Psychologists have been studying human behavior for over 100 years. Social psychology, for example, is the study of human social interaction. Do humans behave differently online than they do in person? Some researchers are beginning to think so.
Storm King is a psychologist-in-training who has devoted his graduate career to studying the psychology of virtual communities. His essays give us insight into the ways that online behavior is similar to and different from "real world" behavior. At the August 1997 convention of the American Psychological Association he presented some naturalistic research on email support groups, how they form, and the dynamics of online helping behavior.
John Suler has written a hypertext book on The Psychology of Cyberspace. He explores aspects of online communication in a comprehensive way.
Others have noticed some interesting aspects of online communication which do not seem to be a part of face-to-face communication. Here are some examples:
- Many shy people find it easy to express themselves online. Typing on your own computer doesn't feel like a social situation. There is less anxiety than there might be in a face-to-face situation. Physical attractiveness is also less important online. This is the probably the basis of the famous cartoon where one dog is showing the internet to another dog, saying "On the internet nobody knows you're a dog."
- Sex is often easier to discuss than it is in a face-to-face situation. This can lead to increased online flirting in otherwise platonic relationships.
- The lack of nonverbal cues and tone-of-voice sometimes result in miscommunication. "Flame wars" often result from an online post which was intended to be taken lightly or humorously but was taken seriously or critically. The liberal use of smiley faces ";-)" to connote that a statement is meant humorously helps a little, but it may not be enough to prevent a flame war.
- The Internet is the great equalizer. A high school student can correspond with a Nobel Prize winner on an equal footing on the net. Behavior Online is a good example of this principle. Mental health professionals and others can interact online with some of the most prominent clinicians and researchers in the field.
- Gender switching and pseudonyms are fairly common. Online chat rooms are full of people who are identified only by a nickname. On the Internet you can pretend to be anyone or anything you want to be. An analogy might be a Halloween costume party. In costume people are often brasher and more outspoken than they would normally be. The costume hides their real identity and they find their inhibitions reduced. Suler has written an interesting chapter specifically on Online gender switching in cyberspace. Men sometimes to pretend to be women in order to inject sexuality into interactions. Suler's chapter has some intriguing questions to help detect male gender switchers. Women sometimes pretend to be men in order to avoid the possible injection of online sexuality. I once received an email from a psychologist who identified himself as "Jake" with some questions about my online consultations. I noticed that Jake's email software identified him as "Jane Simpson" (I'm using a different name here to protect "Jane" from embarrassment.) Jane had signed her message "Jake" for some reason. I assume that it was to avoid adding any element of flirting or sexuality to a professional relationship.
Keep these general principles in mind when you are communicating via email, chat, instant messaging, or other Online modalities. Internet communication is sometimes different than other types of communication.
