The Internet is a fascinating invention. A mere 20 years ago it was practically an unknown quantity. Used initially by military boffins and academic researchers, this network of powerful computers has gradually transformed itself into a global sprawl capturing the attention of hundreds of millions of users around the world.
Today, the Internet is omnipresent − a permanent fixture in our daily lives. It comes in all shapes and forms. Fixed line, Broadband, Wi-Fi, satellite, 3G, 4G. The net is accessible on our computers, on our phones, in our homes and offices, in Internet cafés and even free of charge in public spaces. Its significance in our daily lives should certainly not to be underestimated.
The Internet has become indispensable for business, shopping, getting the latest news and socializing. It has even been conspicuously related to sparking off revolutions and the toppling of long standing regimes! Its penetration into our systems was unthinkable up to a few decades ago, yet today it is almost beyond comprehension living in a world without the Internet. It has blown the frontiers of commerce, politics, mass media and the right of information be it for better or for worse.
With all its global appeal and mass usage, the Internet has its detractors. As in all debates the opposing camps approve or denounce cyberspace. Those in favour wax lyrical about the benefits of the Internet and its endless possibilities and unboundless advantages to commerce and trade. Communication is the key of the Internet’s success and its potential speed to carry information across continents in seconds. Those against are sceptical of the lure of this virtual world with its many dark fringes and the false hypnotic lure of this digital reality. Conspiracy abounds as to the actual safety and freedom of information not only national but also on a personal level. Is anyone in control or is the Internet a completely new frontier almost ungovernable as those of the Wild West? Has its limitless boundaries let loose aspects of social interaction that are now increasingly impossible to supervise and police?
One aspect of the Internet that has recently attracted the attention of researchers is the predictable (or not!) behaviour Internet users adopt online. This area of research seeks to understand the shifting and seemingly unpredictable patterns of personality types online. The crucial question being asked is fundamentally one. Are cyberspace users shaping the Internet or is the latter conditioning many of its users frame of mind and decision-making?
A recent article in the London Sunday Times penned by John Harlow entitled “Status update: wired for delusion” (6 March) seeks to understand the patterns emerging from the first neurological studies into ‘e-personalities’ and their attendant risks. Harlow points especially at a recently published study called ‘Virtually You’ carried out by a Lebanese-American Doctor Elias Aboujaoude. According to Aboujaoude, the Internet is transforming us from the inside as well as out. Many users are adopting distinctly alternative personalities so much different to those in ‘real’ life. He calls these ‘e-personalities.’
The psychiatrist believes that many users are abusing the relative anonymity of cyberspace. Many e-personalities are driven by delusion, exhibiting behaviour unrelated to everyday life characteristics. Clearly, some are trapped in their narcissistic fantasies. Many describe themselves as ‘hot’ and ‘athletic’. No one is unattractive or average. This series of exaggerations and sometimes outright lies prevent many from meeting in real life. Some will lose sight of their ongoing relationships while others exhibit extreme anti-social behaviour, stating opinions that they would clearly not espouse in ‘public.’ We can certainly note this from our own blogs in Malta. During heated debates, be it regarding divorce or the problem of illegal migration, statements and thought expressed by some are not only defamatory but sometimes clearly illegal.
Although Aboujaoude defines these personalities as ‘outliers’, he is increasingly convinced that the Internet is becoming a fertile ground for many to display their repressed feelings. Feelings that in the ‘real’ world would be potentially enacted but probably left repressed due to manifold reasons. The Internet increases the likelihood to role play and instils habits one would normally understand as unbecoming and often socially unacceptable. The net exposes what we think and we expect to legitimise it by seeking like-minded people.
Clearly, these are complex arguments that can be difficult to understand and even more to resolve. Censorship is and will always be a hot potato. Some aspects of the Internet definitely require constant supervision whether we like it or not. Probably the net is still too ‘young’ and only time will tell the growing patterns and trends that constitute the many facets of this limitless and fascinating cyberspace.
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