors.
Examples: what r u doing? omg, lol

The World Wide Web provides a new environment to which humans have adapted psychologically thus enabling new Internet cultures and languages to form. The Internet has provided a fascinating backdrop for new forms of human communication and interaction.