The Online Disinhibition Effect
FromIt's well known that people say and do things in cyberspace that they wouldn't ordinarily say or do in the face-to-face world. They loosen up, feel more uninhibited, express themselves more openly. Researchers call this the "disinhibition effect." It's a double-edged sword. Sometimes people share very personal things about themselves. They reveal secret emotions, fears, wishes. Or they show unusual acts of kindness and generosity.
On the other hand, the disinhibition effect may not be so benign. Out spills rude language and harsh criticisms, anger, hatred, even threats. Or people explore the dark underworld of the internet, places of pornography and violence, places they would never visit in the real world.
On the benign side, the disinhibition indicates an attempt to understand and explore oneself, to work through problems and find new ways of being. And sometimes, in toxic disinhibition, it is simply a blind catharsis, an acting out of unsavory needs and wishes without any personal growth at all.
What causes this online disinhibition? What is it about cyberspace that loosens the psychological barriers that block the release of these inner feelings and needs? I expand on these ingredients that contribute to the ODE.
You Don't Know Me (dissociative anonymity)
You Can't See Me (invisibility)
See You Later (asynchronicity)
It's All in My Head (solipsistic introjection)
It's Just a Game (dissociative imagination)
We're Equals (minimizing authority)
1. You Don't Know Me (dissociative anonymity)
As the word "anonymous" indicates, you can have no name - at least not your real name. That anonymity works wonders for the disinhibition effect. When people have the opportunity to separate their actions from their real world and identity, they feel less vulnerable about opening up. Whatever they say or do can't be directly linked to the rest of their lives. They don't have to own their behavior by acknowledging it within the full context of who they "really" are. When acting out hostile feelings, the person doesn't have to take responsibility for those actions. In fact, people might even convince themselves that those behaviors "aren't me at all." In psychology this is called "dissociation."
2.You Can't See Me (invisibility)
In many online environments other people cannot see you. You don't have to worry about how you look or sound when you say (type) something. You don't have to worry about how others look or sound when you say something. Seeing a frown, a shaking head, a sigh, a bored expression, and many other subtle and not so subtle signs of disapproval or indifference can slam the breaks on what people are willing to express. In psychoanalysis, the analyst sits behind the patient in order remain a physically ambiguous figure, without revealing any body language or facial expression, so that the patient has free range to discuss whatever he or she wants, without feeling inhibited by how the analyst is physically reacting. In everyday relationships, people sometimes avert their eyes when discussing something personal and emotional. It's easier not to look into the other's face. Text communication offers a built-in opportunity to keep one's eyes averted.
What about the other points? May people dicuss about those here? When we understand the bias of internet on our personality then we will understand us better in the context of our actions on cyber social media. Until that all the feedbacks we get will be misinterpreted and we will develope and grow an alter ego.
Comments (31)
I would sugest that in some points we all act same way. Else would politicions have power on us, but they have. They move the people in the direction they want.
Nobody is forced to participate ..... Blog is a tool ... I use it in my own way as each of us is doing here.
I am very selfish. I do not accept to lose my time ... I need to have a win .... at least in information when not else ...
Seems that people do not enjoy to build something .... I try to understand what is happen here.
I was on site here in 2008, then later in 2013, and now 2017 (since 2-3 month) ... happen the same
So about hidden .... do not use this word ... you have no right to use it here.
But I will think about you say .... because this is the point ..... on this kind of site you cannot communicate .... is not possible ... this was my point ... people do not want to communicate .... I wanted to discuss why is not possible ....
But people do not want the truth .....
I underline that the article I read is 100% right . Internet is altering the ego . And who does not understand this will be confronted with a lot of issues.
I think the point of this blog is to explain and make us aware of the different reasons - and emotions - going on behind the blogs and the internet world in general.
We might be all "different" (physically, emotionally etc.), but we all have a common core: the human psyche is the same for all of us!
We all have our "shadow" selves which are buried deep in our subconscious mind and will be the cause for certain people acting the way they do - in the virtual world, or the physical world.
Only in the virtual world, those will have a different personality to suit their environment and will put on a mask to cover their shadows.
As for some others, they may take their mask off for all to see their vulnerability.
Will write more later on...
I wrote several blogs about perceptions - but at a spiritual level rather than the mind.
I was also going to say that we are all characters/actors with an assigned role here on this planet and another one for the virtual world.
As our dear friend William said: "The whole world is a stage and we are all actors upon it".
Must go now...will speak again later...
However, some people use this medium differently to others.
They choose to change their personalities to a much greater extent than others. They use it to hurt others on a way they couldn't in real life.
Plus, it gives the actors a world wide audience.
Whether one puts up a picture or not is not as of much significance to some as others.
If you live in a sprawling metropolis where nobody even knows their own neighbour, then having a pic up is as anonymous as not.
But if you live in a small country where you would be instantly recognisable and where somebody is likely to tell your aunt that you were seen on 'that internet dating thing ' buy her neighbour's best friend's son-in-law, then you are more likely to remain visually anonymous
It's Just a Game (dissociative imagination)
If we combine solipsistic introjection with the escapability of cyberspace, we get a slightly different force that magnifies disinhibition. People may feel that the imaginary characters they "created" exist in a different space, that one's online persona along with the online others live in an make-believe dimension, a dream world, separate and apart from the demands and responsibilities of the real world. They split or "dissociate" online fiction from offline fact. Emily Finch, an author and criminal lawyer studying identity theft in cyberspace, has suggested that some people see their online life as a kind of game with rules and norms that don't apply to everyday living (pers. comm., 2002). Once they turn off the computer and return to their daily routine, they believe they can leave that game and their game-identity behind. Why should they be held responsible for what happens in that make-believe play world that has nothing to do with reality? After all, it isn't that different than blasting away at your pals in a shoot-em up video game... or so some people might think, perhaps unconsciously.
Although anonymity tends to amplify dissociative imagination, dissociative imagination and dissociative anonymity usually differ in the complexity of the dissociated part of oneself. Under the influence of anonymity, the person may try to be invisible, to become a non-person, resulting in a reducing or simplifying of identity. During dissociative imagination, the self that is expressed, but split-off, tends to be more elaborate.
One cannot say loud ... I am like this ... I do not care... you all people have to accept me as I am. Why is not possible? Is an Utopia?
Lets agree to disagree
Some people always prefer to remain private, some use it as a cheap form of a psychologist's couch.
Some people use it to express different parts of their personalities, some may indeed have multiple personalities. It is heaven for them.
It is a largely anonymous medium where most will never meet in real life,therefore they can be whatever or whoever they want, whether better ir worse,and say whatever they want consequently.
We're Equals (minimizing authority)
While online a person's status in the face-to-face world may not be known to others and it may not have as much impact as it does in the face-to-face world. If people can't see you or your surroundings, they don't know if you are the president of a major corporation sitting in your expensive office, or some "ordinary" person lounging around at home in front of the computer. Even if people do know something about your offline status and power, that elevated position may have little bearing on your online presence and influence. In most cases, everyone on the internet has an equal opportunity to voice him or herself. Everyone - regardless of status, wealth, race, gender, etc. - starts off on a level playing field. Although one's status in the outside world ultimately may have some impact on one's powers in cyberspace, what mostly determines your influence on others is your skill in communicating (including writing skills), your persistence, the quality of your ideas, and your technical know-how.
People are reluctant to say what they really think as they stand before an authority figure. A fear of disapproval and punishment from on high dampens the spirit. But online, in what feels like a peer relationship - with the appearances of "authority" minimized - people are much more willing to speak out or misbehave.
According to traditional Internet philosophy, everyone is an equal: Peers share ideas and resources. In fact, the net itself is engineered with no centralized control. As it grows, with a seemingly endless potential for creating new environments, many people see themselves as independent-minded explorers. This atmosphere and philosophy contribute to the minimizing of authority.
Stop with the cranial foreplay
And I hope Swami enjoys his probing Which ever end he likes it
I am glad that I do not understand all in english
I understand only what comes in my preoccupation sphere.
I remember when I was first time to a nudist beach. I did knew how to hide.
Now I am imune to cranial suggestions ... First goes through my filters and next in the blood.
Who does not pass my filter has no chance to get a reaction from me
That is especially true of thosewith the less than perfect bodies.
Think how much harder it is for women dealing with men as there is societal pressure on men not to show their vulnerable side, thus making it harder for them to communicate effectively.
If he is not a piece of wood and feel safe with you then he will tell you things what you never thought about.
Makig a men feeling safe this is another topic.