Chatroom Study By University

A NEW research group to study the impact of the internet and related technology on everyday lives has been launched by university psychologists.

The Wolverhampton Internet and Technology Society (WITS) has been set up by members of the School of Applied Sciences at the University of Wolverhampton.

They will investigate a range of sociopsychological issues such as online relationships, online gambling and property speculation in virtual cities.

The group is coordinated by senior lecturer Dr Chris Fullwood, whose research has focused on chatroom behaviour, social support online and online impression management.

He said: “We hope to provide a forum to promote the academic and applied study of the impact of the internet and related technologies on everyday lives.

“We envisage the scope of possible areas of research to be quite extensive, including opinions on acceptable online behaviour and the effectiveness of internet support forums.”

For further information, visit www.wlv.ac.uk/ psychology and follow the link to the Wolverhampton Internet and Technology Society.

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