Connect to me dot com: contemporary issues in cyberpsychology

M.A.The language and expression of technology progresses daily, and has transformed not only the forms of communication we use, but also the way we identify with it and how we locate ourselves within realms such as cyberspace. In essence, cyberspace, with its lack of boundaries, increased freedom, anonymity and control has come to represent the truly postmodern condition, where multiplicity, disintegration and re-invention foster identities, which are able to flirt with transition and reality. In addition, technology has shifted the way that we experience our bodies and negotiate our conceptualization of body in terms of self. This facilitates the fragmentation of the self into multiple personalities, which is common practice on the Internet but one that would be pathologised in the ‘real world’ (Pack, 1999). The way we communicate is also shifting radically; new languages and social attribution cues inform our experience online, and seep into our experiences offline. As such, these phenomena are not confined to the realm of cyberspace, and are evident throughout contemporary culture and society, with particular implications for both social and individual psychology. The norms of acceptable behavior have shifted online, and lead to confusion of moral and ethical considerations in both online and offline contexts. I am interested in the effect this has on our sense of self; both in terms of the corporeal body, and in terms of self-concept and how this affects our communication and relationships, in both online and offline contexts. There is also a growing trend towards providing psychological services and practice online, with psychological research, assessment and psychotherapy increasing in popularity. This has implications for ethical practice and the reputation of the discipline of psychology in both online and offline contexts. In addition, psychologists working offline are increasingly called on to deal with Internet related presenting problems. This exploratory study attempts to understand this social climate through a critical review of the literature as well as a survey of current online psychological applications. It is necessary to explore this context in order to understand how psychology is located within contemporary practice and the experience of individuals both online and offline as well as how this relates to a transforming society such as the one in South Africa