Social Phenomena

14 April

Class Discussion Discuss the recent case of cyberbullying

http://www.wltx.com/sports/story.aspx?storyid=60759

Specifically, discuss is people’s behavior in cyberspace different?

Why do you think that it is?

Social Issues

Social networking Multiple personae User as consumer Internet addiction

Social Networking

6 Degrees of Separation: the Legend Stanley Milgram (Harvard) 1967

asked each of several volunteers in the Midwest to get a letter to a stranger in Boston

Could send a letter only to someone they knew Median number of intermediaries was six

Hence “six degrees of separation”

6 Degrees of Separation: the Reality Milgram experiment

Initial experimant: only 3 of 60 letters (5%) made it

Later experiments only achieved 30% First proposed in a 1929 short story

Chains by Karinthy Frigyes

Pretending to be someone else

Multiple personae and avatars Having multiple personalities in the real

world is considered an illness Is it okay in cyberspace? What’s the difference?

Awareness Choice of focus

Second Life

Exploring Personailty Options Get control of your life Try new techniques Opportunities that you would not otherwise

have

How is this different from lying? Pretending that you are someone that you are not

Internet Addiction Is it real? What is an addiction? Discussions

Yee Internet Addiction Center