RE: UKNM: 'higher levels of depression and loneliness'

[Steve Bowbrick]

At 10:57 04/09/98 +0100, you wrote:

>I'm being flip, but I don't like this kind of ivory-tower self-selecting,

>localised, predetermined result-in-mind-based research at all. Plus -- would

>there have been a hoohah if they'd come up with anything positive?


If this were a different research team I would have agreed but this is the

HCI INstitute team at CMU, a pioneering advocate of the online life in most

areas. Most likely that they were actually expecting the reverse of the

final result. Sponsors certainly were.


I think the implications of the research are actually quite nuanced and

interesting. The effects measured are quite tiny - certainly marginal - but

measurable so the impact may be to make us think and, hopefully, to throw

the emphasis onto products, policies and services which actively mitigate

the effects which seem to be emerging. A new ratings scheme suggests

itself: this web site rated by CMU as 'only slightly depressing'...


s

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Steve Bowbrick                                      Webmedia Group

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