Lynne's essay on the ethics of doing research within various telecommunications technologies has made me wonder about some things of late. You see, I finally caved in to the dozens of American Online (AOL) promotional disks I've been getting ("Sign on tonight!") and joined up to get my "10 free hours." (Am I the only one getting these things? If non-Americans need an explanation, let me know.) Although I was a little hesitant at first to disclose my Visa card number, I gradually became comfortable with the AOL interface and services. The most interesting part of AOL for me so far is the last thing I would have expected--chatting in various "rooms" of the People Connection (people who really know me know I don't like to chat). I have been spending enormous amounts of time in rooms with names such as Thirtysomething and Trivia talking to people all over the country (I've learned that Tom Reeves' jokes bomb and Ron Zellner's jokes are a hit). I've even been bold enough to enter such dark and mysterious places as The Flirt Nook and The Romance Connection (I've only "lurked" here during my brief stays; don't worry, my wife knows--she's amused at my sudden immaturity). (I've learned an important buzz phrase of the 90s--"IM me"--I'll explain later if you want; take note that this phrase has the potential to enter the ranks of "paper or plastic?" or "do you want fries with that?"). There are literally hundreds of rooms to choose from.
What's amazing is that I think I'm actually learning something about human nature. I'm also beginning to wonder if and when people are using deception, such as not logging on as themselves but as some "alter ego." (AOL permits up to five different screen names, each capable of it's own "identity"). I'm reminded of the cartoon of two dogs at the computer terminal with the caption "On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog."
But my real question is whether sociologists are using such "rooms" for their research. I'm not a sociologist, but I'd be interested if anyone knows about/recommends books about research on this. On the very safe assumption this work is going on, I'm interested to know about the ethical guidelines sociologists follow in conducting this type of research on the Internet. After an hour chatting in a room, all I have to do is press "select all" and "copy" in order to "paste" the entire conversation into a word processor for later analysis. Would this be ethical for a sociologist to do? I can think of lots of parallel situations in everyday life--secretly recording "public" conversations in a restaurant or shopping mall (or how about receptions at educational technology conventions!). I wonder how far sociology's ethical guidelines, developed over many years, are being stretched given the dramatic and sudden ease of data gathering made possible by groups like AOL.
Oh well, time to get back to my mundane life as a college professor.....
P.S. My "10 free hours" turned into a bill last month of over $100!!!! (I think this is what Csikszentmihalyi meant by "addiction!")
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row.