1603 Church St., San Francisco, CA 94131

Online culture

A Facebook “Friend”: What Does That Mean?

Let me share with you something that happened to me that helps illustrate the way in which “connectedness” in social networking can lie in the eye of the beholder. About ten years ago, I was working at the same place as “Diane,” and she became a short-term friendly acquaintance. Since that project ended, I hadn’t seen or talked to her for all of those years, though through community connections her name would be mentioned from time to time. And she was a “friend” of dozens of my friends on Facebook. So about a year ago, when I received a Facebook Read More →

Presentation: Counseling Internet and Online Issues

I’m presenting a program on “Counseling Internet and Online Issues” at the 2nd Virtual Conference on Counseling — in Second Life! I’ll be talking about historical context, basic psychological features of cyberspace, and applicable examples of situations. It’s next Wednesday, 9/15, at 3 pm Pacific/6 pm Eastern, at the Counselor Education in Second Life center SLURL Port Dervon 44, 65, 26. It’s free. Please stop by!

Recap: LIFE 2.0 Film Panel

I spoke on the panel “Logging Off: Are Online Games Addictive?” at the San Francisco International Film Festival. As it turned out, the group conversation served a dual purpose. It was an adjunct to a screening of the film Life 2.0, which portrays various inhabitants of Second Life, but it also opened up a larger conversation about online experiences, the nature of addiction, and when and how we might decide that our online behavior is “a problem.”

LIFE 2.0 Film Panel: Is Online Gaming Addictive?

I’ll be appearing on a panel at the San Francisco International Film Festival entitled “Logging Off: Is Online Gaming Addictive?” as an adjunct to their screening of a documentary about Second Life entitled Life 2.0: Sunday, May 2 Film: 1:00 pm Panel: 3:00 pm Sundance Kabuki Cinema 1881 Post Street San Francisco, CA 94115 Tickets to the panel are free, but require a reservation. Stop by and join the conversation! Life 2.0 at the San Francisco International Film Festival

Time Online: How Much Is Too Much?

There’s a new survey released by Rasmussen Reports — most commonly known for their political polling — that describes peoples’ perceptions of online use. The bottom-line statistic is that 23% of adults surveyed believe that they spend too much time online. Drill down the numbers, and it gets more interesting.

Cyberchondria: An Example of Misplaced Focus

Among the daily multitude of news coverage discussing the psychological and social impacts of the Internet comes an article describing “cyberchondria“: But what really ails me? Cyberchondria, loosely defined as the baseless fueling of fears and anxiety about common health symptoms due to Internet research, or, as I like to think of it, Googling oneself into a state of absolute, clinical hysteria over every last pain, itch and strange freckle on your body. It’s easy to lose our bearings on a phenomenon like this and blame the Internet itself as the new social hazard that gives rise to this condition. Read More →

Email separation anxiety

As we’ve grown accustomed to having Internet access at all times, we’ve come to expect and rely on it. So it’s not surprising that when the broadband connection goes down, the 3G network fades out, or the email client is acting up, a certain anxiety can set in. Some psychologists have even coined a whimsical term for it: “discomgoogolation.” Clinical monitoring of heavy web users revealed their brain activity and blood pressure increased markedly when they were cut off. The stress of being disconnected was equivalent to that of running half an hour late for a key meeting, being about to Read More →

PAUL SILVERMAN, MFT LPCC

Managing relationships and emotions in the 21st century can be bewildering. Visit my blog for my thoughts about mental health, relationships — online and face-to-face — and coping with everyday stressors.

LOCATE ME

Paul Silverman | Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, CA MFC49915 | Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, CA LPCC962 | California Board of Behavioral Sciences