Skeptics of the Internet worry that without face-to-face contact, people will bond better with their computers than with other humans. But research shows that the virtual world may give isolated individuals the chance to connect with other people for the first time.
Newsgroups are on-line areas where participants sound off on topics via e-mail postings. In three studies, Katelyn McKenna, Ph.D., and John Bargh, Ph.D., of New York University's psychology department, observed three types of newsgroup users: people with mainstream interests (i.e. cooking); those with visible qualities considered culturally inferior (like excess weight); and individuals with hidden, socially stigmatized identities, like homosexuals and fans of sexual bondage or spanking.
The researchers noticed that people in the last category deemed involvement in newsgroups more important to their lives than other Internet denizens. That's because people with unconventional identities can't easily find others like them, McKenna explains. They tend to keep their proclivities hidden and miss out on social interaction as a result. Active newsgroup users also felt less estranged from society than "lurkers" who read message postings but didn't join the discussion. Getting recognition from others in the group--acceptance hard to find invisible society--gives them the courage to display their true selves, says McKenna. And 37% of newsgroup users with closeted sexual identities tracked in the study were ultimately inspired to reveal their secret to loved ones. Ironically, write McKenna and Bargh, participants were motivated to integrate their Internet life into their real life.
