Download NZAP 2.0 - Kyle MacDonald

NZAP 2.0
Into the Unknown:
Psychotherapy and online social
media
Kyle MacDonald
www.psychotherapy.org.nz
twitter.com/@kylemacd
“The term "Web 2.0" (2004–present) is commonly
associated with web applications that facilitate
interactive information
sharing, interoperability, user-centered
design and collaboration on the World Wide
Web. A Web 2.0 site allows its users to interact
with other users or to change website content, in
contrast to non-interactive websites where users
are limited to the passive viewing of information
that is provided to them.” Wikipedia
“Social Media is not a fad it is
a fundamental shift in the
way we communicate.”
The Local Story
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NZ usage of the internet 79.6%
In NZ, Facebook use is at 1 million (25%
population)
Facebook: 150% growth in the last year
More than half a million had been on either
Bebo or MySpace in last month
64,000 had followed Twitter in last month
http://blog.labour.org.nz/index.php/2010/01/10/social-media-and-labour/
Global Usage
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Led by Facebook, Twitter, Global Time
Spent on Social Media Sites up 82% Year
over Year (2009)
Year-over-year growth in average time
spent by U.S. users: Facebook 200% and
Twitter.com 368%
Global Usage
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Twitter.com continued its reign as the
fastest-growing in December 2009
increasing 579% 2.7 million unique visitors
in December 2008 to 18.1 million in
December 2009
Social Networking
Social Networking Sites
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Facebook
Bebo (slightly younger average age)
MySpace(more customizable; commercial)
QZone (China’s “Facebook”)
LinkedIn (Professional networking)
Many other smaller “specialty” sites
MySpace
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MySpace initially became the most
popular social networking site in
the United States in June 2006
MySpace was overtaken internationally by
its main competitor, Facebook, in April
2008, based on monthly unique visitors
If Facebook were a country…
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China:
India:
1.3 Billion
1.1 Billion
 Facebook:
472 million monthly
active users
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USA:
Indonesia:
308 million
231 million
Based on 2009 population figures.
QZone
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Chinese only social networking site 200
million active users.
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Total users of Facebook, MySpace,
Twitter, Qzone and Linkedin =
1.5 billion
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On February 4, 2004, Mark Zuckerberg
founded Facebook with his college
roommates and fellow computer science
students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin
Moskovitz and Chris Hughes while he was
a student at Harvard University.
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What made Facebook revolutionary was
the “Newsfeed” feature, creating low
maintenance connection and socialising.
Facebook was then opened on September
26, 2006 to everyone of ages 13 and older
with a valid e-mail address.
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In many ways it’s lack of flexibility has
made it more popular
Multiple applications
Popularity of photo sharing
“Smartphone” usage
It is still growing exponentially, worldwide
“A blog (a contraction of the term "web log") is a
type of website, usually maintained by an
individual with regular entries of commentary,
descriptions of events, or other material such as
graphics or video. Entries are commonly
displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog"
can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain
or add content to a blog.”
Wikipedia
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The modern blog evolved from the online
diary, where people would keep a running
account of their personal lives
The personal blog, an ongoing diary or
commentary by an individual, is the
traditional, most common blog
Personal bloggers usually take pride in
their blog posts, even if their blog is never
read
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Blogs often become more than a way to
just communicate; they become a way to
reflect on life, or works of art
As a form of journalism they remove
corporate censorship and editing
“What we have to do is deliver to people
the best and freshest most relevant
information possible. We think of Twitter as
it's not a social network, but it's an
information network. It tells people what
they care about as it is happening in the
world.”
Evan Williams Co-founder of Twitter.
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Work on the project started on March 21,
2006, when Dorsey published the first
Twitter message at 9:50 PM Pacific
Standard Time (PST): "just setting up my
twttr".
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“Micro-blogging.”
Evolved from Social networking “status
updates; text messages and blogging.
The fastest growing Web 2.0 site.
Person to person “small talk.”
It is what you make it: massive flexibility.
Social Grooming
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Social networking researcher Danah
Boyd responded to the Pear Analytics
survey by arguing that what the Pear
researchers labelled "pointless babble" is
better characterized as "peripheral
awareness" or "social grooming".
Wikipedia
The Dunbar Number
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In 1998, the anthropologist Robin Dunbar argued that
each human has a hard-wired upper limit on the number
of people he or she can personally know at one time
Dunbar noticed that ape groups tended to top out at 55
members. Since human brains were proportionally
bigger, Dunbar figured that our maximum number of
social connections would be similarly larger: about 150
on average
Are people who use Facebook and Twitter increasing
their Dunbar number, because they can so easily keep
track of so many more people?
Cited in NYTimes:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07awarenesst.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all
Ambient Awareness
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“It is, they say, very much like being
physically near someone and picking up
on his mood through the little things he
does — body language, sighs, stray
comments — out of the corner of your
eye”
Cited in NYTimes:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07awarenesst.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all
“To me, the “twitterverse” is like a river of human
awareness, composed of billions of tiny 140 character
molecules - each a snapshot of life or a thought or a
reflection. A river of pure information that equals energy,
according to the laws of quantum thermodynamics and
stochastic processes.
A river of life flowing by us as we meditate at its bank like
some Siddhartha wannabe, in tattered jeans and Oakley
sunglasses instead of orchid robes and begging bowl.
And now, after long last, we see.
We see the beauty of the river, that some now
call ambient awareness.” Moses Ma
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-tao-innovation/200903/understanding-thepsychology-twitter?page=2
Weak ties versus intimacy
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Where sociality has truly exploded was in “weak ties” —
loose acquaintances, people known less well
This rapid growth of weak ties can be a very good thing.
Sociologists have long found that “weak ties” greatly
expand your ability to solve problems
Remote acquaintances will be much more useful,
because they’re farther a field, yet still socially intimate
enough to want to help you out
Mood, and loneliness
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Initial research saw internet usage negatively and often
dismissed online socializing as lonely escapism from the
disquiet of “real” relationships
However in 2006 two studies clarified that actually time
spent online was unrelated to increased anxiety or
depression, which were measured as markers of
loneliness
Only those who already showed lowered mood and
anxiety and those who were already lonely were
negatively affected
Those who did best were those who used social media
to extend and add value to their offline relationships
Scientific American Mind Jan/ Feb 2010
Narcissism
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Study showed that those tested offline and
confirmed to have NPD traits were
“picked” as Narcissistic on Facebook
Untrained strangers were just as good at
identifying narcissists from their
Facebook page as they are at judging the
personality of their friends
Scientific American Mind Jan/ Feb 2010
Narcissism
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What did they rate?
A large number of contacts
A glamorous appearance
Staged quality to the main photo
What is unclear from the research is the casual direction:
does using social media make people more narcissistic
or is it simply a “stage” for those inclined in this way to
use
Scientific American Mind Jan/ Feb 2010
Number of Friends and Interpersonal
Impressions on Facebook
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A central feature of the online social
networking system, Facebook, is the
connection to and links among friends.
An experiment examined the relationship
between the number of friends a
Facebook profile featured and observers'
ratings of attractiveness and extraversion
Number of Friends and Interpersonal
Impressions on Facebook
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A curvilinear effect of sociometric
popularity and social attractiveness
emerged, as did a quartic relationship
between friend count and perceived
extraversion. These results suggest that
an overabundance of friend connections
raises doubts about Facebook users'
popularity and desirability
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Blogging and emotional health:
Those attracted to Blogging rate higher on
levels of distress (Myspace users)
Journaling and writing has been shown to
alleviate distress.
Is Blogging good for you?
The perceived audience effect.
Human Connection online
Relational Consistency
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Dynamically we can consider the online
world another part of “Other” in Malan’s
Triangle.
People behave online in a way that is
consistent with their offline behaviour.
Safety and Privacy
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Online relating is not innocuous: the
negative proves the positive.
The “blame the technology” effect.
The world can be a dangerous place
online and offline.
Relationship safety is the business of
psychotherapy.
Psychotherapy and Web 2.0
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What would you do if a client knocked on
your door?
Privacy: familiarize yourself with
Facebook’s privacy settings.
Use a “Company page” for a professional
presence.
Use Facebook as a way to extend your
offline personal relationships.
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Blogging is good for you.
But remember it is both public and
published. The Law applies.
Therapists: write as if any of your clients
are reading it (even though many won’t.)
Clients: Reflect, observe, process.
Blogging as mindfulness and journaling.
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Off the Couch: Blogging and Political
advocacy.
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Micro-blogging: Public space.
Again write as if everyone is reading (even
though most aren’t.)
Follow and read those who post on topics
you’re interested in.
Enter the flow and experience “Ambient
Awareness.”
Transference, clients and the
internet.
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Transference, clients and the internet.
To publish, or not to publish?
What to say, and where to say it.
How to use for maximum benefit:
Suggested guidelines.
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Facebook: private and personal
LinkedIn for professional networking.
Blog, and encourage clients to.
Twitter: see what's being said, and see
what it feels like to have something to say.
Start a conversation online and see who
joins in.
The future? NZAP 2.0
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How can we connect online, with each
other as psychotherapists?
Geographically disparate organization
“Email is dying”
Our clients will look for us online and
increasingly bring the online world as part
of their relational matrix.
Join me online!
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www.psychotherapy.org.nz
Read my Blog “Off the Couch”
Twitter.com/@kylemacd
http://nz.linkedin.com/in/kylemacd
The NZAP group on LinkedIn.