Cognitive Scientists @ Cornell

W. Starr

Sage School of Philosophy

Bringing Social Norms Online

Evolutionarily, and developmentally, human language use begins with face-to-face interactions. This form of communication is filled with risks, but also enormous rewards. Although rarely framed in this way, our social norms for face-to-face communication are a form of social technology which aim to promote the rewards and thwart the risks. We try to be informative, speak sincerely, avoid certain topics, and much else. 

This talk will examine the ways that social media has disrupted and/or amplified these norms of communication and explore possibilities for using and challenging social norms online.