"Baby it's a new age, you're like my new craze..."
Considering the fact that the Internet is changing at such a rapid pace, with the heightened use of richer mediums of CMC and the reconstruction of social norms, the future of Psychology of Social Computing may reflect some of these changes. However, despite the rapid pace at which social computing is changing, theories such as O'Sullivan's notion of Impression Management, will still remain relevant. As richer mediums are explored to enhance the social networking experience, it is apparent, that the need to manage our impressions will still remain. Albeit, with the influx of webcams in conjunction with programs such as SKYPE complete reinvention may not be as easy of an option.
In addition, the notion of internet "addiction" will inevitably remain with the coming years. While, new empirical evidence may arise that may attempt to discredit the theory, the truth of the matter is, considering the wide spread cases where internet "addition" has and continues to leave its mark, such does not seem very likely. It is my belief that as the Internet continues to evolve,
new avenues of "addiction" will begin to rear their ugly head. For example, take "Facebook mania". I bet that no one would have thought this seemingly innocent website would be the source of procrastination and addiction to college students. However, in less than a year, Facebook has undergone some pretty hefty changes, with the addition of third-party applications, the Newsfeed, and status indicators. What should also be taken into consideration is how such additions have also brought up heated debates about privacy and user rights.
response to the nature of the changes. For example, as more and more information becomes readily available online, through social networking sites, new issues/technologies will emerge, leading to a revaluation of present theories and discussion.
Thus, I anticipate that as the Internet changes new issues will emerge, based on the public'sproprietary rights to such "uploads" may become a source of conflict. I know that currently the idea that deactiving one's Facebook or Myspace accounts does not completely "remove" one's information from the cyberworld, is rather troubling for many. In addition, as employers a
re becoming more Internet savy, this comes as a major concern to students who are about to enter the workforce. Additionally, the PC and laptop, are not the only technologies that will have to be considered in the coming years. Now, with the advent of devices such as the iPhone, internet "addiction" will be taken to a whole new height. As the line between the real world and the Internet is continuously blurred, it will become harder for concepts such as gender and identity and visual anonymity to remain salient. For example, while certain cues were heavily relied upon to denote gender classification and identity, new devices, such as microphones which alter the sound of your voice, do not allow for such cues to be as deterministic.
Finally, as my time in this class has come to an end, I think that what is missing is a section on exploring the new issues and theories that have arisen recently. While, I think that a good deal was included into discussion of present theories, I would have liked to focus more on what researchers are currently discussing. Given that the class is so large, I'm not sure how feasible this would be, but I think it would be nice to have an experiment element linked to this course. Otherwise, I enjoyed this course, and would highly recommend it to my friends!
In addition, the notion of internet "addiction" will inevitably remain with the coming years. While, new empirical evidence may arise that may attempt to discredit the theory, the truth of the matter is, considering the wide spread cases where internet "addition" has and continues to leave its mark, such does not seem very likely. It is my belief that as the Internet continues to evolve,
new avenues of "addiction" will begin to rear their ugly head. For example, take "Facebook mania". I bet that no one would have thought this seemingly innocent website would be the source of procrastination and addiction to college students. However, in less than a year, Facebook has undergone some pretty hefty changes, with the addition of third-party applications, the Newsfeed, and status indicators. What should also be taken into consideration is how such additions have also brought up heated debates about privacy and user rights.response to the nature of the changes. For example, as more and more information becomes readily available online, through social networking sites, new issues/technologies will emerge, leading to a revaluation of present theories and discussion.
Thus, I anticipate that as the Internet changes new issues will emerge, based on the public'sproprietary rights to such "uploads" may become a source of conflict. I know that currently the idea that deactiving one's Facebook or Myspace accounts does not completely "remove" one's information from the cyberworld, is rather troubling for many. In addition, as employers a
re becoming more Internet savy, this comes as a major concern to students who are about to enter the workforce. Additionally, the PC and laptop, are not the only technologies that will have to be considered in the coming years. Now, with the advent of devices such as the iPhone, internet "addiction" will be taken to a whole new height. As the line between the real world and the Internet is continuously blurred, it will become harder for concepts such as gender and identity and visual anonymity to remain salient. For example, while certain cues were heavily relied upon to denote gender classification and identity, new devices, such as microphones which alter the sound of your voice, do not allow for such cues to be as deterministic.Finally, as my time in this class has come to an end, I think that what is missing is a section on exploring the new issues and theories that have arisen recently. While, I think that a good deal was included into discussion of present theories, I would have liked to focus more on what researchers are currently discussing. Given that the class is so large, I'm not sure how feasible this would be, but I think it would be nice to have an experiment element linked to this course. Otherwise, I enjoyed this course, and would highly recommend it to my friends!
