Crystal Ball Blog

The Internet has changed the world in many ways. The fact that I can sit in my room in Ithaca, New York and be connected to billions of users all across the globe is mind boggling. Online shopping, games, chatting, downloading music and movies, blogs, and social networking sites are just a few of the endless options that the Internet has to offer. Psychology of Social Computing has been one of the most interesting classes I’ve taken at Cornell thus far because the theories and lessons apply directly to things going on in my life. It is important to have classes like this that change with the times. Many of the ideas that were presented this semester were not applicable ten years ago.

Three theories that stand out in my mind from this semester are selective self-presentation, SIP, and cues filtered out. I think that the first two theories will always be a part of the Internet. Humans will not outgrow the tendency to selectively present themselves because most of the time there is a certain way we want others to see us. As far as SIP is concerned, we have learned this semester that over time you will be able to get to know someone through CMC, it just takes longer. Humans will continue to adapt to others over time. Cues-filtered-out theory has been disproved again and again throughout the semester. We have learned that you can develop relationships through online communication and it may not always be negative. Even though this theory doesn’t hold true, it is important to learn about it so that we can see how the internet and our beliefs about it have developed.

One aspect of the Internet that seems to be up and coming is video chat. It would be interesting to see what theories apply to this since this method of communication involves visuals. Also, do people prefer talking to strangers through video chat or would they rather talk on IM and keep that sense of anonymity? Often I prefer talking on instant messenger so that I don’t have to worry about what I’m wearing or what my hair looks like. This would be an interesting topic to research.

Although the semester is over, I know that I will continue to use the principles and theories learned in Comm 245. I, of course, will continue to use the Internet and will be able to apply these ideas to other communication classes. Thanks for a great semester; I’ll miss the brown blog!