Cyberpsychology and Advocacy

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Cyberpsychology and Advocacy

Alexis Bernard Department of Psychology, Norfolk State University PSY-520 Dr. Debb Scott Ed.D., LPC June 24, 2022

2 Abstract The blend of new media and an individual’s mental process can have a generally positive effect on cyberspaces as researchers and practitioners make realizations of detectible online experiences. In the context of cyberpsychology, guidance and recommendations from experts can limit harmful or exploitive digital experiences, which in turn enrich the experience of social media users. By refining familiar standards and reports of technical advocacy and online communication, one can make informed decisions that protect individuals from harm in online communities. Emerging technology trends are determined by the needs and interests of participants to interconnect end-users with appropriate data and tools. The outcome of this process can be amplified and easily communicated through popular social media platforms.

Keywords: cyberpsychology, new media, media psychology, cognitive psychology, interpersonal communication, technology, social media

3 Today’s emerging adults spent their adolescent years surrounded by digital communication tools, as they are the first generation to incorporate text-based communication into their daily lives (Sherman et al., 2013). Online engagements allow tech-literate individuals to be united by the notion of social inclusion and advanced tools that work well beyond the scope of traditional communication. In reality, digital consumers play an integral role in the development of cyberspace. With recognizable progress being made in the technology field, businesses and individuals have adapted to fundamental cultural shifts resulting in explorative media platforms as well as customizable online personas that fuel both conventional and unconventional forms of technology that are primarily utilized for communication.

Introduction One preceding aspect of technical adaption involves the concept of moving in accordance with functional mainframes. Despite our remarkable ability to utilize tools and technologies to improve our lives in many ways, humans are constrained by the evolutionary context in which human social interaction developed (Sherman et al., 2013). Notably, different communities that navigate online may have limited access to tools, resources, and time. These factors can affect the ability of individuals to experience optimized digital experiences. Accordingly, differences in cyberspace may distinguish how well one can navigate throughout online spaces. Just as organizations must develop clear guidelines for utilizing online data, individuals have the responsibility of diligently understanding the potential benefits and risks of collaborating with a range of digital audiences.

4 Ethical Considerations The immense safety of individuals and organizations should be a primary objective within any aspect of technology, namely in social media. There are two distinct problems associated with the conceptualization of social media. For one, the broad array of social media sites have been and continue to be developed, abandoned, ignored, and reconceptualized day by day in different countries and at different levels of public awareness. Making another point, social media have enabled forms and benefits of communication processes that when described generally can be regarded as similar to capabilities enabled by more traditional media technologies (Jonathan A. Obar et al., 2012). These issues accurately identify what researchers and practitioners must address to successfully develop lasting mainframes on social media platforms.

Implications By taking a qualitative approach, one can show how the “theories of social change and human development” (Greenfield, 2013) directly influence the function of digital infrastructures.

These theories directly relate to the cultural values, behaviors, and psychological implications of individuals. Communication by social media platforms corresponds to the needs and mental processes of end-users. In particular, this phenomenon affects a range of industries and studies have been conducted by reputable technology companies to analyze the experiences of individuals. Examples include contributions to digital mainframes and cyber laws from popular social media sites including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. With this purpose, appropriate actions can then be taken to develop new standards that exemplify the values and standards of participants. Recent research on computer-mediated communication has consistently

5 demonstrated the importance of self-disclosure in online interaction (Vossen et al., 2017). The feedback individuals provide assists researchers who work with big data to educate and protect social media users. Pursuing this further, despite its important role in online communication, online feedback has received relatively little attention in research to date, especially in relation to self-esteem (Vossen et al., 2017). This may present limitations on how research may be conducted, but with considerable changes to society since the emergence of the pandemic, more emphasis is being placed on specified studies that focus on current prevailing issues. Both reductions in social connection and changes in social relationships with the move to online interactions during COVID-19 have important implications for social well-being (Scott et al., 2022). Studies on the dependence on technology for communication needs have significantly gained momentum since 2020. COVID-19 results suggest that under some circumstances, longterm communication habits and emotional experiences during communication may be related (Sherman et al., 2013). Once again, it appears that researchers have the shared responsibility of ensuring end-users safely utilize social media while identifying trends that aren’t always easily recognizable. Despite the importance of such measures to combat the spread of the virus, each of these can present barriers to our typical or ‘normal’ methods of interacting with close others and for many people, these changes have incited an unprecedented shift in the management of personal relationships, and reductions in social connection (Scott et al., 2022).

Advocacy Being an advocate involves the scientific investigation of behavior online from the foundation of developing behaviors such as cyber juvenile delinquency to profiling typologies for evolutions of criminal behaviors. Advocates explore machine intelligence solutions to big

6 data problems and intelligence amplification solutions to various online offenses (Aiken, 2017, p. 7). An interesting area of research for advocates concerns how our motivations can be shipped by technological architecture. Although the drive to express and connect is likely a universal one, the manifestation of such a drive is framed by cultural concerns (Atrill-Smith et al., 2019, p.

181). Overall, advocates objectively promote the sharing of digital learning resources and want to make the technology accessible to various populations. Advocates promote meaningful, positive digital interactions and aim to empower end-users. To clearly define, there are many paths that an advocate may take within the technology field, but the main objective is to design and implement workable solutions to provide opportunities for individuals. To emphasize, these considerable efforts can appropriately enhance personal experiences and connect individuals while in digital spaces.

Conclusion One can substantially conclude that the concept of “advocacy” goes well beyond the notion of advocating for, championing, or supporting a specific viewpoint or cause (Jonathan A. Obar et al., 2012). Technical practitioners must substantially navigate through the internet to identify online accessibility issues for vulnerable communities. There have been numerous initiatives in which advocacy organizations have successfully used the internet to organize, mobilize, and effect change (Jonathan A. Obar et al., 2012). Some of these initiatives involve utilizing multicultural psychology and going to exceptional measures to unify individuals, while addressing concerns that can directly impact individuals. Unfortunately, none of the systems created so far has reached the common goal of supplying the participants with an environment that allows natural interaction (Slovák, 2007). Ultimately, education takes place at home around

7 practical skills. Education centers on school and the development of the mind (Greenfield, 2013).

With this being established, greater importance in education and advocacy are unifying aspects that should be highlighted within social media. Given that, the positive aspects of current technology trends have the potential to culturally shift the way we communicate and behave in digital environments. Advocates use resourcefulness and proficiency to exchange information, configure data, and modify guidelines to substantially add clarity to digital environments. These skillful individuals use positive social influence to help standardize online domains and develop aligned cyber systems.

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References Aiken, M. (2017). Cyber effect. (p. 7). John Murray Publishers Lt. Atrill-Smith, A., Fullwood, C., Keep, M., & Kuss, D. J. (2019). The Oxford handbook of cyberpsychology. (p. 181) Oxford University Press.

Greenfield, P. M. (2013). The Changing Psychology of Culture From 1800 Through 2000.

Psychological Science, 24(9), 1722–1731. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23484672 Jonathan A. Obar, Paul Zube, & Clifford Lampe. (2012). Advocacy 2.0: An Analysis of How Advocacy Groups in the United States Perceive and Use Social Media as Tools for Facilitating Civic Engagement and Collective Action. Journal of Information Policy, 2, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.5325/jinfopoli.2.2012.0001 Scott, R. A., Stuart, J., Barber, B. L., O’Donnell, K. J., & O’Donnell, A. W. (2022). Social connections during physical isolation: How a shift to online interaction explains friendship satisfaction and social well-being. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 16(2). https://doi.org/10.5817/cp2022-2-10 Sherman, L. E., Michikyan, M., & Greenfield, P. M. (2013). The effects of text, audio, video, and in-person communication on bonding between friends. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.5817/cp2013-2-3

9 Slovák, P. (2007). Effect of Videoconferencing Environments on Perception of Communication.

Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 1(1). https:// cyberpsychology.eu/article/view/4205 Vossen, H. G. M., Koutamanis, M., & Walther, J. B. (2017). An experimental test of the effects of online and face-to-face feedback on self-esteem. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 11(4). https://doi.org/10.5817/cp2017-4-1