2. Crossing Geographical Boundaries
If you are in the United States and someone else in a chat room is from Russia, you can communicate with them as fast as you would if they were on a computer next door. The Internet has the unique ability to make geographic boundaries irrelevant. This has both good and bad consequences.
    People who would otherwise never meet, due to geographic barriers, now have a chance to communicate. If a person has an extremely rare disease or medical disorder, he or she may be able to find a support group or Web site listing thousands of people worldwide that share the same illness, and unearth all kinds of valuable information on research and treatment pertinent to their condition. On the flip side, someone who might have disturbing anti-social obsessions or behaviors may be able to find others on the Internet with the same interests. This connection could be used as a supportive means to overcome the behavior, or as a means of reinforcement for the negative behavior. (See Anti-Social Behavior on this Web site)

3. The Physical Senses
Cyberspace is limited in every sensory experience humans have. One cannot smell or touch another user on the Internet. The Internet does provide the means by which you can see and hear another user; however, the technology is not advanced enough to make these sensory experiences as stimulating as in real life.
    Relationships become more intellectual and descriptive when two individuals communicating via the Internet cannot pick up the nuances of body language, inflections, or tone of voice. The debate about the significance of Internet relationships is discussed further in another section of the page. (See Real Life vs. Cyber Relationships on this Web page)

4. The Disclosure of Identity & Anonymity
On the Internet, people can pass themselves off as almost anything or can just sit back and observe, becoming completely invisible. With the limited sensory experience the Internet provides, people have much more control over how they present themselves to other users. Some people may choose to alter their name, appearance, or even gender -- without the other users knowing the difference. Other people may go on-line and be themselves; however, they also have the option of withholding information about themselves that may not want to share. The information they want to hide may be something that would stand out if they had a face-to-face communication. Examples include a particular behavior, physical appearance, or even age.
     Users have the option to remain anonymous. This has both positive and negative consequences. People may use anonymity to act out negative behavior, since their identity is dissociated from what they do. An example of this would be someone who harasses other users in a chat room for fun, with the knowledge that their identity is kept secret. Other people may use this as a means to get through a problem without other people knowing who they are. An example of this may be a homosexual who needs to uses the Net as a way to talk about his or her concerns with others, without fully revealing his or her identity. (See Anonymity on this Web page)

5. Effects of Time
Two types of Internet communication are synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous communication occurs when two people are communicating with each other at the same time. This occurs in chat rooms, Internet phoning, or video conferencing. Asynchronous communication occurs when a longer stretch of time exists between messages.
    Examples of asynchronous communication include e-mail and newsgroups. With both kinds of communication (excluding Internet phoning and video conferencing), a stretch of time exists when users can think about their response, instead of being put on the spot to reply immediately. This "zone" time is different, depending on the form of communication. When using e-mail and newsgroups, responses can take hours or days. Chat rooms give you a period of several seconds up to several minutes to respond.
    When looking at this big picture, Internet communication allows more time for people to gather their thoughts and think about what they are saying. This may be why some people enjoy the interactive aspect of the Internet. People are more likely to think about what they say before they write back.

6. A New Way to Meet People
Logging onto the Internet allows users to have contact with a wide assortment of personality types. Within these hundreds of thousands of people are users who share strange and unusual interests, and the Internet allows them to find each other much more easily.
     Another interesting finding with users of the Internet is that they often will literally 'pick and choose' people that they wish to connect with -- as friends, enemies, or lovers. This selection process is amplified due to the thousands of people with very different personalities, interests, and quirks. Choices are made either consciously or unconsciously and may even reflect one's own needs and feelings.
     Since Internet relationships lack sensory inputs, fantasy is typically involved. One user may project his or her own dreams, hopes, fears, and desires upon another user. This projection of emotions and feelings is known as transference. (See Transference Reactions on this Web page.)

7. Permanent Records
The Internet has one unique aspect about its communication style that is very different from face-to-face discussion; it is recorded. The Internet user is able to keep records of what has been discussed, how it was said, and to whom it was said. In essence, the relationships users have with other users are historic documents about that relationship.
     A positive component to permanent records is that people can look back on written letters and reflect on sentimental words to rekindle special feelings. On the flip side, if users act impulsively or inappropriately when chatting, their words are permanent and documented. Their actions, however spontaneous, become a permanent record people look back on, to have a different kind of 'rekindled' emotions.
     People will react differently to the same document read twice. In face-to-face conversation, this is not possible. When people communicate, they may misinterpret phrases due to their state of mind or mood. With recorded documents, people can re-read what has been said and get an entirely different meaning.

8. Altered States of Consciousness
Cyberspace is a 'place' different from any other place in the 'real world.' Internet users are sitting and typing on a keyboard expressing thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Looking at Internet use subjectively, some people might argue that this is an altered state of consciousness. When a user is talking to someone in a chat room, they may feel as if the person were right next door. They also may feel as if they are not really sitting at a desk typing, but somewhere else having a legitimate conversation with the other person or people.
     In some ways, the Internet is an escape from the real world. Everything is different and the possibilities are seemingly endless for encounters and new experiences. The possibility of a fantasy world that is very different from 'real life' may be one reason why the Internet is so attractive. This is also one reason why people may become addicted to the Internet. (See Are You Addicted to the Internet? on this Web site.)

9. The Language of Cyberspace
The final unique aspect of the Internet is its language. Just as there are different languages for different cultures, people use a different kind of language when sending and communicating in TextTalk.
     One reason for this language difference is the lack of sensory expressions that can be sent and received over the Net. People are used to picking up sarcasm by the inflection in another person's voice. One may find it difficult to pick up sarcasm in written text, unless the writer makes a clear point that they are being sarcastic. In this situation, someone may use a symbol such as a smiley face made from a colon and parentheses, i.e. :) This symbol may help clear up a confusing message or relay an emotional signal to the receiver.
     Other symbols may include faces or body parts, exclamation points, arrows, capital letters, etc. Distinct language markers on the Internet include acronyms like LOL (laugh out loud), AFK (away from keyboard), LTNS (long time no see), BRB (be right back), etc. These not only cut down on typing, but can also relay a message that states emotions.
     Additional expressions used may be "hehe"to express a laugh or "argh" or grunt. To describe body movements, people will often use "parenthetical action." This may be a "wink," "blushing," or doing a " backflip." These add to the message being sent so that the receiver better understands the intent of the message.
     In summary, the language of Cyberspace needs to be different, in order to make up for the lack of sensory experience. Messages will have more meaning if followed by specific language markers. Senders can also get their point across more clearly if they are knowledgeable about the many markers available to convey a message that is more than just written text.