CONTRIBUTORS Evelyn Ellerman, Centre for State and Legal Studies, Athabasca University, Athabasca, Alberta, Canada Jayne Gackenbach, Department of Psychology, Grant MacEwan College, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Joanie Farley Gillispie, Department of Behavioral and Biological Sciences, University of California, Berkeley Extension, Mill Valley, California Ben Goertzel, Applied Research Laboratory for National and Homeland Security, Virginia Tech, National Capital Region, Arlington, Virginia Mark Griffiths, International Gaming Research Unit, Psychology Division, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom Caroline Haythornthwaite, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois Magid Igbaria, School of Information Systems and Technology, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California Alicia Iriberri, School of Information Systems and Technology, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California Adam N. Joinson, Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom Jim Karpen, Maharishi University of Management, Fairfi eld, Iowa Storm A. King, 21 Redstone Dr., East Longmeadow, Massachusetts Danielle Moreggi, PIR Psychology Department, University of New Haven, West Haven, Connecticut Anna L. Nielsen, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois Raymond J. Noonan, Health and Physical Education Department, Fashion Institute of Technology of the State University of New York, New York, New York Lorne Olfman, School of Information Systems and Technology, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California Joan M. Preston, Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada xiii GGackenbachackenbach PPrelims.inddrelims.indd xxiiiiii 88/9/06/9/06 66:03:41:03:41 PPMM xiv Contributors Conrad Shayo, Information and Decision Sciences Department, California State University, San Bernardino, San Bernardino, California Connie Varnhagen, Department of Psychology, P217 Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Heather von Stackelberg, Faculty of Arts and Science, Grant MacEwan College, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Laura Widyanto, International Gaming Research Unit, Psychology Division, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom GGackenbachackenbach PPrelims.inddrelims.indd xxiviv 88/9/06/9/06 66:03:41:03:41 PPMM ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to begin by thanking Grant MacEwan College (GMC) and espe- cially the Department of Psychology and the Grant MacEwan Faculty Scholarly Activity Fund. This fund provided a grant for a research assistant to aid in editorial duties associated with this book. The grant recipient, Heather von Stackelberg, read and edited every chapter of this book as well as worked on the permissions clearances and other administrative duties. She has also offered insights from her communications background throughout this process, for which I am very grateful. Thanks to Syracuse University graduate students Jason Pattit and Caterina Snyder Lachel for reading and commenting on part of this book. I would also like to thank my editor at Academic Press, Nikki Levy, for her support of this second edition of this book. Many others have contributed to and supported my interest in computers, the Internet, and video games, and they include colleagues (i.e., Russell Powell, Evelyn Ellerman, Brian Brookwell, Joan Preston, Storm King, David Lukoff, Steve Reiter, Harry Hunt, Richard Wilkerson, and Jill Fisher), students (i.e., Grant MacEwan College, Athabasca University, and Saybrook Graduate School), techni- cal support staff (i.e., Grant MacEwan College, and Athabasca University), friends (i.e., Peter Thomas, Erik Schmidt, Wendy Pullin), and family (i.e., Mason Goodloe, Tony Lachel). Finally, I would like to acknowledge the eternal and special contri- butions of my children (Trina Snyder Lachel and Teace Snyder), mother (Agnes Gackenbach), and sister (Leslie Goodloe) without whose support and love no work could be accomplished. xv GGackenbachackenbach PPrelims.inddrelims.indd xxvv 88/9/06/9/06 66:03:41:03:41 PPMM Introduction Jayne Gackenbach Department of Psychology Grant MacEwan College Edmonton, Alberta, Canada To say the Internet has exploded onto the media scene in the eight years since the publication of the fi rst edition of this book is a bit of an understatement. While pundits had many forecasts for the impact this new media would have in the late 1990s, many are still surprised at the rapidity and breadth of the integration of the Internet into contemporary society. Today, the Internet is no longer a unique medium, but rather the basic structure of nearly all media as they increasingly change and merge. Thus, today when we think about the Internet it is not only something we access on our desktop home computer, but also on our cell phones, pagers, PDAs, televisions, video game consoles, MP3 players, and any number of portable laptop computers. We expect to fi nd wireless access to the Internet in air- ports, coffee shops, and malls and recognize that wireless access will soon become part of the invisible communication sphere which surrounds us now, much like access to TV, radio, and cell phones. But even the good old standbys of mass media, TV and radio, are changed due, in part, to the Internet. Now the late-night radio talk show we love but can not stay up for is available by podcast fi rst thing the next morning when we turn on our laptop. Television shows are downloadable to our iPods and satellite radio can now be sub- scribed to and listened to in cars and online. So today when we talk about life online, the meaning of that is increasingly widespread across a variety of media vehicles. In 1998, one might have pointed out that although the Internet is exciting and offers much potential, it is a relatively “local” phenomenon. That is, it’s dominated by the United States. My, how times have changed in the eight years since the United States’ early development and domination! According to Miniwatts International (2005), as of November 21, 2005, the North American usage of the Internet is only slightly less than a quarter (23%) of the overall usage worldwide. Another 29% of the usage comes, not surprisingly, from Europe, while Asia, with the largest segment of the world’s population, also has the highest relative usage (34%). Since 2000, Miniwatts International statistics points out that although North America increased Internet use by about 100%, the rest of the world increased by almost 200%. But although usage is higher among the most populous area on the globe, penetration is 1 Psychology and the Internet: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Transpersonal Implications Copyright © 2007 by Academic Press. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. GGackenbachackenbach IIntro.inddntro.indd 1 88/7/06/7/06 99:28:12:28:12 AAMM 2 Jayne Gackenbach still highest in North America at 68%. That is, most households in North America have Internet access. In other words, the merging of media just described is still largely a North American phenomenon. The focus of the this book and its predecessor is psychological. We ask whether there are special psychological considerations both to using the Internet and to its effects upon the user. As before, answers to both of these questions are explored from three perspectives: intrapersonal, interpersonal, and transpersonal. The fi rst chapter offers an overview from history, and is followed by several chapters in each of the three sections. Intrapersonal perspectives are addressed initially from a developmental perspective (Chapter 2), and then as a function of personality, gender, race, and culture (Chapter 3). The much puzzled-over phenomenon of disinhibition is revisited, followed by a chapter on online sex and Internet addiction. The interpersonal begins with an overview of the current status of computer-mediated communication research and then a look at virtual societies. The last two chapters in this section examine two online clinical concerns, self-help groups and therapy. The fi nal section, unique to this book and rarely seen in other treatments of the psychology of the Internet, considers three transpersonal elements: virtual reality, the internet as Global Brain, and consciousness. CONTRIBUTORS AND CHAPTER SUMMARIES With the rapid growth of research into use of the Internet in all walks of life since 1998, this original groundbreaking book on the psychology of the Internet has a new chapter added on children, with two previous chapters on self and gen- der combined into a single chapter. Some of the chapters have either entirely new authors or added or lost previous coauthors. However, in general, the original con- tributors to this seminal book have become leading lights in the area of psychol- ogy and the Internet over the eight years since it was originally published. Several have their own books out about the Internet and all continue to work online as researchers, instructors, entrepreneurs, consultants, and clinicians. What follows is a brief look at each of the chapters and authors in this volume. The fi rst chapter, “The Internet in Context” is written by Evelyn Ellerman, chair of the Centre for State and Legal Studies and Program Director of Communication Studies at Athabasca University. She is interested in the effects of technological inno- vation on narrative and in the development of book culture in island nations of the