[Air-l] Internet and fun/joy/pleasure

[Terri He]

Hi all

I am a Mphil/PhD student doing research on the intersection of sexuality
and technology. And just recently I got *very* intrigued by the kind of
fun/joy/pleasure that we derive from internet use- be it random
chatting, blogging, online games etc etc. I realise that this is a very
broad thing to discuss, and so as a start, I have in mind a more
communal kind of 'fun' that we're having together as a group: e.g.,
online interactions in mailing lists, message boards, or even flame wars.

I plan to pose this question to find out both more about existing
literatures related to this specific discussion (which obviously is
beyond my knowledge) and people's points of view on issues as such.

So far the ideas people and I myself have come up with are quite related
to psychoanalytic approach in which joy (jouissance) and pleasure are
two notions already prominent in that particular field. But what about
fun? I think we need an anatomy of fun. And at the same time I reckon
that it is a very American English word though it does travel to a host
of other places/cultures all the time.

Thanks in advance for any input/feedback on this.
Terri