Research on the Psychosocial Consequences of Internet Use (article)

The technology of our everyday lives changes the way we see the world. Ideas that capture the imagination of the culture at large tend to be those with which people become actively involved. People have intense relationships with computers and this is changing the way we think and feel. Computers would not be the culturally powerful objects they are turning out to be if people were not falling in love with their machines and the ideas that the machines carry.

Qualities once ascribed only to people are now ascribed to computers as well. In The Media Equation: How People Treat Computers, Television, and New Media Like Real People and Places (1996), there are 35 separate studies that examined people’s perception of media. What the researchers found is that there is a human tendency to confuse what is real with what seems to be real. This is part of the story of eroding boundaries between what is real and what is virtual. (Virtual is the term used to describe the world and its activities that occur while one is on the Internet.) In addition, the studies revealed that people respond to media with social and natural responses that are automatic and unconscious. This illustrates how important our perceptions are as predictors of our behavior.

Currently, the psychological effects of accessing the Internet are being investigated in the workplace, on college campuses, and in the home. In a recent exploration of the consequences of Internet use, the initial findings have been counterintuitive. When the Internet was first introduced into the workplace, it was with expectations of increased productivity. Yet productivity decreased and employees’ socializing at work increased. A recent study of Internet usage claimed that the more time spent on-line, the more depressed and lonely the participants were. Yet most of the participants reported enjoying their time on-line and appeared to be using it socially.

Preliminary data from The Internet Usage Survey (1995), which consisted of 563 surveys completed on-line, indicated that most users report instances of Internet usage interfering with personal functioning. In contrast, another survey, College Life On-line (1997), conducted on college students’ Internet use, found that only 13% of the

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weekly users reported their use as excessive and interfering with their personal functioning. The surprise in these findings and the inconsistency in them make the effects of Internet use a topic of continuing interest. It seems to evoke both physical isolation and intense interaction with other people.

The virtual world and the real world provide different experiences. In Life on the Screen (1995), Sherry Turkle says that the seduction of simulation is not a bad thing or something to be avoided, but it does have its risks. She also suggests that we “drop the cliché of addiction” (p. 30). However, many researchers argue that Internet addiction is an impulse-control disorder, similar to a gambling addiction. In the July 29, 1996, edition of the New York Times Magazine, Szalavitz reported numerous stories of people who prefer life on-line to real life, referred to as “RL.” In the January, 1999, issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter, an article on “Computer Addiction” presented a divorce custody case where the mother reportedly lost custody for neglecting her children by spending 10 hours per day on the Internet.

Kandell argued that the revolution in communication and interpersonal behavior caused by the Internet can lead to pathological use for some college students. He reports that the term “Internet addiction” was actually coined by a New York psychiatrist as a joke. Dr. Ivan Goldberg designed a Web site detailing the criteria for a DSM-IV-like disorder that he called Internet addiction disorder (IAD). The number of responses and the seriousness of those responding to his site claiming they met the criteria was alarming. As with other addictions, the individual is usually dealing with other underlying psychological issues. Kandell believes that it is the use of the Internet itself that is the problem, not what the person is doing while online. Kandell also believes that it is the nature of the medium and the level of control that attracts and maintains the relationship users have with the Internet. The nature of the medium is a highly interactive environment that actively engages our brains. The level of control is quite seductive because the computer will (usually) do exactly what we want it to do. Few other activities provide this level of control. In the virtual world, we are the masters of our universes. (Kandell, “Internet Addiction on Campus” in Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 1(1), 1998: pp. 11-17)

Often, computer users decide that they want to interact with others on a computer network so they sign up with an internet service provider (ISP) that provides access to the Internet. People believe this will provide them with new access to people and information, which it does. But it also places them in a world where they are swept up by experiences that enable them to explore previously unexamined aspects of their sexuality or challenge their ideas about themselves. Chat rooms are enticing places because we can interact with others with a reduced fear of negative feedback. The Internet is changing the nature of our sexuality, the form of our communities, and our very identities. However, little attention has been given to the effects Internet usage might have on existing interpersonal romantic relationships. In most Western societies, romantic relationships are among the most important components that contribute to happiness. If the Internet can do harm, as in destroying existing relationships, then the explanation for how that process works will depend on the psychology of the people who use it. When relationships end, people reported that “few experiences in life are capable of producing more emotional distress, anguish and suffering” (Simpson, “The Dissolution of Romantic Relationships” in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(4), pp. 683‑692, 1987). Investigating the psychosocial consequences of Internet use on interpersonal relationships will provide a better understanding of how people relate to one another via the Internet.

Other researchers in 1998 examined the formation of Internet romances because the two relationship predictors (physical proximity and appearance) are missing. Therefore, it seemed unlikely that close personal relationships on the Internet could exist. (Nice and Katzev, “Internet Romances” in Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 1(3), 1998: pp. 217-223) However, there are several features of on-line situations that facilitate the development of relationships. The absence of feedback can be both a positive and a negative feature. But lack of feedback coupled with the diminished impact of status and prestige cues creates a safe, low-risk social situation. On-line communication is a very private experience. One writes in the privacy of their own home or office with time to reflect. Users feel a strong appeal to tell their life story openly. Most couples that have formed on-line relationships report a more open and direct communication than they had experienced in offline relationships (Adamse & Motta, Online

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 Friendship, 1996).

Nice and Katzev also found that users who frequent chat rooms were more likely to form on-line romantic relationships. Most of these relationships move from the Internet to real life. People usually exchange phone numbers and then may arrange to meet in person. Often before couples ever hear the other person’s voice they have exchanged photographs via the Internet. On February 11, 1996, in The Observer, Billen (“Sex and the Single Modem”) reported a divorce case where the husband charged his wife with adultery based on her chat room conversations with another man. The wife had never physically met this other man. Yet, the husband felt the “cybersex” they had exchanged was the same as the real thing. Sherry Turkle argues that the old adage that 90% of sex takes place in the mind may hold true for cybersex. Cybersex is where you type in, while in the chat mode, sexual acts you would like to share with the other person. The numerous users that Turkle has interviewed overwhelmingly report that cybersex is both emotionally and physically powerful.

The introduction of the Internet into the homes of couples in long-term committed relationships could prove to be detrimental to some couples’ relationships. If having access to the Internet encourages one partner to spend more solitary time on the computer, and thus less time with their partner, this may result in dissatisfaction within the relationship. Future research should investigate whether certain activities on the Internet are more of a threat to a romantic relationship than others—which activities are causing the users to spend more time on the computer. The psychological characteristics of Internet users, especially those most likely to spend excessive amounts of time on-line at the risk of alienating their partner, should also be examined. One 1998 letter to the advice columnist, Ann Landers, titled “Net Is Fun and His Wife Isn’t,” said that marriages may be breaking up because “the computer-literate person has finally found something infinitely more interesting than the person he is married to.” Yet, couples in secure relationships may have nothing to fear from the Internet.

The Internet is still a relatively new medium and it remains to be seen whether the benefits outweigh any negative consequences Internet usage might have. A psychological perspective on the effects of the Internet (knowing how people react as a consequence of interacting with the Internet) will increase psychology’s database of knowledge and provide a foundation to explore the future changes Internet use will introduce into our cultures and our lives. The Internet can provide a rich source for education—the sharing of ideas. However, the freedom the Internet offers may be too non-restrictive for some individuals. The power, the allure of the Internet, will certainly test many of us. Interpersonal relationships that are not secure can certainly be threatened by this new freedom. Ease of access, availability of resources, and the anonymity provided by the Internet offers many possibilities. Yet, as with all other tools, the ultimate responsibility lies with the end user.

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