Learning to walk and talk (again): what developmental psychology can teach us about online intersubjectivity

Osler, Lucy and Ekdahl, David 2024. Learning to walk and talk (again): what developmental psychology can teach us about online intersubjectivity. Philosophical Explorations 27 (2) , pp. 237-250. 10.1080/13869795.2024.2344981 Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Since the advent of the internet, researchers have been interested in the intersubjective possibilities and constraints that digital environments offer users. In the literature, we find some who argue that seemingly disembodied digitally mediated interactions are severely limited when compared to their embodied face-to-face counterparts and others who are more optimistic about the possibilities that such technologies afford. Yet, both camps tend towards offering what we see as static accounts of online intersubjectivity – accounts that attempt to determine the very possibilities and constraints of digital platforms based upon their design. What we think these approaches fail to take into account is how users’ intersubjective capabilities on digital platforms can evolve and change over time. Developmental psychology emphasises the way in which intersubjective capabilities build upon and are interrelated to one another, allowing for more sophisticated styles of intersubjectivity to emerge only once earlier stages are already in place. We find this suggestive for analysing intersubjectivity online as it provides a framework for thinking about how various an individual’s intersubjective capabilities might develop. We argue that in some cases this can happen through gradual adjustments of our basic intersubjective capabilities to digital spaces, especially those that strive to mimic established forms of offline interaction (e.g., Zoom). In other cases, this can involve more substantial processes of learning to walk and talk again online. Consequently, determining the possibilities and limits of online intersubjectivity is, at least in part, relative to a user’s skill, history, and familiarity with the technology in question.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	English, Communication and Philosophy
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
Publisher:	Taylor and Francis Group
ISSN:	1386-9795
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	26 April 2024
Date of Acceptance:	18 April 2024
Last Modified:	12 Jun 2024 16:34
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/167632

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