The Psychology of the Internet A Report on the Book by Patricia Wallace
Summary of the Book Today, the internet is a growing community. Millions of
people from all over the world go “online” everyday to check email, research,
shop, or even just interact with someone halfway around the world. As this
community grows, so does the number of interactions between people. The
Psychology of the Internet examines the psychology of new behavior produced by
this novel method of human communication. It also delves into the business
sector of the internet and how certain companies are using this medium to
increase productivity within their companies and corporations. Analysis of the
Book The book provides several examples of how the internet can affect the
quality of an organization’s production. When used in the appropriate manner,
the internet can facilitate interaction between a group 24 hours a day and is
only limited by the availability of a telephone line. The idea that a person
must be in work and at his desk for production is becoming more obsolete as
companies realize the potential of the internet. One impressive way the internet
can help companies is the workgroups that can be formed internationally.
A workgroup is a group of employees striving to achieve the same objective.
In the traditional sense, these groups are formed in a room with notepads for
each person to help them brainstorm and meetings at regular intervals until the
project is complete. The internet revolution is changing all of that. The
workgroups are no longer governed by the geographical positioning of its
members. I found this particularly interesting because the idea of having a
supervisor in Manila, a Research and Development team in Cebu, and a sales group
in the United States is becoming more of a feasible possibility than ever
before. The internet can also help employees overcome inhibitions that they may
not be able to in person. This is due, in part, to the amount of social cues
that are lost over a computer. In a chat room, for example, the two employees
might know nothing about each other, other than the information they provide
about themselves. Therefore, any type of social stereotypes (i.e. sexism,
racism, bigotry) is less prevalent than if perceived in the real world. If the
employees have never met, social irritations may not be as readily triggered
than if in person. For example, if I am irritated by a person who stutters when
he speaks, the chances that he will do so over the internet are relatively low.
This allows me to concentrate solely on the task at hand and not be distracted
by insignificant things.
