BY 2050 THERE will be 9 billion people to feed, clothe, transport, employ and educate. We’re committed to a growth‐driven world economy that must inflate for centuries, supplying limitless consumption to everyone. With new tech, could we add a digital world that helps everyone succeed and prosper while working together? Could we become a successful world where greatness is normal? (Abelow, 2014)
The Internet was devised with the intention to connect computers rather than people. Nonetheless, people started to find social uses for this technology. Individuals were soon writing personal messages in the form of emails and online communities started sprouting up to connect people across the globe. Romantic relationships and friendships started to be initiated and to develop via digital technology – with onlookers finding it difficult to fathom that individuals could develop ‘strong ties’ with those they had not met in the physical world. As the above quote suggests, digital technologies will continue to develop and change well into the future – how the Internet will grow is yet to be determined. The ‘Internet of things’ is an example of how the world is changing as physical objects become connected, providing new opportunities for people to connect as well as live their lives. Connecting objects could potentially make life easier for us, relieving us of mundane tasks, but of course this new technology is not without its problems (e.g., security and privacy concerns).
In this book we have attempted to outline some of these changes in technology, as well as to highlight new theories that have been developed to explain the new relationships people have with technology. Researchers are not all in agreement with the potential and actual effects of digital technologies. As is evident in this book, for example, some scholars take strong positions for and against the potential psychological benefits that digital technologies afford individuals. Early on, in the field of cyberpsychology, some researchers made a distinction between the ‘real world’ and the ‘cyber world’ (often suggesting that what takes place via digital technologies is not real or is ‘nearly real’). Readers will note this distinction is made in many of the theories and studies presented in this book. This categorization, however, is becoming less useful (and some have argued that it was never an accurate description) now that much of what we do involves digital technologies. What we do in cyberspace arguably is real, and the boundaries between the physical and cyber worlds are becoming less obvious. What is perhaps more important to recognize, and research in more detail, is how our realities and lives have changed as a consequence of digital technology.
This book has attempted to provide a comprehensive examination of the topics and research covered in the area of cyberpsychology. Although the book is grounded in psychology, the topics are also relevant to those interested in media and communications, philosophy, sociology, criminology and security studies (disciplines that often incorporate psychology in their curriculums). As elucidated in this book, cyberpsychology spans a large range of topics, some of which are arguably absent in this book. We have, however, attempted to present many of the well‐researched topics as well as areas that have relevance to individuals and society at large. Where we can, we have presented real‐life examples and examined how psychology might be applied to explain specific behaviours and events that have taken place online (e.g., online radicalization, DDoS attacks, the hacker attack on Ashley Madison). In almost every chapter we have also included suggested activities and discussion questions that we hope will engage readers and class groups. Many ask readers to consider their own lives in light of the theories and empirical research presented in the book and we hope this has provided new insights into people’s lives. Moreover, we hope that these activities and questions have helped readers to take a critical stance on the current literature and helped them identify the gaps in research that require further investigation.
We began the book by presenting some of the key theories about the self and identity that were developed before there was an Internet, and proceeded to examine how these theories are relevant and/or have been adapted to explain identities in the cyber realm. In addition, we provided a critical overview of some of the new theories that have been developed about the self and identities, which have been used to explain the new opportunities cyberspace affords to re‐create the ‘self’. These theories were revisited in a number of chapters throughout the book (e.g., to explain relationship formation in online environments, children and teens’ use of digital technologies, gaming in virtual environments and various forms of online crime). Other theories that have been developed exclusively in order to explain behaviours that take place in the cyber realms have been examined throughout the book. The ‘disinhibition effect’, for example (whereby people feel less inhibited because of the nature of cyberspace), which is given attention in various sections of the book, is used to explain why people carry out some behaviours in cyberspace that they are far less likely to engage in when in the physical world.
We have attempted to cover the social and psychological benefits as well as the problems and drawbacks cyberspace has thus far had to offer. Examples of positives include new opportunities for education, meeting new people and developing relationships, and improved methods for social support and health. Nonetheless, new problems have emerged as a consequence of digital technologies; for example, the new wave of crimes, which researchers have yet to find effective strategies to prevent and deter. However, some problems have emerged simply because we have yet to gain a better understanding of how people interact with technology. Once we do, digital technologies will potentially afford even more opportunities (e.g., in the areas of education and health).
We hope the reader enjoys engaging with the book as much as we did writing it. It has been a journey for us, and writing the book has helped us to think about our own work and important areas that require further examination. We also hope it opens up new paths for you, the reader, to explore, whether in your personal lives or in your research. Cyberpsychology is a new and exciting field and one where there is ample opportunity for others to contribute to the discipline – whether in the form of students’ dissertations, academics’ research projects or more generally in people’s working and home lives.