An Exploration into the Past
by
Isabel Chang
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Therapeutic Potentials of MUDS | Getting Hold of Cyber-Psychology: The Mercurial Mind in Cyber-Space | Cyberspace and Mind: Identifying Some Characteristics of Virtual Reality | Psychology of Online Virtual Relationships |
I chosed this report because I have been wondering whether on-line communication has thereupeutic effect or not and this report says it does. Hence, I like to find out more. Based on my past experiences with the virtual world, I think on-line interactions have really helped me to feel better psychologically. Thus, I thought that these on-line interactions do have a therapeutic effect but was not positively sure. This report has the answers to my doubts.
First, I looked through all the generational reports for psy 409 from the Index to all Generations and looked for the topics that interested me especially those related to the virtual world. I stumbled upon Jocelyn Manibusan's homepage in Generation 10 and thus her report 3.
This report talks about how MUDS can have the potential for therapy. It talks about 3 suggested therapeutic use of MUDS and they are bibliotherapy, psychodrama and T-Group. Their potential benefits are yet to be determined scientifically. According to Jocelyn, "Bibliotherapy emphasizes the textual nature of MUDS. It involves the use of selected reading materials as therapeutic aids to help people solve their personal problems, enhance their emotional development and facilitate personal growth." It also consists of five processes. Psychodrama involves the concept of role playing. Role playing helps the individual identifies with the character's actions and behaviors and apply them to his/her own situations. Jocelyn says that T-Group emphasizes the social interaction factors of MUDS environment. It helps people improve their interpersonal skills.
Well, I find the information to be quite new and helpful. I have never heard about the three uses of MUDS. However, it confirms my belief that MUDS does have a therapeutic potential and that it can help one psychologically. I think it is great that such inexpensive on-line therapy can exist just by turning on the computer and going into MUDS. I also think that the layout of the site is quite visible but nothing extraordinary. I find the content to be kind of boring though.
I think this is the only report that talks about the therapeutic potential of MUDS in generation 10 and also all other generations. This makes the report interesting. This report does not have many graphics or fancy features like other reports, making it quite simple and ordinary. It also lacks a table of comments and a conclusion. I think it can be made better by adding more graphics and dividing it into different sections such as that of Desmond Salima's report 3. I also think that the homepages of other students in the generation are all very creative and interesting! One such example is Cynthia J'Anthony's website.
I chosed this report because I was interested in the topic and wanted to find out what cyberpsychology is all about. This report attracted my attention because it has a very nice and interesting page layout different from other reports that talked about the same topic.
Well, I went through the same process like the one above by going through the Index of Generations and looking for the topics that I like. Cynthia J'Anthony's beautiful website caught by attention while I was browsing the class homepages in generation 10.
This report introduces us to the concept of Cyber-Psychology and what is it all about. It also touches on many relevant topics such as virtual reality, the relationships between cyberspace and mind, websites about Cyber-Psychology, prior generational reports on Cyber-Psychology and a review on Dr. James's article on Cyber-Psychology. Cynthia says that cyberpsychology is a study of the individual's psyche which involves the mind, spirit and soul and how it relates to the electronic or mechanical medium of communication, cyberspace.
I think this report is very interesting. It helps to explain the various concepts of cyberpsychology very clearly. It gives me more information on what cyberpsychology is about. I think this report is also quite structured and organized. I especially like the outlay of the report.
This appears to be the only report in this generation that talks about Cyber-Psychology. This makes the report unique. I think compared with the other reports, this report has a nice page layout and is pretty structured and organized. The contents can be easily understood too.
I chosed this report in the first place because I was very interested in topics related to virtual reality. I have been pondering about some questions related to the virtual reality in the past as a result of my own experiences with the virtual world. I guess I want to know more about virtual reality.
I went through the same process of finding this report like the rest. First, I looked through the Index of Generations, then I selected the topic that interested me. I have also considered the layout of each reports and found this report to be my favorite among others in Generation 5 on the same topic.
This report talks about the relationships between mind and cyberspace. Basically, the cyberspace works like the mind in that it is a collection of the thoughts of people. The author talks about what other people think about virtual reality and the mind in cyberspace. Dr. James thinks that the virtual reality and the mind operate on similar boundaries in that both are virtual and not physical. Other students think the same as Dr. James. The author also expresses his own views on the topics. He has also listed out two resources that touch on the topic. One of them is Making Virtual Communities Work by Dr. John Suler.
I find that I already knew most of the things in the report and I agree with them. Virtual reality is not a new thing for me as I kind of know what it is about. I just lack the definitions for it. The report gives us a clear definition of what virtual reality is.
As I said above, I like the page layout of this report best among other reports on the same topic as I think it is creative and nice. The layout is similar to Cythia J' Anthony's report as mentioned above. It is also well-structured and can be easily understood.
I chosed this report because I was interested in learning more about online relationships. Some questions that came to my mind were: How are online relationships different from real life relationships? Which is more durable? Can online relationships work?
I went through the same process like I did with the other reports. I first went to the Index of Generation and looked through each generation to find the topic that I like. Fred Yuen's report from Generation 8 caught my attention.
This report touches on the topic of virtual relationships. Fred Yuen says that people can have different identities and realities on the internet. He also talks about how a person can pretend to be someone else on the internet. In addition, he explores the reasons for people to assume different identities. One of the reason might be that people felt free to do whatever they like on the internet as they would not be punished for their behaviors like in the real world. He also talks about virtual relationships as part of the virtual world. It is a different world out there. He also questions the validity of these virtual communities by saying that it is hard to know if the person you interact with is really who s/he is because s/he may assume different identities. It is also hard to tell if a person is lying or not. He also talks about how people act in chatrooms. He concluded that it is interesting to interact with people in the virtual world but it is also important not to get the virtual world and the real world mixed up.
I agree with him that people can assume different identities on the internet. Many people do so because they know they won't be held accountable for their actions. I think it is a safe medium for one to experience different things and to find out more about oneself. It is also a good place to vent our emotions and feelings without being physical. I think it is the same as expressing how you feel in a diary or on a paper. I also agree with him that it is important not to get the virtual world and the real world mixed up or confusion will arise. I think it is easy to get the two worlds mixed up if you are not careful and do not make a clear distinction between the two like I did. One should first be aware of this distinction before one gets too carried away in the virtual world. I used to get the two worlds mixed up and I ended up feeling lost, confused and even paranoid. By being able to assume different identities on the internet, I think sometimes you can get confused of who you really are. Hence, the virtual world will work for you if you are careful but may harbor some harmful effects if you are not. Just remember not to get too carried away with it because the virtual world is all about your own imaginations and fantasies. They are not real.
Compared with other reports on similar topics in the generation, this report has a interesting and creative layout. It talks about the same things as other reports. I don't quite like the color of the background and the combination of colors on the page as it is kind of striking but I suppose that is also why it catches my attention in the first place. I also think this report is relatively short and concise as compared to other reports and that is good. It is also well organized and can be easily understood.
I have surfed through the homepages of different generations and found a whole range of different topics being covered. The reports also got better and better. The reports in the earlier generations were kind of simple and not very structured or organized. I suppose it was due to them being in the earlier stages of this on-line generational curriculum that was still developing and is still developing right now. I think the reports will get better and better in time. I also think that the topics being covered can be very interesting and helpful to others. I also find that most students were new to cyberspace unlike me.
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