How did you get involved in IT?
When I did my PhD in psychology, I used computers for statistical analysis, which I enjoyed greatly. I couldn't understand why so many lecturers disliked computers and that sparked my interest in cyber psychology. I tried out the net in 1988, then did an MSc in computer science where everyone - I hang out with geeky people - was talking about the web. I used the Mosaic browser, a forerunner of Internet Explorer, and feel an affinity for the web, because I've watched it grow up.
How did you become a spokesperson on IT? I ran two high profile projects for Microsoft in 1998-9. During the first, a group of inexperienced internet users stayed alone in a hotel room for a week using a net terminal to source their physical and social needs. Last year, I analysed 38,373 emails from 100 individuals for Hotmail and published the results online.
Do people behave differently in cyberspace? A little. People are less inhibited than in "real life". The safety of being alone at home means we can experiment more with our personas and social stratagems. It's liberating but can also exacerbate extreme personalities.
Will the net change human behaviour permanently? Yes; it will bring us a more intimate knowledge of the lives that other people lead and shrink the world into a global village. It also makes us aware of problems that exist, which may contribute to the growing incidence of depression.
Does IT benefit people with disabilities? Blind people can use screen readers, which make full use of computer and internet facilities possible. Audio sites and MP3 players are starting to provide inexpensive collections of fiction, non-fiction and plays, useful to those whose mobility is limited. All sorts of services have become possible for people whose disabilities have cut them off from the mainstream of experience in the past.
Is there anything you hate on the net? Junk mail!
What are you currently working on? A project that looks at the problems of information overload by following a group of people for one day and their use of telephones, memos, mobile phones, faxes, the net and other types of communication.
Any favourite places on the net? As an Australian, I have a passion for Vegemite and was searching for a supplier when I came across Photomicrographs, an online gallery of exquisite pictures of magnified substances including, yes, Vegemite. Two important work related sites are the National Centre for Tactile Diagrams that lists tactile versions of diagrams, photos and maps, which are very difficult for visually impaired people to find, and www.netinvestigations.net, a site devoted to cyber psychology.
• Contact Helen Petrie at the sensory disabilities research unit www.psy.herts.ac.uk/sdru
