Plan 9 From Cyberspace: The Implications of the Internet for Personality and Social Psychology

TLDR

Initial reactions to the Internet have been largely negative, portraying it as porn‑filled and isolating, yet evidence largely contradicts claims that it causes depression, prompting a shift toward examining how identity, interaction, and relationships differ online versus offline. The paper identifies four major differences—greater anonymity, diminished role of physical appearance and distance, and increased control over interaction timing—that shape self‑concept, identity, social interaction, and relationships on the Internet. The authors review existing research along these lines and outline promising directions for future studies.

Abstract

Just as with most other communication breakthroughs before it, the initial media and popular reaction to the Internet has been largely negative, if not apocalyptic. For example, it has been described as “awash in pornography”, and more recently as making people “sad and lonely.” Yet, counter to the initial and widely publi cized claim that Internet use causes depression and social isolation, the body of ev idence (even in the initial study on which the claim was based) is mainly to the con trary. More than this, however, it is argued that like the telephone and television before it, the Internet by itself is not a main effect cause of anything, and that psy chology must move beyond this notion to an informed analysis of how social iden tity, social interaction, and relationship formation may be different on the Internet than in real life. Four major differences and their implications for self and identity, social interaction, and relationships are identified: one's greater anonymity, the greatly reduced importance of physical appearance and physical distance as “gating features” to relationship development, and one's greater control over the time and pace of interactions. Existing research is reviewed along these lines and some promising directions for future research are described.