PSEUDO VIRTUAL IDENTITY - COMPUTER AND INTERNET ADDICTION

Abstract

People say and do things in cyberspace, things they would not do or say in a face to face relationship. Here are more relaxed, more disinhibited and thus more freely. This phenomenon is called the disinhibited effect. The effect may be twofold: Sometimes people share very personal things about themself - hidden emotions, fears, desires - or resort to unusual acts of kindness and generosity. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Headnote

Abstract: People say and do things in cyberspace, things they would not do or say in a face to face relationship. Here are more relaxed, more disinhibited and thus more freely. This phenomenon is called the disinhibited effect. The effect may be twofold: Sometimes people share very personal things about themself - hidden emotions, fears, desires - or resort to unusual acts of kindness and generosity.

Keywords: Identity, identity considerations, computer dependency, addiction virtual environment, deviant behavior.

1. Computer and Internet addiction

Relatively new landscape pretty good shape, in fact, types of dependencies, technological dependencies are defined as non-biochemical dependencies. This dependency can be divided into two categories: passive dependence (watching TV) and active dependencies (computer games, Internet1).

In general, the term Internet addiction refers to a variety of behaviors and impulse control problems (needs, reasons, and values).

A frequent observation is the fact that, mostly, Internet addiction is manifested in excessive use of the computer, or the Internet, using to support other addictions.

Thus, in general, the Internet is just a medium already become accustomed, where the individual can perform these behaviors. Internet addiction refers to those users who use chat rooms (chat rooms) and an interactive application in excessive, damaging relations in the real world, which is reduced in an alarming mode. Although the proposed taxonomy category includes the computer addiction in the Internet addiction category, the defining element of these two dependencies is connecting with others. If Internet addiction is about inclusion in a very large network of computers / users, in which you know that you are never alone, that at any moment you can get in touch with an "else", even if then you decided to sail in search of scientific or otherwise.

However, computer addiction can be summarized as follows: individuals "relate" top computer does not need the presence of another person, but the programs / games maintain their interest and activity. As can be seen, in the first case it is a behavior aimed socialization (social seeking behavior), while in the second case seeking behaviors (somewhat) reward (reward seeking behavior), the most relevant example are the computer games2.

People say and do things in cyberspace, things they would not do or say in a face to face relationship. Here are more relaxed, more disinhibited and thus more freely. This phenomenon is called the disinhibited effect. The effect may be twofold: Sometimes people share very personal things about themself - hidden emotions, fears, desires - or resort to unusual acts of kindness and generosity, it is spontaneity benign, on the other hand, there is a toxic disinhibition, which manifested through foul language, tough criticism, anger, hatred and even threats by exploring sites showing pornographic or explicit violence, places that these people would actually visit.

From the perspective of benign, disinhibition indicates an attempt to understand and to explore the self, to solve problems and discover new ways of being. Toxic spontaneity is a catharsis act, an expression of needs and desires unhealthy without a personal development goal.

Factors determining the occurrence of this effect are:

- Dissociative anonymity ("I do not know");

- Invisibility ("I can not see");

- Asynchronicity ("see you later");

- Insight ("it's all in my head");

- Dissociative imagination ("it's just a game");

- Minimizing Authority ("we are all equal");

- Personal variables;

- True constellation of personality / true self.

If personality is made up of several layers / levels, with a core or authentic self, true, hidden under several layers of defense and more superficial parts, and that the disinhibited effect issued needs, emotions, attributes is the deeper levels, then it can be said that this effect is exhibited by true self? Disinhibition concept may wrongly lead us to the conclusion that what is disinhibited is truer than inhibitory and disinhibition functions. These functions become part as real and important as the other's personality.

"True Self" interacts with the environment is expressed, it is not independent of the environment: if anyone suppresses aggression in real life, but online express both behaviors reflect important aspects of his personality, but occurring under different conditions. If a woman is shy in a face to face relationship, but bolder online, we can say that one of these self-presentations is truer than the other. Both are dimensions of her way of being, each showing a different situation. Thus, instead of thinking about human personality to be built in "layers" in the broader external environment, we conceive it as an intrapsychic field containing a constellation of emotions, memories and thoughts connected with the various settings (contexts).

Personality dynamics involves complex interactions between the various clusters within self and in relation to the environment. Thus, we can think about desinhibition effect as a shift to a dissociated personality constellation "face to face" guilt, shame or anxiety can be inhibitory characteristics of self in interpersonal relations "face to face", but not of self online. Various means of communication are different possible forms of self expression. They allow us to see different perspectives of the complex that we call identity. But none of these facets is not necessarily true for another. Cyberspace is an intrapsychic psychological extension world of the individual. It is a psychological space that can stimulate processes of projection, expression and transfer processes that can alter sensory experience and may even induce a dream state.

2. Virtual environment addiction

Findings of several studies stresses that hypnotic force and the emergence dependence for Internet and video games are much stronger than in watching TV. Internet addiction is comparable to that generated by the drug. Many users, especially students and youth get to spend nights and days on the Internet, waiving any other activity, even to buy food and even eat. The mind is stronger captivated in this fictional world, the people feel less willing or able to lead a normal life. State of pleasure and power that induces the Internet world, especially for those already addicted, easily identifiable by psychologists experienced by drug states3."

3. Causes and contributory factors of deviant behavior in virtual environments

Deviant behavior due to virtual environments.

Deviant behavior in virtual environments are due, films and computer games containing scenes of violence, pornographic movies. Techniques involved: rapidly changing frame psychological methods: Stimulating the power of emotions and instincts, messages subliminal persuasion, manipulation.

After V. George, during computer use, the screen as the TV, inhibit the left hemisphere and the prefrontal cortex and weakens communication Bridge between hemispheres made by the corpus callosum. In contrast, favors opening of the subconscious and the inclusion of images transmitted power in its depths. These phenomena may have a lower intensity than the TV when the computer is used, for example, typing or may be more prominent when they are called video games or certain locations on the Internet. In fact, aggravating factors are rapidly changing teaching and fostering the power of emotions and instincts4.

Technical effects (rapid change of frame, etc.). Surprise, cautions and overwhelm the mind set of the information it needs to process in a short time and, as such, contribute to the inhibition of brain activity in neural networks mentioned above and, therefore, the generation of cortical dysfunction.

Strong emotions, whether those products erotic materials that abound in the Internet world, or the fictional violence provoked by video games, is another aggravating factor, and because they undermine and block the activity of the left hemisphere prefrontal cortex involvement.

4. The main causes of deviant behavior

Contributing factors do not actually cause deviant behavior, being only prerequisites for such behavior. Profile studies can synthesize a list of factors that may promote deviant behavior:

- Poor socialization;

- Raising children in a predominantly noisy that inhibits reflection, internal language;

- Harsh education, unloving parents;

- Too permissive Education;

- Poor communication between children and parents;

- Lack of time necessary to educate children;

- Reduced judgment, example for minors under 14 years;

- Children tend to imitate feature;

- Disability to relate to the surrounding reality;

- Isolation from social groups in which the person belongs;

- Social inadaptability refuge in "virtual society" such as "Second Life";

- Insufficient family education about the dangers of virtual environments;

- From family too permissive attitude about the use of virtual environments;

- Too harsh attitude of the family in connection with the use of virtual environments;

- Insufficient school education on the dangers of virtual environments;

- Long time exposure a cause in the virtual environment, determining deviant behavior;

- Peer influence.

The technical advantages of the Internet facilitate the work of those deviant.

"How better to say, not technology, but its users abusers5"

Even in traditional libraries can be found "more or less accidentally" materials that incite violence, pornography, etc. but to access them requires a long time of searching, copying, duplication or dissemination that can attract others, however discouraging to some individuals as deviants. But through the Internet from home, dysfunctional people benefit from advantages such as: anonymity, quick access to networked computers around the world can immediately stop the occurrence of any suspected contact a denunciation or research, ease of operation allowing repeated attack with a large amount of information on the target, thereby increasing the risk for potential victims, everything is "one key away."

Conclusions and proposals

Prevention of deviant behavior in virtual environments

Modern society cannot function without high technology.

With the Internet freedoms of speech and action higher even than in the real society, the behavior of users who practically have no restrictions, in terms of social psychology, means an accurate representation of how people would behave if authority as social function was lax or absent. There are many people who are not self-censors, acting deviant, pursuing their own sometimes aberrant interests, affronting to psychological or even physical integrity of others, especially children and young people who are too little aware of the danger they run into virtual environments.

Internet is immediately necessary to adopt both its own deontology, as well as a specific rule which, before all, should provide operators compulsory identification during any data transfer, thus eliminating anonymity and deterring offenders to transfer criminal activity from real society to virtual environments by adapting to new technologies or adapting new technologies to their deviant practices. Anonymity and darkness are sought by those who commit deviant acts, illegal and have no conscience anyway.

Media productions having a strong violent content, especially computer games that simulate shooting with various types of weapons should be prohibited by law.

From educational programs for schools and universities, management of organizations, to scientific research projects and conduct space missions all require the use of computers connected to the local network and the Internet and when computer technology fails, there are sometimes serious bottlenecks in human activity.

Do not also forget that no matter how technologically advanced, no matter how virtual environments got closer to reality, Internet actually offering but an illusory reality can never replace family and society as a whole, with the latter achieving the healthy socialization process.

Given the "strong effects" of the two components, television and the Internet, part of the cultural heritage is transmitted to new generations through these means.

Deviant individuals acting freely on the Internet, who by their deeds influence on the quality and integrity of the messages, the intensity of this negative phenomenon is inversely proportional to the degree of protection of information transmission.

For users who comply with the advantage offered by the Internet is that in any area can speak and act freely, without fear of being censored or punished for their opinions and actions. This category of people makes society progress. They themselves know the extent to which they can go for their freedom does not infringe the freedom of others.

We have presented above two categories of measures: the first is effective through rigorous short-term coercive measures and cannot be sustainable only by sustaining and improving them. Authoritarianism solution does not solve the essential problem of educating discernment, but on the contrary stimulates identify ways to eliminate restrictions.

The second category of measures includes actions with sustainable effects but still leaving place for the next generations for deviant events. Even with this price, if meaning of the mankind becoming is the human discernment shaping by systematically enlarging the sphere of knowledge, educational measures within the family, the school, the organizational environment are the only, that could guarantee assumed, aware detoxification for an increasingly large number of individuals.

Footnote

1 Jane M. Healy, Endangered Minds, Touchstone, New York, 1990.

2 Jane M. Healy, Endangered Minds, Touchstone, New York, 1990;

3 Gheorghe, Virgiliu, The Effects of Televiosion on Human Mind, Prodromos Publishing House, Bucharest, 2008.

4 Idem 3.

5 Holmes, Leonard, You Can't Do Psychotherapy on the Net (Yet). Presentation at American Psychological Association Convention, August 1997.

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