My final task at Engauge was to look back on my 8-week summer internship and reflect through a blog (I know, big shocker, blogging is so rare for this company ). Though I learned A LOT this summer, I decided to create a top 5 list that describes my time spent interning in the Behavioral Research Department (aka, the BRD).

1. What are you doing on Facebook? I’m working! Always choose an internship where Facebook research is encouraged.

2. When the BRD wants to celebrate, they’re going to do it right. They decorated my cube with Clemson tiger prints! (Go Tigers!)

3. Social Networks and Virtual Worlds: stop trying to avoid them and just give in. (Read my blog if you need any justification )

4. If you learn how to use a video camera, you will be tasked with fun “Researcher on the Street” assignments. But don’t bring the camera to the Marta station or the Marta police will come after you. Trust me!

5. Interning in the BRD will give you multiple personalities.

On a slightly more serious note, after completing this internship, I am now even more thankful that I have a major in Psychology and a minor in Business Administration. I now know that I want to pursue a career in Behavioral Research. What company wouldn’t want a team of psychologists? We’ll pick the consumers’ brains, study their habits, and we can even analyze our own data!

I would like to thank everyone on the BR team. Y’all helped me learn so much more this summer than I could ever imagine learning in a class. Preparing documents + Creating surveys + conducting user experience testing = an amazing learning experience. Thanks for helping release my inner geek.

Facebook was launched when my older sister was in her senior year of college.  I remember her saying she avoided the social network because she “didn’t need another distraction.”  That’s an admirable decision; I personally have spent many hours browsing bumper stickers to avoid term papers.  I’ve had multiple friends suspend their profiles for months at a time because they “can’t get on a computer without getting on Facebook.”

A recent survey stated that “22% of firms ban social networking websites.”  Their reason?  Facebook lowers productivity.  I completely agree.  However, what would all of us do if we couldn’t get on Facebook once or twice (OK, ten times) a day? The end of the article does note that some firms use Facebook for actual work purposes, so a ban would not be feasible. Here at Engauge, we need to have access to Facebook to study it as marketers.  So what’s next?  Will there be a way for firms to add a filter to their employees’ Facebook pages so that only “approved” pages can be viewed?

I think it would be interesting to conduct an experiment where you could baseline the productivity of employees at work and college students at school.  Then, suspend their Facebook accounts and re-measure their productivity after a few months.  Are they more productive now?  Or, did they find another way to procrastinate? (Word of Warning: good luck finding participants, I know I won’t be volunteering!)

Now take a step back and think about this.  We’re addicted to a social network.  Not a website that tells us what’s going on in the world, but a social network that tells us that “Sally is excited for the weekend” and which of your friends are attending (or “maybe attending”) the party on Saturday night.  Have you ever tried to explain Facebook to someone who isn’t on Facebook?  Chances are you got the same look my parents gave me, which is utter confusion and astonishment at the amount of time I’ve invested being on Facebook.

So why do we invest all of this time and energy into Facebook and other social networks (keep in mind that many of us are maintaining multiple social networking accounts)?  Below is a picture of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.  Maslow says that there are five levels of needs; each level needs to be fulfilled before we can move on (and up) to the next level.

So if you’re on Facebook, it can be assumed that your Physiological and Safety needs have been met, otherwise, how and why are you on a computer?  The next level is Love and Belongingness (i.e., Social Needs). Does Facebook really make us a sense of love and belongingness? I believe it does. When your friends write on your wall or send you a bumper sticker, it means they were thinking about you.  Come on, admit it, you love getting notification emails from Facebook.

Recent research has indicated that in-world interactions in virtual spaces have improved users real world social skills.  So I believe that Facebook, while still the primary cause of my procrastination, has its benefits.  Facebook is similar to other virtual worlds or online games in this respect: it gives shy users a level playing field.  While some people may be too shy to go out and interact with strangers, the use of a computer makes the situation much less intimidating.

So in the end, we all must decide for ourselves if Facebook is a friend or foe.  I vote friend!

Until recently, I didn’t understand the hype that surrounds virtual worlds. It was not until reading a recent article on virtual in-world therapy that I realized the incredible opportunities that virtual worlds have to offer.

People use in-world therapy sessions for a number of reasons. In-world therapy has become so popular thanks to the ease of finding someone who shares your concerns and/or issues. According to Second Life’s Health Support Coalition, there are more than 70 health support groups. Second Life offers islands that were created by medical institutions, such as Jokaydia II by the Online Therapy Institute. Other support group and therapeutic islands were created by peers looking for a cathartic outlet.

Coming from a small town, rare diseases were, well, rare. It’s safe to say that when my friend from high school was diagnosed with Lupus during our junior year, our friends had trouble relating. We all obviously cared for her, but we couldn’t come close to giving her the type of advice and support that her friends in a virtual world were. She met people who, like her, had just been diagnosed, as well as people who have been living with Lupus for years. The article that I read made me realize why, even after all these years she remains so committed to her in-world support groups.

Additionally, the anonymity factor is extremely important. Being from a small town, I understand that there is no such thing as a secret. Everyone knows everyone’s business. So when a mother of three children goes to group therapy for substance abuse, the rumor mill goes into overdrive. In order to avoid having her dirty laundry aired in front of the whole town, she keeps her mouth shut and a smile on her face. Now, thanks to virtual worlds, she has an anonymous outlet for her inner turmoil.

Unfortunately, many health care institutions still don’t recognize many psychological disorders. Even when health insurance companies recognize behavioral health issues, they limit the number of visits to a therapist and the client usually has high copayments. Yet people suffering from anxiety and depression may have found an outlet. Without the added stress of expensive doctors visits and medication, people can let out their frustrations and worries during their in-world therapy sessions. Most sessions are peer-based, so like my friend with Lupus, these patients are able to learn from others who are fighting the same battle. Other sessions are monitored by medical associations.

The cathartic relief found at in-world support groups rivals the same results patients get from spending hundreds of dollars with a therapist. Furthermore, the convenience factor is unbeatable. Need to talk at 1am? Chances are good that someone else is in the same boat. Can’t get away from work or the kids? A support group is just a few clicks away.

So what’s next for in-world therapy? Real-world therapists recognize the opportunities and have started to offer their direct services in virtual worlds…for a price, of course. So will in-world sessions with a therapist become more popular than traditional visits? Maybe not right away, but this will definitely be an interesting trend to watch.