اضطراب اجتماعی در فضای سایبری
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Purpose of the study
3. Material and methods
4. Results
5. Discussion
References
Abstract
Online disinhibition is a common phenomenon with negative implications among adolescents, but its correlates have been scarcely investigated from an integrative perspective. This study aimed to examine the relationship of two socially maladaptive personal characteristics, namely psychopathic traits and social anxiety, with online disinhibition. Furthermore, the effect of empathy (affective and cognitive) was examined through moderation analysis. The investigation was based on a context-dependent theoretical framework, according to which, the structural characteristics of cyberspace increase or decrease the expression of certain personal tendencies, thus differentiating an individual’s behavior. Overall, 1097 Greek Junior High School students from Northern Greece voluntarily completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire. After construct validity was tested, a two-step latent moderated structural equation modeling was conducted. Results showed that online disinhibition correlated negatively with all variables except affective empathy. Cognitive empathy moderated only the effect of impulsive-irresponsible traits and social anxiety on online disinhibition. Overall, findings show that students with maladaptive personality characteristics have high propensity for online disinhibition. These results can contribute significantly in understanding the phenomenon, as well as in the design of prevention programs aiming at developing the cognitive empathy of impulsive and socially anxious adolescents.
Introduction
Internet is being used widely in contemporary society for work, or recreation (e.g., Raskauskas & Stoltz, 2007). Although Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) is often used for the same purposes and with the same results as face-to-face communication, it may vary significantly due to the attributes of the used means. According to Suler (2004), the Internet is a social context with unique structural conditions and as Nevin (2015) points out, when online, many users often engage in activities that somehow deviate from their typical behaviors in the ‘real’ world. While on the Internet, users may exhibit online disinhibition (Suler, 2004), which refers to the tendency to feel less inhibition and concern for the consequences of one’s actions in the online world (Wright, Harper, & Wachs, 2018). Overall, the user may not be aware of the consequences of online behavior in the real life. Online disinhibition may lead to both positive and negative social outcomes (Bargh, 2002). Regarding the former, research suggests that it can help the user explore his/her identity, express his/her views, socialize, establish friendly and romantic relationships and feel accepted (e.g., Anolli, Villani, & Riva, 2005; Bargh, 2002; Harman, Hansen, Cochran, & Lindsey, 2005). Negative effects may include the implication of the user in antisocial or illegal activities, such as cyber-bullying (Anolli et al., 2005; Antoniadou & Kokkinos, 2013). Several studies during the last years have provided evidence regarding online disinhibition (e.g., Voggeser, Singh, & Göritz, 2018). Early studies indicated anonymity and type of Internet use as possible causal factors, but as Lapidot-Lefler and Barak (2012) point out, these cannot be the sole factors leading to this behavior, since they frequently occur in non-anonymous environments (e.g., social networks and e-mail accounts). More recent studies have suggested that the interaction between several characteristics (e.g., personal and social) may encourage online disinhibition (Lapidot-Lefler & Barak, 2015), but relevant evidence is still scarce.