Communication via Internet et dynamiques identitaires : une analyse psychosociale

The growth of Internet allowed the emergence of new spaces of exchanges and social interaction between remote individuals. These new modalities of social interactions led the researchers, in the framework of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC), to re-question the classical models and results observed from the face-to-face contacts. Through critical analysis of new models from the social psychology of the Internet, this paper offers an integrative view in order to better understand the effects of anonymity and identity management in CMC. The usefulness of a psychosocial approach in the understanding of the on-line social interactions, the implications and limitations of these works are also presented.