Flaming Hormones
Today’s NYT includes a science section essay by Daniel Goleman, author of “Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships.”
Flaming has a technical name, the “online disinhibition effect,” which psychologists apply to the many ways people behave with less restraint in cyberspace.
In a 2004 article in the journal CyberPsychology & Behavior, John Suler, a psychologist at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J., suggested that several psychological factors lead to online disinhibition: the anonymity of a Web pseudonym; invisibility to others; the time lag between sending an e-mail message and getting feedback; the exaggerated sense of self from being alone; and the lack of any online authority figure. Dr. Suler notes that disinhibition can be either benign — when a shy person feels free to open up online — or toxic, as in flaming.
His description of on-line aggression offers some incredible insights. And while not specific to the worlds of expectant and new mothers and their active on-line life on boards, blogs and such – it does make an incredible amount of sense. I can’t help but observe that the hormones plus the online disinhibition effect is a recipe for constant disaster. And we see it over and over again. Not excused, but explained. So read this and then just pop over to Urban Baby and test drive his theories!