Week 4 Questions and Answers

1. Based on your experience in various cyberspace venues, is there, as Short et al, (1976), proposed, a lack of the presence of others when communicating and interacting online? And does this affect how you behave?

When communicating in a cyberspace venue, such as Second Life, there does feel to be the presence of others, but not in the same way as when you are talking to someone in person. You know that the other person is there talking to you, but unless you can also see them, there is a feeling of detachment there, and the feeling that it’s not ‘real’. This can influence a change in behaviour towards other people, such as saying things that you wouldn’t in the ‘real world’, because there is a lack of accountability there for what you say and do.   

2. Which of the criticisms of the 'social cues filtered out' model of Sproull & Kiesler do you find to be the most compelling evidence against its validity...and why?

The studies conducted by these two psychologists to explore the loss of social cues in cyberspace only took place between fifteen and thirty minutes, giving a very limited sample of results. It was argued that if time was unrestricted to explore this possibility, there would be no difference in the amounts of social context cues and socio-emotional expressions. The original model does not provide enough evidence for social cues, because of the time limitation.

 

3. Is the suggested increase in private self-awareness when we are online, always a healthy thing? Why?

I believe that the increase in awareness is not always a healthy thing, as it can lead to us over-analysing everything we do and say, and we may come across to others as cold and calculating. However, it also makes us more aware of what we say, and who we say it to, which perhaps then makes us more tactful. If we are more aware of ourselves, that can make it easier to communicate online, as we know exactly what we mean and what we are trying to say.   

 

4. Having been in a graphical virtual world for a couple of weeks now, do any of the theories or findings we covered in today's lecture, explain how you 'feel and think' when there?

I personally feel that none of the theories in today’s lecture covered how I feel and think when in a virtual world, but theories we studied previously do. For example, when talking to others in Second Life, I don’t feel any kind of differences between us like I do in real life. I feel like I’m on an even footing with everyone else, like my opinion is just as valid and is respected by others in the group. Also, I feel that I am a little braver in this virtual world, expressing my opinions in a way I don’t feel confident enough to in real life. I am more aware of what I say to others and I could feel their presence even though we were instructed not to talk verbally while completing the online task.