Internet

      In recent years the Internet has rapidly expanded. The superhighway of the World Wide Web has made it easier for people to do a number of different activities such as shop, gather information, keep up to date on current events and entertainment, and communicate with others electronically (Kraut & Mukhopadhyay 1999).
      Electronic mail (e-mail), an aspect of the Internet, is rapidly replacing the older styles of communication, like letters and the telephone (Kraut & Mukhopadhyay 1999). Families use e-mail to keep in contact, as do businesses, friends, and even complete strangers. When e-mailing to someone, though it is an immediate means to communicate, it does not necessarily mean the person’s e-mail will be responded to without delay. However, Internet
companies with their explosive growth of the Internet have created newer and faster ways to communicate (Zagorsky 1997), like that of Instant Messenger.
Instant Messenger. Assuming that Instant Messenger is a part of the Internet, much of the research done on the Internet can be similar to research that could be done on Instant Messenger. Instant Messenger is a means of simultaneous communication between two people. It is the latest mode of communication via the Internet that offers people an immediate
method to engage in a type written manner of conversation with another person. Within seconds people can send and receive messages. This quickens the pace of the Internet. In doing so the Internet has replaced the need to rely on conventional telephones as much to talk to their friends and family (Kraut & Mukhopadhyay 1999), instead Instant Messenger can be used. Internet companies such as America On Line (AOL), Yahoo, and Microsoft Network (MSN)
have noticed an increase in the use of the Instant Messenger services. The companies have consequently kept these services up to date so that using Instant Messenger is an easy and fun approach to correspond with people (U.S. News & World Report 1999).
     The Internet is rapidly becoming the universal mode of interpersonal communication (Kraunt & Mukhopadhyay 1999). This includes the Instant Messenger services. Since Instant Messenger in particular can be used to communicate more readily, questions have been posed about the possible effects it may have on the people using it. 
      According to Kraut (1999) the social impact of the Internet has been hard to predict due to its versatility. It has, however, subtle social changes that can be seen. Use of Instant Messenger for inter-communication has lead to problems. According to a study directed by psychologist Robert Kraut and Carnegie Mellon, the users of Internet and e-mail have become more
isolated with increased use (Science News 1998). Instant messages are often misunderstood and add to the isolation. The miscommunication happens because people are responding to words on a screen (Newsweek 2000), not a physical person that has facial expressions and various tonalities in his of her voice that can be read more easily face-to-face or even on the phone.
     The increasing isolation due to Instant Messenger misunderstandings and miscommunications also has implications on social skills. If people are using Instant Messenger more frequently, social skills of everyday people become diminished due to the lack of physical contact made in inter-communication. With increased contact through Instant Messenger and
decreased contact physically, social skills are not developing in a manner that is conducive to social norms. The break down of social skills can lead to so much more than not being able to carry a simple communication with someone in person.
     In an article in Science News (1998) that summarized the work of Kraunt et al, the article suggested teenagers who frequently use the Internet and e-mail have reported feeling of being isolated and lonely more often than other teenagers who do not use the Internet and e-mail as often. Adolescents, more so than adults, find it easier to withdraw from social contact with others by escaping to the uses of the Internet. Using the Internet as a means of escape implies there is psychological and emotional side effects to Internet use, which implicates Instant Messenger, the new wave in Internet communication, could also have similar effects.

Loneliness

     One psychological and emotional side effect of Internet use is loneliness (Van Baarsen, Snijders, Gronigen, Smit, Van Duijin 2001). However, there is little information on how it affects users of Instant Messenger. Loneliness itself is an experienced lack of social contacts and
intimacy in interpersonal relationships. It has been explained as an inconsistency between actual and desired interpersonal relationships.
     There has been confusion in the past with the difference between loneliness and aloneness. The wanting and desiring to be alone, which is characterized by aloneness is different from loneliness, which is the feelings of being lonely because of a lack of connectedness. Someone who is experiencing feelings of loneliness may spend lots of time alone, but not
because they want or desire to. They are alone because of an inability to make friends, an inability to communicate with others, and/or feelings of being excluded or feelings of not having anyone to talk to. It has been theorized that people are born with the need to be alone and the need to be connected. Aloneness is a part of human development and growth (Buchholz & Catton 1999). Aloneness is not a negative aspect of life, where as loneliness is perceived to be negative.
     To further define loneliness and distinguish it from other closely related topics, such as solitude and aloneness, makes the definition and function of loneliness less confusing. Solitude is the objective circumstance of being alone. It is defined by expansive separation from
others (Buchholz & Catton 1999). Loneliness, on the other hand, is a subjective state.
    Approaches to loneliness. Like other aspects of psychological and emotional states, loneliness can be viewed through different approaches. The Psychoanalytic Approach sees loneliness as a devastating, and enduring experience, which stems from infancy. Loneliness is the hostile need for others, when a person maintains exaggerated infantile feelings of personal
supremacy and self-absorption and yearns for constant attention (Buchholz & Catton 1999).
     The Existential Approach views humans as ultimately alone. This approach focuses on the way in which people cope with loneliness since it is an unavoidable aspect of life. It considers loneliness as two-dimensional (Buchholz & Catton 1999). This dimensionality is the distinction between loneliness anxiety and true loneliness. Loneliness anxiety is closely related to the actual definition of loneliness where as true loneliness is a healthy need to be alone.
     The Interactional Approach views loneliness as a result of personality and situational factors. This approach also perceives loneliness as two-dimensional, with the two dimensions being emotional loneliness and social loneliness. Emotional loneliness, subjective in nature, states that loneliness is a reaction to the lack of generalized attachment figure, which is yet to be experienced. In adolescents, parents are replaced with peers as attachment figures. It is the lack of peers to substitute parental attachment that leads to loneliness. Social loneliness is a secondary effect of a deficit that leads to a break or interruption of the social network, like that of relocation (Buchholz & Catton 1999).
     Many factors influence loneliness, like the interactionalists believed. Characterological and historical causes of loneliness are due to two factors, personal inadequacies and developmental deficits. Personal inadequacies include stable personal characteristics such as low self-esteem, mistrust, fear of intimacy and social uneasiness. Developmental deficits look at development and familial antecedents as a function of loneliness. These antecedents include the degree of functionality in the home, the amount of emotional distance, and the quantity of psychological and physical abuse (Rokach 2000).
     Experiential and situational factors also play a role in loneliness. Unfulfilling intimate relationships, relocation and significant separation, and social marginality are the three dimensions of the experiential and situation factors. Unfulfilling intimate relationships recognize the impression of disappointment, and cruel and/or emotionally abusive
interpersonal friendships on the development of loneliness. Relocation and significant separation look at the degree to which loss of or change in interpersonal relationships by relocation impacts loneliness and its development. Finally, the aspect of social marginality addresses social rejection whether perceived or real and its effect on loneliness (Rokach
2000).
     These factors described above were developed from research that determined loneliness has five specific factors. This five-factor theory consists of social inadequacy and alienation, self- alienation, growth and development, emotional stress, and interpersonal isolation and withdrawal. The definitions of these five factors are consistent with the aforementioned
aspects of loneliness. Research suggests that loneliness is an experience that humans have throughout life. It is however its duration and intensity that happen in different stages of life (Rokach & Brock 1997). 
     Age differences in loneliness. Research suggests there is an age difference found in loneliness. Research has found adolescents and young adults score higher on loneliness measures than adults and seniors (Rokach 2000). Adolescents and young adults also score high is the area of relocation factors that determine loneliness. This time in life for
adolescents is a period of storm and stress and of moving on and away from family and friends. The absence of close meaningful relationships contributes to the feelings of isolation and loneliness.
     College freshmen are a good example of adolescents that are in a state of relocation. Most often this is their first time being away from their parent(s) and friends. It is a difficult time filled with emotions both positive and negative. It is also a time where they have yet to establish stable interpersonal relationships. This adds to feelings of loneliness and isolation. Many college freshmen use Instant Messenger to try to keep in touch with family and friends, which in turn may lead to more loneliness. The current study hypothesizes that the relationship between Instant Messenger use and loneliness will be positively correlated among college
freshmen.