Bonus Assignment: 2020: A Space Odyssey

Its no secret that the internet is growing at unfathomably rapid rates, and that soon we will all have high bandwidth access available all the time, anywhere.  The implications of a truly omnipresent internet are complicated and difficult to predict, even for the short term.  I believe as the internet becomes a greater presence in our lives, the psychology of social computer will merge with social psychology.  The principals that hold true in the real world will be the ones that stick around the longest. 

For example, the fundamental attribution error will always exist.  That is something that is ingrained in our psyches and won't change regardless of our medium of communication.  But lets look at some of my favorite theories from the semester.

Hyper-personal.  This theory seems to have become the go-to theory for 245.  I'm not sure how, but maybe because it is so easily applicable and we've all experienced it before.  Regardless, I would expect this theory to get modified in the future.  As the internet becomes more high bandwidth, and the use of videos and pictures becomes the default (as opposed to text) the number of cues available online will begin to match those in f2f.  I would believe this would lead to a decrease in over-attribution as people would have enough cues to make an accurate judgement.  On the other hand though, I would expect an increase in selective presentation.  Being able to portray yourself differently than you do in the real world is one of the draws to the internet, and as so the technology will have to answer it.  Digital cameras already have the ability to make you more photogenic.  The newest version of iChat lets you video chat with fake backdrops you can set. I'm actually playing with it right now, its really really cool.  So people will get a better idea of who they are talking too, but people will also have more tools for deception.  

I also would predict an increase in problematic internet usage.  People are already addicted to information, and turn to the internet for their fixes.  As it becomes an even larger part of our lives, the community gets larger, and the capabilities increase, and it becomes more available, I anticipate more people having a hard time distinguishing between their real lives, and their digital ones.  At the same time, people might experience information overloads, as they can never really leave the office, or have a moment to themselves, all sorts of other psychological disorders could become associated with being plugged in at all times.  On the other hand, online support networks would be more available, and people might be able to get the help they need right there on the internet. 

I think this class covers a wide variety of theories dealing with interaction online.  I think the course could be improved by covering the subject in ways other than the theoretical.  If we learned about how experts apply these theories, and what their implications are in the real world, for example how programmers design systems as a result of findings.  I also think it would be cool if we learned more about what's going on in Professor Hancock's top secret deception facilities.  

Thank you blogosphere, we've had some great times.  I appreciate your insightful comments, witty posts, and the aid in understanding dense academic readings.