Therefore, the theories and phenomena discussed in Comm 245 will continue to hold if they incorporate the novel features of the internet within mature psycho-social theoretical frameworks.
One of the cornerstone theories we discussed, Walther’s Hyperpersonal Model, rests upon five assumptions or tenets that I expect to persist, though with diminished intensity. For example, I predict that the over-attribution process will lead to less strong or willful impressions in one-on-one CMC. I predict this based upon the process’ assumption that a participant (source) makes reaching generalizations about another participant (target) based upon limited information, and upon modality switching, realize that these assumptions are far exaggerated. As we feel increasingly comfortable in our online skins---virtual personas complete with a myriad of textual and pictorial signs (and possible vocal or filmic)---I believe the appeal of anonymity will decline and our savvy in CMC will lead us to be more reserved and better informed to form opinions. I expect my predictions redound through other elements of the Hyperpersonal Model (self-selective presentation, et al), SIDE, the Proteus Effect, and other theories that predict distinctiveness based upon a users’ ability to alter or react to their own avatar or virtual presence online. These theories will remain, but they'll lose some of the strength that once distinguished them from similar FtF-based theories wi (i.e., as we are more familiar with virtuality and our online space, CMC and FtF interactions will differ by a lessening margin).
The core elements of SIP, development over time, stand in tact, although the time in which someone may form a rounded impression of someone may diminish as programs like Facebook, LastFM, Amazon, Flickr, et al, are linked to create an interconnected online persona. As mimicked by the truth-or-fiction balance of online personals/dating sites (as described by Gibbs et al), our everyday offline and online personas are increasingly becoming intertwined so that internet users have more incentive for “self-disclosure” (be it through linking their LastFm profile, or through revealing textual chats). In Gibbs et al, honesty was not the highest correlation with perceived “self-presentational success," yet, here, I would predict that honesty will increase over the time we craft our online persona. Little white lies will always exist, but honesty will have increased benefit, especially as deception detection ability is heightened due to an enhanced ability to pull together audio/visual/textual cues.
I must note, that in my predictions I make an assumption, one in which the more informed Larry Lessig would be hesitant to make: we will feel more secure online. We certainly have more locks and passcodes to deal with on the internet, e.g. PayPal, but diminished privacy, spam, and identity theft remain vital web/technological issues which are potentially crippling to the progress of the internet and to the closure of the gap between our CMC and FtF persona. Undoubtedly, it's a major issue!But beyond psychological, personal, and dyadic issues, I find that the new sociological developments on the internet—its open-source and collaborative nature—are the most intriguing and exciting developments harking the future of the internet. In the macro-realm, where anonymity is still prime, new work needs to be done and old theories need to be re-worked in accommodation. Questions we need to ask:
Why do people tirelessly patch-up open-source code or bother marking-up Wikipedia articles for their “lack of citations”? Is all of this cooperation and collaboration online a form of altruism, or just another arena for people to get their 15 minutes?
I hope that in future classes, Comm 245 will address the surprising macro-phenomena of the internet: how the structure sees the individual, and how the structure might supplant or complement corporate and other non-virtual institutions.
Thanks for reading!
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