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NZAP 2.0. Into the Unknown: Psychotherapy and online social media Kyle MacDonald www.psychotherapy.org.nz twitter.com/@kylemacd.
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NZAP 2.0 Into the Unknown: Psychotherapy and online social media Kyle MacDonald www.psychotherapy.org.nz twitter.com/@kylemacd
“The term "Web 2.0" (2004–present) is commonly associated with web applications that facilitate interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design and collaboration on the World Wide Web. A Web 2.0 site allows its users to interact with other users or to change website content, in contrast to non-interactive websites where users are limited to the passive viewing of information that is provided to them.” Wikipedia
“Social Media is not a fad it is a fundamental shift in the way we communicate.”
The Local Story • NZ usage of the internet 79.6% • In NZ, Facebook use is at 1 million (25% population) • Facebook: 150% growth in the last year • More than half a million had been on either Bebo or MySpace in last month • 64,000 had followed Twitter in last month http://blog.labour.org.nz/index.php/2010/01/10/social-media-and-labour/
Global Usage • Led by Facebook, Twitter, Global Time Spent on Social Media Sites up 82% Year over Year (2009) • Year-over-year growth in average time spent by U.S. users: Facebook 200% and Twitter.com 368%
Global Usage • Twitter.com continued its reign as the fastest-growing in December 2009 increasing 579% 2.7 million unique visitors in December 2008 to 18.1 million in December 2009
Social Networking Sites • Facebook • Bebo (slightly younger average age) • MySpace(more customizable; commercial) • QZone (China’s “Facebook”) • LinkedIn (Professional networking) • Many other smaller “specialty” sites
MySpace • MySpace initially became the most popular social networking site in the United States in June 2006 • MySpace was overtaken internationally by its main competitor, Facebook, in April 2008, based on monthly unique visitors
China: 1.3 Billion • India: 1.1 Billion • Facebook: 472 million monthly active users • USA: 308 million • Indonesia: 231 million Based on 2009 population figures.
QZone • Chinese only social networking site 200 million active users. • Total users of Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Qzone and Linkedin = 1.5 billion
On February 4, 2004, Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook with his college roommates and fellow computer science students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes while he was a student at Harvard University.
What made Facebook revolutionary was the “Newsfeed” feature, creating low maintenance connection and socialising. • Facebook was then opened on September 26, 2006 to everyone of ages 13 and older with a valid e-mail address.
In many ways it’s lack of flexibility has made it more popular • Multiple applications • Popularity of photo sharing • “Smartphone” usage • It is still growing exponentially, worldwide
“A blog (a contraction of the term "web log") is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.” Wikipedia
The modern blog evolved from the online diary, where people would keep a running account of their personal lives • The personal blog, an ongoing diary or commentary by an individual, is the traditional, most common blog • Personal bloggers usually take pride in their blog posts, even if their blog is never read
Blogs often become more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life, or works of art • As a form of journalism they remove corporate censorship and editing
“What we have to do is deliver to people the best and freshest most relevant information possible. We think of Twitter as it's not a social network, but it's an information network. It tells people what they care about as it is happening in the world.” Evan Williams Co-founder of Twitter.
Work on the project started on March 21, 2006, when Dorsey published the first Twitter message at 9:50 PM Pacific Standard Time (PST): "just setting up my twttr".
“Micro-blogging.” • Evolved from Social networking “status updates; text messages and blogging. • The fastest growing Web 2.0 site. • Person to person “small talk.” • It is what you make it: massive flexibility.
Social Grooming • Social networking researcher Danah Boyd responded to the Pear Analytics survey by arguing that what the Pear researchers labelled "pointless babble" is better characterized as "peripheral awareness" or "social grooming". Wikipedia
The Dunbar Number • In 1998, the anthropologist Robin Dunbar argued that each human has a hard-wired upper limit on the number of people he or she can personally know at one time • Dunbar noticed that ape groups tended to top out at 55 members. Since human brains were proportionally bigger, Dunbar figured that our maximum number of social connections would be similarly larger: about 150 on average • Are people who use Facebook and Twitter increasing their Dunbar number, because they can so easily keep track of so many more people? Cited in NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07awareness-t.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all
Ambient Awareness • “It is, they say, very much like being physically near someone and picking up on his mood through the little things he does — body language, sighs, stray comments — out of the corner of your eye” Cited in NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07awareness-t.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all
“To me, the “twitterverse” is like a river of human awareness, composed of billions of tiny 140 character molecules - each a snapshot of life or a thought or a reflection. A river of pure information that equals energy, according to the laws of quantum thermodynamics and stochastic processes. A river of life flowing by us as we meditate at its bank like some Siddhartha wannabe, in tattered jeans and Oakley sunglasses instead of orchid robes and begging bowl. And now, after long last, we see. We see the beauty of the river, that some now call ambient awareness.” Moses Ma http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-tao-innovation/200903/understanding-the-psychology-twitter?page=2
Weak ties versus intimacy • Where sociality has truly exploded was in “weak ties” — loose acquaintances, people known less well • This rapid growth of weak ties can be a very good thing. Sociologists have long found that “weak ties” greatly expand your ability to solve problems • Remote acquaintances will be much more useful, because they’re farther a field, yet still socially intimate enough to want to help you out
Mood, and loneliness • Initial research saw internet usage negatively and often dismissed online socializing as lonely escapism from the disquiet of “real” relationships • However in 2006 two studies clarified that actually time spent online was unrelated to increased anxiety or depression, which were measured as markers of loneliness • Only those who already showed lowered mood and anxiety and those who were already lonely were negatively affected • Those who did best were those who used social media to extend and add value to their offline relationships Scientific American Mind Jan/ Feb 2010
Narcissism • Study showed that those tested offline and confirmed to have NPD traits were “picked” as Narcissistic on Facebook • Untrained strangers were just as good at identifying narcissists from their Facebook page as they are at judging the personality of their friends Scientific American Mind Jan/ Feb 2010
Narcissism • What did they rate? • A large number of contacts • A glamorous appearance • Staged quality to the main photo • What is unclear from the research is the casual direction: does using social media make people more narcissistic or is it simply a “stage” for those inclined in this way to use Scientific American Mind Jan/ Feb 2010
Number of Friends and Interpersonal Impressions on Facebook • A central feature of the online social networking system, Facebook, is the connection to and links among friends. • An experiment examined the relationship between the number of friends a Facebook profile featured and observers' ratings of attractiveness and extraversion
Number of Friends and Interpersonal Impressions on Facebook • A curvilinear effect of sociometric popularity and social attractiveness emerged, as did a quartic relationship between friend count and perceived extraversion. These results suggest that an overabundance of friend connections raises doubts about Facebook users' popularity and desirability
Blogging and emotional health: • Those attracted to Blogging rate higher on levels of distress (Myspace users) • Journaling and writing has been shown to alleviate distress. • Is Blogging good for you? • The perceived audience effect.
Relational Consistency • Dynamically we can consider the online world another part of “Other” in Malan’s Triangle. • People behave online in a way that is consistent with their offline behaviour.
Safety and Privacy • Online relating is not innocuous: the negative proves the positive. • The “blame the technology” effect. • The world can be a dangerous place online and offline. • Relationship safety is the business of psychotherapy.
What would you do if a client knocked on your door? • Privacy: familiarize yourself with Facebook’s privacy settings. • Use a “Company page” for a professional presence. • Use Facebook as a way to extend your offline personal relationships.
Blogging is good for you. • But remember it is both public and published. The Law applies. • Therapists: write as if any of your clients are reading it (even though many won’t.) • Clients: Reflect, observe, process. Blogging as mindfulness and journaling.
