Over the last ten years telecommunications has had a great impact in areas such as education, business, research, entertainment and culture in a very broad sense since its influence has been felt in the way of life of different communities all over the world. All this has been possible thanks to the world wide network better known as Internet, in which a web of interconnected computers have become not only the biggest depot of information in the world but as such it has managed to incorporate all preexistent means of communication such as text, audio and video.
In a very short period of time Internet has become a mass communication media thanks to a lack of regulations and its easy access. On top of everything it offers several different ways to we it, most interestingly and unlike other communication means, the possibility it offers the user to interact directly with the web itself. In other words, the user interacts with the media, it is possible for him or her to consult, receive information and at the same time create and send new information both in a global or personalized context. Via Internet it is possible to establish person to person interactions which, within the context of the network, have different characteristics to those applied in a face to face relationship. It is our interest to gather information as to better understand how do these interactions take shape and them how are new meanings and signifiers are developed in order to understand ourselves and others in this new context.
Understanding these processes will allow us to contribute, from a psychological perspective, to the ongoing debate around the Internet as a cultural phenomena and perhaps give raise to new questions that could become the starting point of new research from different perspectives.
By examining the narratives developed both by us and the people who join us in our research, we hope we can better see how relationships established through Internet are understood and what do they mean.
Results will appear in these pages. We want to thank before hand everybody who takes part in our efforts.
More information:
edwinvelar@starmedia.comClue Words
: Personal Relationships, Qualitative Investigation, Cyberculture, Constructionism, Internet, Postmodernity, Culture, Chat, IRC, Multiculture, Complexity, Mass Media, Signifiers.