{"id":69019,"date":"2023-07-18T00:13:37","date_gmt":"2023-07-18T04:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=69019"},"modified":"2023-07-18T00:13:37","modified_gmt":"2023-07-18T04:13:37","slug":"why-am-i-online-research-shows-its-often-about-managing-emotions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/why-am-i-online-research-shows-its-often-about-managing-emotions\/","title":{"rendered":"Why am I online? Research shows it\u2019s often about managing emotions"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nMost of us\u00a0go online<\/a>\u00a0multiple times a day. About half of 18\u201329 year olds surveyed in a 2021\u00a0Pew Research Study<\/a>\u00a0said they are \u201calmost constantly\u201d connected.<\/p>\n

How are we to make sense of this significant digital dimension of modern life?<\/p>\n

Many questions have rightly been asked about its broader consequences for society and the economy. But there remains a simpler question about what motivates people across a range of ages, occupations and cultures to be so absorbed in digital connection.<\/p>\n

And we can turn this question on ourselves:\u00a0why am I online?<\/em><\/p>\n

What are we doing when we go online?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

As the American sociologist Erving Goffman\u00a0pointed out<\/a>, asking \u201cWhat is it that\u2019s going on here?\u201d about human behaviour can yield answers framed at different levels. These range from our superficial motives to a deeper understanding of what we are \u201creally\u201d doing.<\/p>\n

Sometimes we might be content to explain our online behaviour in purely practical terms, like checking traffic routes or paying a bill. Other times we might struggle to articulate our reasons for going or remaining online.<\/p>\n

Why are we continually looking at our phones or computers, when we could be getting on with physical tasks, or exercising, or meditating, or engaging more fully with the people who are physically around us?<\/p>\n

The ever-present need to manage our emotions<\/strong><\/h4>\n

As researchers of human-computer interaction, we are exploring answers in terms of the ever-present need to manage our emotions. Psychologists refer to this activity as\u00a0emotion regulation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Theories of the nature and function of emotions are complex and contested. However, it is safe to say they are expressions of felt needs and motivations that arise in us through some fusion of physiology and culture.<\/p>\n

During a typical day, we often feel a need to\u00a0alter our emotional state<\/a>. We may wish to feel more serious about a competitive task or more sad at a funeral. Perhaps we would like to be less sad about events of the past, less angry when meeting an errant family member, or more angry about something we know in our heart is wrong.
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