Many believe that the Internet is a type of virtual reality, but who is to say it is not an alternate form of reality? For some, the Internet may be more real than attending to daily activities like working, etc. My report summarizes some ideologies about cyberspace according to Dr. Leon James, Professor of Psychology at University of Hawaii at Manoa, and attempts to make a connection between what I think cyberspace is and what others think it is. Keep in mind that this paper only scratches the surface of this huge topic, but I hope that it will give you something to think about.
Internet and intranet travel is based on text in the form of words, as well as in the form of images (both animated and still) and audio. Both text and text interpreted images and audio are known as hypertext. This hypertext is quite amazing as it allows thoughts, ideas, feelings -- knowledge -- to be transmitted like never before. When someone uses a computer to go online, they enter cyberspace (cyber = computer, space = the space which is available for use made possible by computer hardware). Cyberspace, however, has no limitations and cannot be measured.
Cyberspace can be paralleled with the mind, as just as your mind is limitless, so is cyberspace. When you think about something, you may be thinking in words, pictures, sounds. Utilizing hypertext you may transmit these thoughts in the same manner that you think them. For instance, you may be thinking about your dog and rather than having to explain, "I have a beagle with three white paws and one black paw.", you can simply send a picture. That was what you were originally thinking anyway. Feelings too can be transmitted either by words or pictures or sounds. If you have a great song stuck in your head you can simply send a .wav file.
Most important is the spread of knowledge in an extremely fast and efficient way. Of course, the vast majority of the information on the Internet existed long before the Internet ever was. However, without interactivity it is only so many bits on distant, untouchable computers. What the Internet HAS done is allow people instant access to facts, opinions, and discussions, leading the way to more concise answers or at least better questions. These interactions, both person-to-person (mind to mind) and person-to-data (mind to knowledge), are the fabric which makes up virtual reality, as without interaction there are only individuals and machines.
It is in this communicative way that you open your mind up to others and connect with other minds as well. This forms a kind of communal mind. A communal mind may also be referred to as a virtual community. There may be tens of thousands of people belonging to one community, or a community may exist of only two people. The important thing to remember is that each community is centered around a theme or topic.
To me, these communities are fascinating as anyone can join them -- even if you don't know too much about the subject or topic at hand. There is a tremendous amount of learning to be had within each community, and there are thousands and thousands of them! This equates to a LOT of potential knowledge. I am a definite believer in "knowledge is power", and the Internet has opened a door for anyone with a PC to learn as much or as little as they wish on most any subject. Generations down the line will only get smarter exponentially -- and the earlier they start the more they will know. Incredible!
Also, by following these communities and bookmarking where you've been, you can keep track of your store of knowledge. Dr. James explains this as a virtual book which keeps growing in chapters and volumes. This is because the virtual book is dynamic. In my few years on the Internet, I never actually looked at it in this way, but now I am ALWAYS using my bookmarks. I cannot tell you how useful just clicking on that "Add Bookmark" can be. As my interests grow and change, so too will my virtual book. This would be my main recommendation for those who are new to the Internet (listen up G6).
The question is, "What made me click on that "Add Bookmark" button?" In looking at my virtual book, I have many sites noted -- each one being different as every mind is different. Yet, was it the information displayed that I thought was important? The graphics? The links to other sites? I, like most newbies, placed much emphasis on site appearance when constructing my home page. However, in looking at my virtual book links, I noticed that none of them have really great graphics or great wording. What they did have was excellent information content with links to other sites on the same or similar topics. (See Dr. James' Home Page as an example)
When I researched Generation 4's ideas on cyberpsychology and the mind, I found that most of the students had basically the same ideas. For instance, Ryan Mitsui indicated that, "Cyber Psychology is about our on-line relationships (via e-mail or newsgroups)," and Jami Kaneshiro reported, "...cyberpsychology is the study of the mind and human behavior and its interaction with one's self and others while on computers." As well, Kathy Morifuji stated that, "Cyber-Psychology is the study of people in cyber-communities." The latter definition would be incorrect according to Dr. James, as I believe Kathy is forgetting spiritual psychology. Dr. James indicated that, "cyberpsychology and spiritual psychology are allied fields." Yes, cyberpsychology is a study of people while on the Internet, however it is mainly the study of the mind while online. The mind also means the mind of the user (i.e., spiritual psychology).
What I Am Saying: Understanding a Different View
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As I indicated earlier, the parallel between cyberspace and the mind is a unique view which I probably would not have thought about had I not been in this class. In reading Dr. James' paper, "Cyberpsychology: Principles of Creating Virtual Presence, I found myself saying, "Man, I never really looked at it that way before." And, "Geez, you know he's right." His perspective made me realize that there are many different ways of analyzing behavior on the Internet. When I first started taking this class, my friends would say, "What the heck does psychology have to do with the Internet or HTML?" I found that I had no real answer for them. All I could say was that we were probably going to analyze what people say online. I did not realize that as a community of users we enter into virtual reality or alternate reality which is on a separate plane. One is able to analyze the individual, the community, or the world offline, yet these take on different terminology in an online world. The individual is the user, the community is the communal mind, and the world is cyberspace. The rules have changed in the online world as you can say (almost) anything you want, be anyone or anything you want to be, and learn about anything you want to learn about. You can wear a "mask" if you want, or you can simply be yourself without all of the social stipulations engrained in us since the beginning of time.
In relaxing with a friend over a dram of Highland Park, I was asked, "So, how's your psycho computer class going?" I explained to him how cyberspace is like the mind, and how we connect with other minds via the Internet. He replied, "I guess it's true, you can't fill up your brain with too many thoughts." I had to correct him and tell him that his brain is simply an part of his body, like an appendage, which has a purpose (a grand one at that). Yet the mind is separate - it is where your thoughts are born, where your creativity comes from, etc. Well, half an hour later he agreed. He went on to question why they call it virtual reality, asking, "Who says is it a virtual reality and not an alternate reality." He went on to say that virtual to him meant "not quite" a reality, "not real". Like Ryan Mitsui from Generation 4 who said, "I don't like to think of it as almost like reality, like most people do, bur rather more than reality...I would not like to extend my logic to say that our minds and thoughts are just a bunch of electromagnetic pulses firing across axons and neurons." It is true, connected thoughts are not the same as pulses connecting, just as the offline world is not the same as the online world.
Using Alta Vista (as it was the simplest to use and the first in the line of search engines), I attempted to locate other links which may have additional comments as to their meanings of cyberpsychology, cyberspace, virtual reality, and their relations with the mind. Starting at the beginning of my list, I typed in "Cyberpsychology". Realizing that Generation 4 had many, many links to Dr. John Suler's many, many articles on the Net, I decided to analyze a different link. I also found many links to 409 students, which I chose to pass by as I already had read most of Generation 4's work. I wanted to see something different! For starters, I found Duck Soups Information Services About CyberCulture, which has not only articles by Dr. Suler, but also by Elizabeth Reid and Howard Reinhold. This is a GREAT link for cyberpsychs as not only are there articles, but a few actual theses as well. Also, each article has MORE links to schools, psychologists, and professors who have written on the topic of cyberpsychology.
From Elizabeth Reid's thesis on MUD's, I connected with Communities in Cyberspace (edited by Mark Smith and Peter Kollack). This is a page full of just links to other people's work on cybercommunities. From this link I was able to get to UCLA's Sociology Department's Center for the Study of Online Communities page. I did this all in a matter of a few minutes! As I indicated before, Alta Vista was the best search engine I used as it came up with more links to more pages than Webcrawler, Yahoo, or Excite. Although Excite came up with much more links, many were not of use to me or to what I was researching (for example, someone's home page which happened to mention only one thing about cyberpsychology). I also recommend using Alta Vista for its advanced search options. For instance, you can pick a start and end date for what you want to look up, as well as including the words "and" or "or" -- which on most search engines will cough up a million and one articles based on the fact that it was looking up the word "and" along with your word(s). Believe me, I know. I've done it before!
In Duck Soups Information Services About CyberCulture, under the heading Virtual Community, I found an article entitled Virtual into Real or Real into Virtual. This is an article by an unknown individual (no one claimed this as their own), who takes the same view which my friend and I were talking about regarding virtual reality or alternate reality. Also, my concept of changed rules is included. The author wrote, "We may predict an eventual change in the Intentional Stance of man from the Real to the Virtual World. This will very probably produce unexpected results on the minds and behaviours of men. In the real world you simply cannot be in two places at the same time and thus an alibi has a sense: this is simply not true in the Virtual World thus destroying that concept!. New rules and regulations will have to be produced to take into account the new situation." It is amazing to me that my thoughts on the subject were echoed by another -- let alone that I FOUND the article in the first place!
Further research in USENET found a newsgroup by the name of soc.culture.singpore I had to use an advanced search in Alta Vista under "cyberspace and virtual reality" in order to get anything to show up at all. This individual created his own newsgroup, and to date, there is only one response. However, this makes my point about anonymity on the Net and Dr. Jame's point about two or more make a community. This individual made his point about the society he lives in under the guise "Very Nice Guy", while still getting in a few points about cyber communities. He writes, "1. encourage more telecommuting [sue and cane employers who require workers to be at the office every day] 2. encourage more email, newsgroups, teleconferencing [sue and cane employers who require workers to go to this meeting that meeting wasting time]..." Anyway, you get the point. His only response was, "I'm doing a assignment on the mentioned topic. As I scan through the soc.culture, I find no relevant information. I am hoping someone would care to enter this discussion with me." Just goes to show that people are seeking information from anywhere even remotely close to their topics of interest.
It's Your Choice
It is true then that cyberspace is like the mind -- an endless expanse of thoughts, feelings, emotions -- and in utilizing it we are considered to be in a virtual reality. Yet in analyzing this concept further, many believe that "virtual" may be the wrong word to use. In the three weeks I spent conducting research into cyberspace and mind, I have read articles and personally talked with fellow students, professors, and online authors who say otherwise. Three such examples are given in the body of this paper.
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