Mind Change: How Digital Technologies Are Leaving Their Mark on Our Brains

1. Mind Change poses and answers questions using empirical, epidemiological, testimonial, and anecdotal evidence. While all of these styles of evidence are included in the book, the latter three are used mostly to develop questions, whereas significant weight is given to empirical research to answer them. It is not claimed that the research collated here is either a systematic or an exhaustive review of the literature. Studies published up to July 2013 were eligible for inclusion. Preference was given to meta-analyses and peer-reviewed journal publications in instances where the research field of the topic was established. Preference was given to higher-ranking journals where applicable. For areas of research that are brand-new, and for which few peer-reviewed publications yet exist, less robust literature such as conference proceedings and technical reports were consulted. It is important to remember that the scientific field lags behind technological advances and that the speed at which the cyberworld changes creates significant challenges for this area of research. Where possible, preference was given to studies that used the most current forms of technology. Throughout Mind Change, notes contain additional references and comments on various topics. Readers are strongly encouraged to source the papers discussed here and beyond, as Mind Change is designed as a current snapshot of the literature only.

2. An Australian digital publisher, Sound Alliance, recently commissioned a national survey of some two thousand people between the ages of sixteen and thirty: Mahony, M. (April 22, 2013). Sound Alliance reveals results of national youth research project [blog post]. Retrieved from http://thesoundalliance.net/blog/sound-alliance-reveals-results-of-national-youth-research-project). Among the participants, who typically had an undergraduate degree or at least secondary education to the age of eighteen, 53 percent looked to social media, rather than TV or newspapers for their news, while 93 percent used Facebook daily even though 22 percent of them thought it a “waste of time.” Meanwhile, 89 percent of respondents said they had not yet found a passion or purpose in life but were still searching for it. Of course this continuing quest may well apply to most of humanity, but perhaps more telling is that it is “FOMO” (the fear of missing out) and “FONK” (the fear of not knowing) that drives them constantly to check their phones for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter feeds, and new emails and texts. Stig Richards, the creative director at Sound Alliance, summed it up: “They have so much information coming in through aggregation, principally Facebook, that they are working very hard to keep up with the constant flow.… So they aren’t able to attribute time and energy into specific passions, to the extent that maybe people could before social media was so pervasive.… The youth of today are living their lives one mile wide and one inch deep.” (Munro, K. [April 20, 2013]. Youth skim surface of life with constant use of social media. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/youth-skim-surface-of-life-with-constant-use-of-social-media-20130419-2i5lr.html).

3. World Economic Forum. (2013). Global risks report 2013 (8th ed.). Retrieved from http://reports.weforum.org/global-risks-2013.

4. Department for Work and Pensions. (2011). Differences in life expectancy between those aged 20, 50 and 80 in 2011 and at birth. Retrieved from http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/adhoc_analysis/2011/diffs_life_expectancy_20_50_80.pdf.

5. World Health Organization. (2008). WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2008: The MPOWER package. Retrieved from www.who.int/tobacco/mpower/mpower_report_full_2008.pdf.

6. Schwartz, M. (August 3, 2008). The trolls among us. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/magazine/03trolls-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.

7. Nisbett, R. E., and Wilson, T. D. (1977). Telling more than we can know: Verbal reports on mental processes. Psychological Review 84, 231–259. Reprinted in D. L. Hamilton (Ed.) (2005). Social cognition: Key readings. New York: Psychology.

8. Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, Digital Immigrants: Part 1. On the Horizon 9, 1–6. doi:10.1108/10748120110424816.

9. Keen, A. (2007). The cult of the amateur. London: Nicholas Brealey, pp. xiii–xiv.

10. Selwyn, N. (2009). The Digital Native—myth and reality. Aslib Proceedings: New Information Perspectives 61, no. 4, 364–379. doi:10.1108/00012530910973776.

11. KidScape. (2011). Young people’s cyber life survey. Retrieved from http://www.kidscape.org.uk/media/79349/kidscape_cyber_life_survey_results_2011.pdf, p. 1.

12. Kang, C. (December 10, 2013). Infant iPad seats raise concerns about screen time for babies. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/fisher-prices-infant-ipad-seat-raises-concerns-about-baby-screen-time/2013/12/10/6ebba48e-61bb-11e3-94ad-004fefa61ee6_story.html.

13. Grubb, B. (December 16, 2013). iPad holder seat for babies sparks outcry. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/baby-seat-ipad-holder-sparks-outcry-article-1:1544673.

14. The full debate on the impact of technology on the mind can be found at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldhansrd/text/111205-0002.htm.

15. Rideout, V. J., Foehr, U. G., and Roberts, D. F. (2010). Generation M2: Media in the lives of 8- to 18-year-olds. Retrieved from http://kaiserfamilyfoundation.wordpress.com/uncategorized/report/generation-m2-media-in-the-lives-of-8-to-18-year-olds.

16. Teilhard de Chardin, P. (1964). The future of man. London: Collins, p. 159.

17. Badoo. (2012). Generation lonely? 39 percent of Americans spend more time socializing online than face-to-face. Retrieved from http://corp.badoo.com/he/entry/press/54.

CHAPTER 2. UNPRECEDENTED TIMES

1. Watson, R. (October 21, 2010). Lecture to the Royal Society of Arts [blog post]. Retrieved from http://toptrends.nowandnext.com/2010/10/21/lecture-to-the-royal-society-of-arts.

2. By mid-2013, 56 percent of U.S. adults owned a smartphone and 34 percent owned a tablet computer (Smith, A. [2013]. Smartphone ownership: 2013 update. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Smartphone-Ownership-2013.aspx). In the same year 51 percent of U.S. households possessed a dedicated gaming console (Entertainment Software Association. [2013]. The 2013 essential facts about the computer and videogame industry. Retrieved from www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2013.pdf), while 39 percent of U.S. adults in 2012 reported spending more time socializing online than they do in face-to-face time (Badoo. [2012]. Generation lonely? 39 percent of Americans spend more time socializing online than face-to-face. Retrieved from http://corp.badoo.com/he/entry/press/54). The growth in screen use among youth is comparable. In 2012, 37 percent of all U.S. youths ages twelve to seventeen own smartphones, up from just 23 percent in 2011 (Madden, M., Lenhart, A., Duggan, M., Cortesi, S., and Gasser, U. [2013]. Teens and technology 2013. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Teens-and-Tech.aspx). Twenty-three percent of the same group owned a tablet computer. As of 2013, the average U.S. household with Internet connection now contains 5.7 Internet-connected devices, and they are often being used simultaneously (Internet connected devices surpass half a billion in U.S. homes, according to the NPD group [2013]. Retrieved from http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/3/prweb10542447.htm). A survey from 2013 found that Digital Natives switch between digital devices in nonworking hours every other minute (twenty-seven switches per hour), whereas Digital Immigrants switch seventeen times per hour (Moses, L. [March 31, 2013]. What does that second screen mean for viewers and advertisers? Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/what-does-second-screen-mean-viewers-and-advertisers-148240).

3. In 2010 U.S. youths ages eight to eighteen reported spending more than seven and a half hours a day in front of a screen watching TV, listening to music, surfing the Web, social networking, and playing videogames (Rideout, V. J., Foehr, U. G., and Roberts, D. F. [2010]. Generation M2: Media in the lives of 8- to 18-year-olds. Retrieved from http://kaiserfamilyfoundation.wordpress.com/uncategorized/report/generation-m2-media-in-the-lives-of-8-to-18-year-olds). There was a significant jump from the group of eight-to-ten-year-olds, who spend an average of 7.51 hours in the cyberworld, to the older eleven-to-fourteen-year-olds, with an astonishing 11.53 hours, and fifteen-to-eighteen-year-olds, with a similar 11.23 hours. While TV watching still outstrips Internet use on average in adults (Pew Internet. [2012]. Trend data [adults]. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/Trend-Data-%28Adults%29/Online-Activites-Total.aspx), in youths the rate of TV to Internet use for U.K. twelve-to-fifteen-year-olds in 2012 was evenly matched (17 hours on each activity per week) (Ofcom. [2012]. Children and parents: Media use and attitudes report. Retrieved from http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/media-literacy/oct2012/main.pdf), whereas 2013 data for U.S. youths and adults shows that TV use is declining, with the biggest differences seen in twelve- to-twenty-four-year-olds, with their TV watching down three hours per week compared to 2011 data (Marketing Charts. [2013]. Are young people watching less TV? Retrieved from http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/are-young-people-watching-less-tv-24817/). Furthermore, in 2012, for the first time in twenty years, the number of homes in the United States with TVs decreased (Stelter, B. [May 3, 2011]. Ownership of TV sets falls in U.S. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/business/media/03television.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=business&adxnnlx=1396530217-uFZGwm27zoGqpRHf4pOFog). Poverty is one reason given for this effect, in addition to the increasing number of youths who have been raised on laptops becoming young adults and starting their own households, for whom the computer offers all that a TV can, and more.

4. IDC. (2013). Always connected: How smartphones and social keep us engaged. Retrieved from https://fb-public.box.com/s/3iq5x6uwnqtq7ki4q8wk.

5. Rapoza, K. (February 18, 2013). One in five Americans work from home, numbers seen rising over 60 percent. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2013/02/18/one-in-five-americans-work-from-home-numbers-seen-rising-over-60.

6. Pew Internet, 2012.

7. Office for National Statistics. (2013). Internet access—households and individuals, 2012 part 2. Retrieved from http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_301822.pdf.

8. Entertainment Software Association, 2013.

9. Nielsen. (2011). State of the media: The social media report. Retrieved from http://cn.nielsen.com/documents/Nielsen-Social-Media-Report_FINAL_090911.pdf.

10. Bohannon, J. [June 6, 2013]. Online marriage is a happy marriage. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/comment/online-marriage-is-a-happy-marriage-20130606-2ns0b.html.

11. Moss, S. (2010). Natural childhood. Retrieved from http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/document-1355766991839.

12. Frost, J. L. (2010). A history of children’s play and play environments: Toward a contemporary child-saving movement. New York: Routledge, p. 2.

13. Palmer, S. (2007). Toxic childhood: How the modern world is damaging our children and what we can do about it. London: Orion. The list is: 1. Climb a tree; 2. Roll down a really big hill; 3. Camp out in the wild; 4. Build a den; 5. Skim a stone; 6. Run around in the rain; 7. Fly a kite; 8. Catch a fish with a net; 9. Eat an apple straight from a tree; 10. Play conkers; 11. Throw some snow; 12. Hunt for treasure on the beach; 13. Make a mud pie; 14. Dam a stream; 15. Go sledging; 16. Bury someone in the sand; 17. Set up a snail race; 18. Balance on a fallen tree; 19. Swing on a rope swing; 20. Make a mud slide; 21. Eat blackberries growing in the wild; 22. Take a look inside a tree; 23. Visit an island; 24. Feel like you’re flying in the wind; 25. Make a grass trumpet; 26. Hunt for fossils and bones; 27. Watch the sun wake up; 28. Climb a huge hill; 29. Get behind a waterfall; 30. Feed a bird from your hand; 31. Hunt for bugs; 32. Find some frogspawn; 33. Catch a butterfly in a net; 34. Track wild animals; 35. Discover what’s in a pond; 36. Call an owl; 37. Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool; 38. Bring up a butterfly; 39. Catch a crab; 40. Go on a nature walk at night; 41. Plant it, grow it, eat it; 42. Go wild swimming; 43. Go rafting; 44. Light a fire without matches; 45. Find your way with a map and compass; 46. Try bouldering; 47. Cook on a campfire; 48. Try abseiling; 49. Find a geocache; 50. Canoe down a river.

14. Moss, S. (2010). Natural childhood. Retrieved from http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/document-1355766991839.

15. Moss, 2010, p. 6. Cited in Byron, T. (2008). Safer children in a digital world: the report of the Byron Review. Retrieved from http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/s/safer%20children%20in%20a%20digital%20world%20the%202008%20byron%20review.pdf?

CHAPTER 3. A CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE

1. Byron, T. (2008). Safer children in a digital world: The report of the Byron Review. Retrieved from http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/s/safer%20children%20in%20a%20digital%20world%20the%202008%20byron%20review.pdf.

2. Howard-Jones, P. (2011). The impact of digital technologies on human wellbeing: Evidence from the sciences of mind and brain. Retrieved from http://www.nominettrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/NT%20SoA%20-%20The%20impact%20of%20digital%20technologies%20on%20human%20wellbeing.pdf, p. 5.

3. Rosen, L. D. (2012). iDisorder: Understanding our obsession with technology and overcoming its hold on us. New York: Macmillan.

4. Turkle, S. (2011). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other. New York: Basic Books.

5. Batty, D. (February 24, 2012). Twitter co-founder says users shouldn’t spend hours tweeting. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/feb/23/twitter-cofounder-biz-stone-tweeting-unhealthy.

6. Schonfeld, E. (March 7, 2009). Eric Schmidt tells Charlie Rose Google is “unlikely” to buy Twitter and wants to turn phones into TVs. Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2009/03/07/eric-schmidt-tells-charlie-rose-google-is-unlikely-to-buy-twitter-and-wants-to-turn-phones-into-tvs.

7. Michael Rich, associate professor at Harvard Medical School, warns: “Their [Digital Natives’] brains are rewarded not for staying on task but for jumping to the next thing. The worry is we’re raising a generation of kids in front of screens whose brains are going to be wired differently” (Richtel, M. [November 21, 2010]. Growing up digital, wired for distraction. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/technology/21brain.html7pagewanted=all).

Jordan Grafman, chief of cognitive science at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, says: “In general, technology can be good (for children’s cognitive development) if it is used judiciously. But if it is used in a non-judicious fashion, it will shape the brain in what I think will actually be a negative way … a lot of what is appealing about all these types of instant communications is that they are fast. Fast is not equated with deliberation. So I think they can produce a tendency toward shallow thinking. It’s not going to turn off the brain to thinking deeply and thoughtfully about things, but it is going to make that a little bit more difficult to do” (Whitman, A. and Goldberg, J. [2008]. Brain development in a hyper-tech world. Retrieved from http://www.dana.org/media/detail.aspx?id=13126).

The American Academy of Pediatrics has suggested that two hours or more per day of computer use increases the probability of emotional, social, and attention problems, a view borne out in findings reported recently by Angie Page and colleagues at Bristol University, who concluded that children’s screen viewing is related to psychological difficulties irrespective of physical activity. Participants were 1,013 children with an average age of almost eleven years, who self-reported average daily television hours and computer use on a questionnaire. Page found that greater television and computer use were related to higher psychological difficulty scores. Children who spent more than two hours per day watching television or using a computer—which would appear to be the majority of U.K. and U.S. children—were at increased risk of high levels of psychological difficulties, and this risk increased if the children also failed to meet physical activity guidelines (Page, A. S., Cooper, A. R., Griew, P., and Jago, R. [2010]. Children’s screen viewing is related to psychological difficulties irrespective of physical activity. Pediatrics 126, no. 5, e1011-e1017. doi:10.1542/peds.2010-1154).

Michael Friedlander, head of neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine, has said: “If a child is doing homework while on the computer engaged in chat rooms, or listening to iTunes and so forth, I do think there is a risk that there will never be enough depth and time spent on any one component to go as deep or as far as you might have. You might satisfactorily get all these things done, but the quality of the work or of the communication may not reach the level that it could have had it been given one’s full attention. There’s a risk of being a mile wide and an inch deep” (Whitman and Goldberg, 2008: see above).

8. Bavelier, D., Green, C. S., Han, D. H., Renshaw, P. F., Merzenich, M. M., and Gentile, D. A. (2011). Brains on videogames. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 12, no. 12, 763–768. doi:10.1038/nrn3135, p. 766.

9. Pearson UK. (2012). New “Enjoy Reading” campaign and support materials launched to help parents and teachers switch children on to reading for life. Retrieved from http://uk.pearson.com/home/news/2012/october/new-_enjoy-reading-campaign-and-support-materials-launched-to-he.html.

10. Purcell, K., Rainie, L., Heaps, A., Buchanan, J., Friedrich, L., Jacklin, A.,… and Zickuhr, K. (2012). How teens do research in the digital world. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Student-Research.aspx, p. 2.

11. Those signing this statement were a diverse bunch, from household names like best-selling children’s author Philip Pullman, to influential psychologist Oliver James, as well as the founder of Kids’ Company, the charity for the homeless young, Camilla Batmanghelidjh. The diversity of sectors represented certainly revealed the sweep of issues involved—after all, lifestyle is hardly a single activity or issue that is the monopoly of any one narrow field of expertise (Erosion of childhood: Letter with full list of signatories. [September 23, 2011]. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8784996/Erosion-of-childhood-letter-with-full-list-of-signatories.html).

12. Anderson, J. Q., and Rainie, L. (2012). Millennials will benefit and suffer due to their hyperconnected lives. Retrieved from http://www.elon.edu/docs/e-web/predictions/expertsurveys/2012survey/PIP_Future_of_Internet_2012_Gen_Always_ON.pdf.

13. Vinter, P. (September 1, 2012). Zadie Smith pays tribute to computer software that blocks Internet sites allowing her to write new book without distractions. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2196718/Zadie-Smith-pays-tribute-software-BLOCKS-internet-sites-allowing-write-new-book-distractions.htm.

14. World Economic Forum. (2013). Global risks report 2013 (8th ed.). Retrieved from http://reports.weforum.org/global-risks-2013, pp. 23–24. The report states: “The Internet remains an uncharted, fast-evolving territory. Current generations are able to communicate and share information instantaneously and at a scale larger than ever before. Social media increasingly allows information to spread around the world at breakneck speed. While the benefits of this are obvious and well documented, our hyperconnected world could also enable the rapid viral spread of information that is either intentionally or unintentionally misleading or provocative, with serious consequences … It is just as conceivable that the offending content’s original author might not even be aware of its misuse or misrepresentation by others on the Internet, or that it was triggered by an error in translation from one language to another. We can think of such a scenario as an example of a digital wildfire.” Such an example occurred in 2012, when someone impersonating a Russian parliamentarian tweeted that Syrian president Bashar al-Assad had been killed or injured. Crude oil prices rose in response before the tweet was revealed to be a hoax (Howell, L. [January 8, 2013]. Only you can prevent digital wildfires. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/opinion/only-you-can-prevent-digital-wildfires.html?_r=0).

15. Greenfield, S. (February 12, 2009). Children: Social networking sites. U.K. Parliament, House of Lords. Retrieved from http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldhansrd/text/90212-0010.htm.

16. Ivo Quaritiroli in The Digitally Divided Self (http://www.amazon.com/The-Digitally-Divided-Self-Relinquishing/dp/8897233007) claims that “statements such as ‘it is not scientific’ or ‘we don’t have enough data’ are typical defenses that technologically orientated people use to counteract criticism or expressions of concern” (Chapter 1, section “Technology can’t be challenged”).

17. A paradigm is, in Kuhn’s own words, “what members of a scientific community, and they alone, share.” According to Kuhn, a paradigm is more than just a single simple theory but the entire worldview within which it exists. Needless to say, such a view may encompass uncomfortable anomalies, facts, and findings that just don’t fit, but which are for a while brushed aside because of the intellectual discomfort they bring and also because of the explanatory void that might consequently yawn open. But as such anomalies, inevitably those from experimental data, start to accumulate, so some scientists may begin to doubt the whole perspective, not least because they have a more attractive new alternative that can encompass and account for all the erstwhile uncomfortable findings. A “crisis” ensues in the respective disciplines, so that eventually, as in France in 1789 and in Russia a little over a century later, a revolution takes place, a struggle between the old order and a new. Comparing such sweeping ideological struggles with academic wrangling might seem far-fetched, but it actually isn’t that way off the mark. Bear in mind that what Kuhn was describing were completely different ways of seeing things, so radical that they would influence the way scientists, and therefore eventually everyone, saw the world for generations to come (Kuhn, T. S. [1977]. The essential tension: Selected studies in scientific tradition and change. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 294).

18. Beattie-Moss, M. (February 4, 2008). Gut instincts: A profile of Nobel laureate Barry Marshall. Retrieved from http://news.psu.edu/story/140921/2008/02/04/research/gut-instincts-profile-nobel-laureate-barry-marshall.

19. The difficulty with the attitude that we cannot even talk about the prospects and implications for humanity of cyberculture until there is conclusive “scientific evidence” that it is either “good” or “bad” is well articulated by Dr. Aric Sigman, of the Royal Society of Medicine: “It strikes me as a terrible shame that our society requires photos of brains shrinking in order to take seriously the common-sense assumption that long hours in front of screens is not good for our children’s health” (Harris, S. [July 18, 2011]. Too much Internet use “can damage teenagers’ brains.” Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2015196/Too-internet-use-damage-teenagers-brains.html).

20. Statistical analysis is conducted on research findings to determine whether the results of the study are likely to apply to the whole population in which the researchers are interested, beyond just the sample obtained for the study. When results of a study are statistically significant, it means that the findings, often in the form of a relationship between variables or a difference between groups of participants, are not likely to be due to chance. The conclusions drawn from statistical methods are sensitive to the particulars of the study design, including the selection of variables and the size of the sample examined. For example, a large sample yields high statistical power, which means that relatively small differences may be detected as statistically significant. Researchers must use their understanding of statistics and the subject matter to determine which of these findings are important as opposed to spurious. There is no magic rule regarding what size sample or number of participants is “large enough,” and this choice in experimental design is somewhat arbitrary. Statistics do not provide an answer and researchers must make a choice based on their understanding of the variables of interest and the effect sizes they might anticipate. Additionally, statistical analysis cannot account for poor study design, such as how the participants were recruited or how the data collection process occurred. This means that if aspects of the study design were biased, this will increase the likelihood of finding a significant result. Moreover, researchers themselves can manipulate statistical analysis and the subsequent interpretation of results, as publication in a journal can often depend on finding a statistically significant result. Where appropriate, Mind Change will comment on significant study findings that may be biased in some way. However, it is beyond the scope of this book to go into this in too extensive detail.

1. Baede, A. P. M. (n.d.). Working Group I: The scientific basis. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Retrieved from http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/tar/wg1/518.htm.

2. Witness the popularity of sites like Klout, which gives you a score for your importance in the cyberworld. Interestingly enough, “coolness” is now democratized: wealth, gender, and age are no longer relevant, but then neither is anything special that you may have done. So the interesting and unprecedented feature of being cool and famous on social networking sites is that such content need have nothing to do with your particular prowess in any area, and indeed nothing to do with the “real” you at all. It is important to bear in mind that the interaction between the brain and the environment is a two-way dialogue: just as vital to how we view and use the latest technology is the impact that an environment dominated by compulsive engagement with social networking sites will have on shaping our relationships and our view of our own identity.

3. Lenhart, A., Madden, M., Smith, A., Purcell, K., Zickuhr, K., and Rainie, L. (2011). Teens, kindness and cruelty on social network sites. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Teens-and-social-media.aspx, p. 28.

4. Konrath, S. H., O’Brien, E. H., and Hsing, C. (2011). Changes in dispositional empathy in American college students over time: A meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Review 15, no. 2, 180–198. doi:10.1177/1088868310377395.

5. PR Newswire. (2013). Facebook reports first quarter 2013 result. Retrieved from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/205652631.html.

6. Internet World Stats (2012). Facebook users in the world: Facebook usage and Facebook growth statistics by world geographic regions. Retrieved from http://www.internetworldstats.com/facebook.htm.

7. Twitter. (December 18, 2012). There are now more than 200M monthly active @twitter users. You are the pulse of the planet. We’re grateful for your ongoing support! [Twitter post]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/twitter/status/281051652235087872.

8. Ofcom. (2013). Adults’ media use and attitudes report. Retrieved from http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/media-literacy/adult-media-lit-13/2013_Adult_ML_Tracker.pdf.

9. Madden, M., Lenhart, A., Duggan, M., Cortesi, S., and Gasser, U. (2013). Teens and technology 2013. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2013/PIP_TeensandTechnology2013.pdf.

10. Arbitron Inc. and Edison Research. (2013). The infinite dial 2013: Navigating digital platforms. Retrieved from http://www.edisonresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Edison_Research_Arbitron_Infinite_Dial_2013.pdf.

11. Smith, C. (2013). By the numbers: 32 amazing Facebook stats [blog post, updated June 2013]. Retrieved from http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/by-the-numbers-17-amazing-facebook-stats.

12. Arbitron Inc. and Edison Research, 2013.

13. Hampton, K. N., Goulet, L. S., Rainie, L., and Purcell, K. (2011). Social networking sites and our lives. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Technology-and-social-networks.aspx.

14. Hampton et al., 2011.

15. McAfee. (2010). The secret online lives of teens. Retrieved from http://us.mcafee.com/en-us/local/docs/lives_of_teens.pdf.

16. Government Office for Science, London. (2013). Foresight future identities: Final project report. Retrieved from http://www.bis.gov.uk/foresight/our-work/policy-futures/identity.

17. Gentile, D. A., and Anderson, C. A. (2003). Violent videogames: The newest media violence hazard. In D. A. Gentile (Ed.), Media violence and children: A complete guide for parents and professionals (Vol. 22). Retrieved from www.psychology.iastate.edu/faculty/caa/abstracts/2000-2004/03GA.pdf.

18. By 2005, a national study commissioned by U.K. Games Research of individuals between six and sixty-five years of age showed a clear age factor slanted toward youth: more than 80 percent of those under the age of twenty-four were playing videogames (Pratchett, R. [2005]. Gamers in the UK: Digital play, digital lifestyles. Retrieved from http://crystaltips.typepad.com/wonderland/files/bbc_uk_games_research_2005.pdf). In 2008, 97 percent of American teens were playing videogames (Lenhart, A., Jones, S., and Macgill, A. R. [2008] Adults and videogames. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/Adults-and-Video-Games/1-Data-Memo.aspx), while within a few years (2011) in Australia the number was similar, 94 percent (Digital Australia. [2011]. Key findings. Retrieved from http://www.igea.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/DA12KeyFindings.pdf). Although these statistics come from different countries, the English-speaking developed world cultures are surely similar enough for a comparable trend and trajectory to be discerned.

19. Homer, B. D., Hayward, E. O., Frye, J., and Plass, J. L. (2012). Gender and player characteristics in videogame play of preadolescents. Computers in Human Behavior 28, no. 5, 1782–1789. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012:04.018.

20. Rideout, V. J., Foehr, U. G., and Roberts, D. F. (2010). Generation M2: Media in the lives of 8- to 18-year-olds. Retrieved from http://kaiserfamilyfoundation.wordpress.com/uncategorized/report/generation-m2-media-in-the-lives-of-8-to-18-year-olds.

21. Cummings, H. M., and Vandewater, E. A. (2007). Relation of adolescent videogame play to time spent in other activities. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 161, no. 7, 684. doi:10.1001/archpedi.161:7.684.

22. Cooper, R. (February 3, 2012). Gamer lies dead in Internet café for 9 hours before anyone notices. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2096128/Gamer-lies-dead-Taiwan-internet-cafe-9-HOURS-notices.html.

23. Diablo 3 death: Teen dies after playing game for 40 hours straight. (July 18, 2012). Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/18/diablo-3-death-chuang-taiwan-_n_1683036.html.

24. Tran, M. (March 6, 2010). Girl starved to death while parents raised virtual child in online game. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/mar/05/korean-girl-starved-online-game.

25. Carter, H. (November 19, 2010). Man jailed for murder of girlfriend’s toddler. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/nov/18/man-jailed-murder-girlfriends-toddler.

26. Videogame fanatic hunts down and stabs rival player who killed character online. (May 27, 2010). Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/7771505/Video-game-fanatic-hunts-down-and-stabs-rival-player-who-killed-character-online.html.

27. Anderson, C. A., Shibuya, A., Ihori, N., Swing, E. L., Bushman, B. J., Sakamoto, A.,… and Saleem, M. (2010). Violent videogame effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior in Eastern and Western countries: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin 136, no. 2, 151. doi:10.1037/a0018251.

28. Kühn, S., Romanowski, A., Schilling, C., Lorenz, R., Mörsen, C., Seiferth, N.,… and Gallinat, J. (2011). The neural basis of gaming. Translational Psychiatry 1, no. 11, e53. doi:10.1038/tp.2011:53.

29. Sullivan, D. (February 11, 2013). Google still world’s most popular search engine by far, but share of unique searchers dips slightly. Retrieved from http://searchengineland.com/google-worlds-most-popular-search-engine-148089.

30. Mangen, A., Walgermo, B. R., and Brønnick, K. (2013). Reading linear texts on paper versus computer screen: Effects on reading comprehension. International Journal of Educational Research 58, 61–68. doi:10.1016/j.ijer.2012:12.002.

CHAPTER 5. HOW THE BRAIN WORKS

1. The brainstem is the extension of the spinal cord that forms the inner core of the brain, around which other structures are elaborated. This is functionally the most basic part of the brain, shared even with reptiles. It mediates respiration, sleep-wake cycles, and arousal. Of many possible reviews, see: Siegel, J. (2004). Brain mechanisms that control sleep and waking. Naturwissenschaften 91, no. 8, 355–65; Jones, B. E. (2003). Arousal systems. Frontiers in Bioscience 8, 438–451.

2. The cerebellum: nicknamed the “autopilot” of the brain and mediating fine-tuned sensorimotor coordination. For a recent review, see Reeber, S. L., Otis, T. S., and Sillitoe, R. V. (2013). New roles for the cerebellum in health and disease. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience 7, 83.

3. The cortex: unlike the brainstem and the cerebellum, this is a newer, indeed the newest, brain region in terms of evolution. It is organized in repeating modular circuits like a cookie cutter. Some areas are related to a single sense, while others serve more “cognitive” functions like learning and memory and are referred to by the umbrella term “association cortex.” See Shipp, S. (2007). Structure and function of the cerebral cortex. Current Biology 17, 443–449.

4. This blip is more precisely an “action potential”: there is a sharp change in the potential difference (voltage) across the cell membrane caused by positively charged sodium ions rushing into the cell, making it depolarized, a situation that then triggers the efflux of positively charged potassium ions, once again making the potential difference more negative. For more detailed descriptions, see Purves, D., Augustine, G. J., Fitzpatrick, D., Hall, W. C., LaMantia, A. S., and White, L. E. (Eds.) (2012). Neuroscience (5th ed.). Sunderland, MA: Sinauer.

5. The “nerve terminal” is the end of the axon, the long process emanating from the cell body along which the action potential is propagated at several hundred miles per hour. Once the “blip” invades the terminal, the change in voltage triggers the emptying of small packets (vesicles) containing neurotransmitter into the synaptic cleft.

6. Purves et al. (2012).

7. For example, it could be the case that the input from one neuron “A” caused a small depolarization, but not large enough to bring the voltage of the cell to the threshold for being able to generate a full-blown action potential. Now imagine that, during this time period while the voltage was raised, another input “B” arrived that also on its own would normally have caused only a subthreshold depolarization: because A + B could summate to threshold within this time window, an action potential could now occur that would not have been possible if the two inputs had not arrived relatively close together.

8. “Modulation”: a term used when a neurotransmitter or other bioactive compound has no effect on its own but enhances or diminishes the action of another signaling molecule.

9. The most familiar and easiest way of thinking about brain organization is as a hierarchy, similar to a chain of command with the boss at the top of a pyramid-like structure. Indeed this concept fitted well with scientific findings in the 1960s when two physiologists, David Hubel and Torsten Weisel, made a breakthrough, Nobel Prize–winning discovery. Hubel and Weisel were working on the visual system and monitoring the activity of single brain cells in the different brain regions which processed inputs from the retina, and then further on into the depths of the brain. Their remarkable finding was that, as they went deeper into the brain, further away from the initial processing of the retina, the cells seemed to become fussier in terms of what turned them on, literally. Initially, the sight of any old blob would excite a neuron, but further up the chain of command it might have to be a line, and then only a line in a certain orientation, and then a line in a certain orientation but only moving in a specific direction (Hubel, D. H., and Weisel, T. N. [1962]. Receptive fields, binocular interaction and functional architecture in the cat’s visual cortex. Journal of Physiology 160, no. 1, 106–154. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1359523/pdf/jphysiol01247–0121.pdf). It was certainly an amazing discovery that a single brain cell could have such an individual signature, but it led to some strange extrapolations. You can see how Hubel and Weisel’s discovery easily led to the notion that the further up the hierarchy of the brain you went, the fussier the cell would become, eventually responding only to very sophisticated images, such as a face or even a specific face. The terminology of the time liked to refer to a hypothetical “grandmother cell” which, as its name suggested, would only respond to the sight of your grandmother as the ultimate stage in the organization. Although, much more recently, Christof Koch and his team of researchers at Caltech recorded cells in the brains of conscious neurosurgical patients specifically responding, for example, to pictures of Halle Berry (Quiroga, R. Q., Reddy, L., Kreiman, G., Koch, C., and Fried, I. [2005]. Invariant visual representation by single neurons in the human brain. Nature 435, no. 7045, 1102–1107. doi:10.1038/nature03687), the idea that a single “Berry cell” or a grandmother cell could effectively be “the boss” has been largely discredited, if only by simple logic. If you never had a grandmother, a cell would be wasted; or if you did have a grandmother but your grandmother cell died, as many neurons do daily, then you’d never recognize your grandmother ever again! Just as a brain region can’t be an independent “center,” it is even less likely that a single brain cell can be a final destination—and it certainly can’t be the ultimate boss. What would “the boss” do subsequently? After all, there would be no one further to instruct.

10. Kolb, B. (2009). Brain and behavioral plasticity in the developing brain: Neuroscience and public policy. Paediatrics & Child Health 14, no. 10, 651–652. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2807801.

CHAPTER 6. HOW THE BRAIN CHANGES

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2. The octopus, who featured in classic memory experiments in the 1960s and, more recently, received much attention when one of their number, “Paul,” showed apparently prescient powers in being able to predict the outcomes of various matches in the 2011 World Cup. See also Young, J. Z. (1983). The distributed tactile memory system of Octopus. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 135–176.

3. Abrams, T. W., and Kandel, E. R. (1988). Is contiguity detection in classical conditioning a system or a cellular property? Learning in Aplysia suggests a possible molecular site. Trends in Neurosciences 11, no. 4, 128–135. doi:10.1016/0166-2236 (88)90137-3.

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6. White House, Office of the Press Secretary. (April 17, 1997). Remarks from the Conference. Retrieved from http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/New/ECDC/Remarks.html.

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11. Kleim, J. A. (2011). Neural plasticity and neurorehabilitation: Teaching the new brain old tricks. Journal of Communication Disorders 44, no. 5, 521–528. doi:10.1016/j.jcomdis.2011:04.006.

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13. Nudo, R. J. (2011). Neural bases of recovery after brain injury. Journal of Communication Disorders 44, no. 5, 515–520. doi:10.1016/j.jcomdis.2011:04.004.

14. Where did such a bizarre idea come from? One suggestion is that the great psychologist William James was working with an accelerated program of learning for a child prodigy in the 1890s, and generalized from this exceptional case that most people only realized a fraction of their true potential. Maybe so, but it’s not because 90 percent of our brains are not working. This strangely precise figure has been attributed to the American writer Lowell Thomas who, in 1936, tried to summarize James’s work. Perhaps he based the estimate on the percentage of brain functions that could be mapped at the time in terms of brain location. While Thomas may not have been party to our current knowledge of the brain, 90/10 is a ratio that coincidentally still features. For example, the key nerve cells of the brain, neurons, are outnumbered ten to one by glial cells (the name is from the Greek for “glue”), which take care of the basic cerebral housekeeping and ensure a healthy and nurturing brain environment. Moreover, at any one time, only about 10 percent of neurons are spontaneously active. However, this isn’t to say that the remainder are dead or inactive, any more than a soccer player standing alert but briefly stationary on the field would be regarded as not participating in the game.

15. Jenkins, W. M., Merzenich, M. M., Ochs, M. T., Allard, T., and Guic-Robles, E. (1990). Functional reorganization of primary somatosensory cortex in adult owl monkeys after behaviorally controlled tactile stimulation. Journal of Neurophysiology 63, no. 1, 82–104. Retrieved from http://jn.physiology.org/content/63/1/82.full.pdf+html.

16. Elbert, T., Pantev, C., Wienbruch, C., Rockstroh, B., and Taub, E. (1995). Increased cortical representation of the fingers of the left hand in string players. Science 270, no. 5234, 305–307. doi:10.1126/science.270:5234:305.

17. Gaser, C., and Schlaug, G. (2003). Brain structures differ between musicians and non-musicians. Journal of Neuroscience 23, no. 27, 9240–9245. Retrieved from http://www.jneurosci.org/content/23/27/9240.full.pdf+html.

18. Aydin, K., Ucar, A., Oguz, K. K., Okur, O. O., Agayev, A., Unal, Z.,… and Ozturk, C. (2007). Increased gray matter density in the parietal cortex of mathematicians: A voxel-based morphometry study. American Journal of Neuroradiology 28, no. 10, 1859–1864. doi:10.3174/ajnr.A0696.

19. Park, I. S., Lee, K. J., Han, J. W., Lee, N. J., Lee, W. T., and Park, K. A. (2009). Experience-dependent plasticity of cerebellar vermis in basketball players. The Cerebellum 8, no. 3, 334–339. doi:10.1007/s12311-009-0100-1.

20. Jäncke, L., Koeneke, S., Hoppe, A., Rominger, C., and Hänggi, J. (2009). The architecture of the golfer’s brain. PLOS ONE 4, no. 3, e4785. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0004785.

21. Draganski, B., Gaser, C., Busch, V., Schuierer, G., Bogdahn, U., and May, A. (2004). Neuroplasticity: Changes in gray matter induced by training. Nature 427, no. 6972, 311–312. doi:10.1038/427311a. Driemeyer, J., Boyke, J., Gaser, C., Büchel, C., and May, A. (2008). Changes in gray matter induced by learning: Revisited. PLOS ONE 3, no. 7, e2669. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002669.

22. Boyke, J., Driemeyer, J., Gaser, C., Büchel, C., and May, A. (2008). Training-induced brain structure changes in the elderly. Journal of Neuroscience 28, no. 28, 7031–7035. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0742-08:2008.

23. Engvig, A., Fjell, A. M., Westlye, L. T., Moberget, T., Sundseth, Ø., Larsen, V. A., and Walhovd, K. B. (2010). Effects of memory training on cortical thickness in the elderly. Neuroimage 52, no. 4, 1667–1676. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010:05.041.

24. Draganski, B., Gaser, C., Kempermann, G., Kuhn, H. G., Winkler, J., Büchel, C., and May, A. (2006). Temporal and spatial dynamics of brain structure changes during extensive learning. Journal of Neuroscience 26, no. 23, 6314–6317. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4628-05:2006.

25. May, A. (2011). Experience-dependent structural plasticity in the adult human brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 15, no. 10, 475–482. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2011:08.002, p. 4.

26. Mechelli, A., Crinion, J. T., Noppeney, U., O’Doherty, J., Ashburner, J., Frackowiak, R. S., and Price, C. J. (2004). Neurolinguistics: Structural plasticity in the bilingual brain. Nature 431, no. 7010, 757. doi:10.1038/431757a. Stein, M., Federspiel, A., Koenig, T., Wirth, M., Strik, W., Wiest, R.,… and Dierks, T. (2012). Structural plasticity in the language system related to increased second language proficiency. Cortex 48, no. 4, 458–465. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2010:10.007.

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36. But this simple chain of electrical and chemical events will not explain how synapses can become “stronger” (more efficient and effective) the more they are used: something additional must be happening to cause such plasticity. Bliss and Lomo’s great discovery was to show that some of the target molecules (receptors) on the receiving cell can be quite fussy about the conditions in which they will work well, and this fussiness can be turned to advantage and form the basis for the adaptability of brain cells. For the fussy type of receptor a simple handshake is not enough, even when interlocking with a neurotransmitter X; it is just not sufficient to actually cause a change in voltage in the cell. Or, to use another analogy, the boat may be in dock but no car is yet available. Something else must happen next; there must be a further change while neurotransmitter X is already present. The handshake will be effective not just because two hands interlock, but because one of them now squeezes the other. Accordingly, if a second neurotransmitter, Y, now arrives on the scene and also docks into the cell, the contingency of X and Y will at last fulfill the demands of the fussy receptor (a car will appear). An electrical signal will now be generated, but with longer-term consequences. When the fussy receptor starts to work, it will trigger the opening of little channels in the cell so that calcium can flood in. In turn, the calcium will release a chemical that returns back across the synapse to the original incoming cell and makes it release yet still more neurotransmitter than usual. Meanwhile, within the target cell, a cascade of events is set in train that will make the cell more sensitive in terms of how effectively it will respond to the standard amount of incoming input. The same signal will have a much more powerful effect. The synapse now works more powerfully, but things don’t just stop there. The calcium that has entered the cell during this process (long-term potentiation) has still longer-term actions: more specialized chemicals are produced inside the cell that stabilize the synapse still further by acting like sticky badges (cell adhesion molecules). Meanwhile, different proteins kick in to enhance the appearance of yet more neuronal contacts. All this has happened because of the initial requirement of the fussy receptor where two things had to happen within a certain time frame, and for a sustained period of time, in order for calcium to infiltrate the neuron. In this way, the more a behavior is repeated or rehearsed, such as a repetitious response to a certain experience, the greater the effect and the stronger the respective synapses will become over time, and hence that experience will literally leave its mark on the brain.

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CHAPTER 7. HOW THE BRAIN BECOMES A MIND

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2. Chalmers, D. J. (1995). Facing up to the problem of consciousness. Journal of Consciousness Studies 2, no. 3, 200–219. Retrieved from http://cogprints.org/316/1/consciousness.html.

3. Koch, C., and Tononi, G. (2008). Can machines be conscious? Spectrum, IEEE 45, no. 6, 55–59. Retrieved from http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=4531463.

4. However, we do know that neurons can interface very well with silicon systems. The pioneering work of Peter Fromherz, for example, has shown the beauty of a “neurochip” whereby connections are readily made on a circuit board between neurons and silicon nodes. Similarly, if brain cells are able to function in a hybrid device in this way, then the reverse may not be surprising: artificial implants in the brain are already possible and are achieving astonishing effects. For example, Miguel Nicolelis of Duke University has developed a system whereby quadriplegic patients can, through devices implanted in their brain, generate electronic signatures that would normally precede various movements. These electronic signals are then recognized by a computer that can operate an artificial limb, so that a person paralyzed from the neck down can “will” a movement. However, these “neuronal prostheses” are far from the silicon takeover of the brain envisaged in the thought experiment. While silicon-carbon interfacing is possible, at least for the final execution of a movement, namely brain output stimulating brain muscle, it should not be conflated with the neuron-neuron interactions that underlie cognitive processes, or confused with artificial intelligence.

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7. For example, Rees, G., Kreiman, G., and Koch, C. (2002). Neural correlates of consciousness in humans. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 3, no. 4, 261–270. Tononi, G., and Koch, C. (2008). The neural correlates of consciousness. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1124, no. 1, 239–261.

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9. Greenfield, S. A. (2001). The private life of the brain: Emotions, consciousness, and the secret of the self. New York: Wiley.

10. James, W. (1890). The principles of psychology, Chapter 13. Retrieved from http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/James/Principles/prin13.htm.

11. René Descartes (1596–1650), often dubbed “the father of modern philosophy,” argued the case that humans are distinctly different from other animals and the rest of the natural world: our unique mind can be attributed to language and reason, features that set our species apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. Descartes suggested that the demonstrative behaviors of all nonhuman creatures can be explained without having to bother ascribing minds and consciousness to them. He concluded that nonhuman animals can be regarded as no more than machines, with parts assembled in intricate ways. However, although humans might have minds and consciousness, these phenomena would be separate from the mechanistic working of the body: “To explain these functions, then, it is not necessary to conceive of any vegetative or sensitive soul, or any other principle of movement or life, other than its blood and its spirits which are agitated by the heat of the fire that burns continuously in its heart, and which is of the same nature as those fires that occur in inanimate bodies.” This notion of a mechanistic physical body extended to the mechanics of the physical brain. For Descartes, the prototypical dualist, it would mean that the physical brain was distinct from the mind and consciousness, which was left largely undefined and unexplored. More recently, in the twentieth century the advent of the computer brought with it the opportunity to jettison the notion of some airy-fairy parallel consciousness, and instead to ascribe everything to mechanistic processes. (Descartes, R. [1994]. The treatise on man. In S. Gaukroger (Ed.), The world and other writings, pp. 119–169. Retrieved from http://www2.dsu.nodak.edu/users/dmeier/31243550-Descartes-The-World-and-Other-Writings.pdf, p. 169.)

12. The definition of intelligence is no mere semantic quibble, but would extend to wider moral questions. For example, Hume was at odds with Kant in assuming that intelligence does not necessarily imply moral values and vice versa. However, surely this dilemma once again depends on how we define intelligence. If we take the simple computational concept of g, prowess in IQ tests, then Hume would be correct: after all, why should a simple linear process be predicated on anything other than the rules of the game? But if we take the wider view of intelligence, as I would argue, to imply understanding, then perhaps Kant would be more accurate in viewing intelligence as an understanding that would imply an awareness of the link to particular values.

13. Horn, J. L., and Cattell, R. B. (1967). Age differences in fluid and crystallized intelligence. Acta Psychologica 26, 107–129. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/000169186790011X.

14. This idea of true, deep mental abilities arising from neuronal connections would fit with the finding mentioned earlier that gifted children do indeed display greater neuronal connectivity.

15. Greenfield, S. A. (2011). You and me: The neuroscience of identity. London: Notting Hill.

16. Blake, W. (c. 1803). “Auguries of Innocence.” Retrieved from http://www.bartleby.com/41/356.html.

CHAPTER 8. OUT OF YOUR MIND

1. In the mid-twentieth century an American physician, Paul MacLean, developed a theory to explain the inexplicable collective behavior of the crowds at the Nuremburg rallies during the Nazi era. MacLean’s reasoning was that, anatomically, the brain could be compartmentalized into three evolutionary stages: the reptilian brain, consisting of the inner core, the basic part of the brain; layered onto that would be the mammalian brain, including areas such as the amygdala and hippocampus; and finally, constituting the most sophisticated level of all, would be the cortex, the outer layer of the brain, which is the monopoly of the neo-mammalian species. MacLean argued that these three layers represented increasing degrees of sophistication in mental processes. The reptilian brain underpinned very primitive urges, these being channeled into the appropriate context by virtue of the mammalian brain, while the neo-mammalian brain imposed further refinements, even rules, on how one might behave. This hierarchy of three levels corresponds quite neatly to Freud’s notion of the atavistic id, the mediating ego, and the moralistic superego. According to MacLean, emotions were suppressed by logic and reason for most of the time, but within the intermediate limbic system, which he saw as centers for emotions normally held in check by a logical cortex, regions can also play a key role in that most sensible of activities, memory. Conversely, disruptions to the cortex, especially the prefrontal cortex, can be linked to emotional disturbances, such as those seen in addiction, obesity, and schizophrenia. Sadly, however, such simple compartmentalization doesn’t stand up to the anatomical and physiological practicalities of what we now know the brain, and indeed the mind, to be capable of. Nonetheless, this theory is useful at a more metaphorical level. According to MacLean, the seemingly blind aggression of the Nuremberg crowds could therefore be accounted for by the breakdown in the anatomical hierarchy of the “triune brain” (MacLean, P. D. [1985]. Evolutionary psychiatry and the triune brain. Psychological Medicine 15, no. 2, 219–221. doi:10.1017/S0033291700023485).

2. Greenfield, S. A. (2008). I.D.: The quest for meaning in the 21st century. London: Hodder & Stoughton.

3. Olds, J., and Milner, P. (1954). Positive reinforcement produced by electrical stimulation of septal area and other regions of rat brain. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology 47, no. 6, 419–427. Retrieved from http://www.wadsworth.com/psychology_d/templates/student_resources/0155060678_rathus/ps/ps02.html.

4. O’Driscoll, K., and Leach, J. P. (1998). “No longer Gage”: An iron bar through the head: Early observations of personality change after injury to the prefrontal cortex. BMJ 317, no. 7174, 1673–1674. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1114479/#ffn_sectitle.

5. O’Driscoll and Leach, 1998, p. 1673.

6. Tsujimoto, S. (2008). The prefrontal cortex: functional neural development during early childhood. The Neuroscientist 14, no. 4, 345–358. doi:10.1177/107385840831600.

7. Sturman, D. A., and Moghaddam, B. (2011). The neurobiology of adolescence: changes in brain architecture, functional dynamics, and behavioral tendencies. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 35, no. 8, 1704–1712. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011:04.003.

8. Steinberg, L. (2008). A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking. Developmental Review 28, no. 1, 78–106. doi: 10.1016/j.dr.2007:08.002.

9. Casey, B. J., Getz, S., and Galvan, A. (2008). The adolescent brain. Developmental Review 28, no. 1, 62–77. doi: 10.1016/j.dr.2007:08.003.

10. Casey, Getz, and Galvan, 2008.

11. Callicott, J. H., Bertolino, A., Mattay, V. S., Langheim, F. J., Duyn, J., Coppola, R.,… and Weinberger, D. R. (2000). Physiological dysfunction of the dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia revisited. Cerebral Cortex 10, no. 11, 1078–1092. doi:10.1093/cercor/10:11.1078.

12. Volkow, N. D., Wang, G. J., Telang, F., Fowler, J. S., Goldstein, R. Z., Alia-Klein, N.,… and Pradhan, K. (2008). Inverse association between BMI and prefrontal metabolic activity in healthy adults. Obesity 17, no. 1, 60–65. doi:10.1038/oby.2008:469.

13. Pignatti, R., Bertella, L., Albani, G., Mauro, A., Molinari, E., and Semenza, C. (2006). Decision-making in obesity: A study using the Gambling Task. Eating and Weight Disorders: EWD 11, no. 3, 126. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17075239.

14. Dang-Vu, T. T., Schabus, M., Desseilles, M., Sterpenich, V., Bonjean, M., and Maquet, P. (2010). Functional neuroimaging insights into the physiology of human sleep. Sleep 33, no. 12, 1589–1603. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2982729/#ffn_sectitle.

15. Greenfield, S. (2011). You and me: The Neuroscience of identity. London: Notting Hill.

CHAPTER 9. THE SOMETHING ABOUT SOCIAL NETWORKING

1. O’Connell, R. (May 12, 2011). The pros and cons of deleting your Facebook [blog post]. Retrieved from http://thoughtcatalog.com/2011/the-pros-and-cons-to-deleting-your-facebook.

2. Hampton, K. N., Goulet, L. S., Rainie, L., and Purcell, K. (2011). Social networking sites and our lives. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Technology-and-social-networks.aspx.

3. Badoo. (April 25, 2012). Generation lonely? 39 percent of Americans spend more time socializing online than face-to-face. Retrieved from http://corp.badoo.com/he/entry/press/54.

4. Quoted in McCullagh, D. (March 12, 2010). Why no one cares about privacy anymore. Retrieved from http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/why-no-one-cares-about-privacy-anymore.

5. Protalinski, E. (May 1, 2013) Facebook passes 1.11 billion monthly active users, 751 million mobile users, and 665 million daily users. Retrieved from http://thenextweb.com/facebook/2013/05/01/facebook-passes-1-11-billion-monthly-active-users-751-million-mobile-users-and-665-million-daily-users.

6. Anderson, B., Fagan, p., Woodnutt, T., and Chamorro-Prezumic, T. (2012). Facebook psychology: Popular questions answered by research. Psychology of Popular Media Culture 1, no. 1, 23–37. doi:10.1037/a0026452.

7. Manago, A. M., Taylor, T., and Greenfield, P. M. (2012). Me and my 400 friends: The anatomy of college students’ Facebook networks, their communication patterns, and well-being. Developmental Psychology 48, no. 2, 369–380. doi: 10.1037/a0026338.

8. Grieve, R., Indian, M., Witteveen, K., Tolan, G. A., and Marrington, J. (2013). Face-to-face or Facebook: Can social connectedness be derived online? Computers in Human Behavior 29, no. 3, 604–609. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012:11.017.

9. Quoted in Cohen, J. (February 1, 2012). Facebook officially files SEC documents for $5B offer [blog post]. Retrieved from http://allfacebook.com/facebook-files-ipo_b76165.

10. Teilhard de Chardin, P. (1964). The future of man. London: Collins.

11. Rutledge, T., et al. (2008). Social networks and incident stroke among women with suspected myocardial ischemia. Psychosomatic Medicine 70, no. 3, 282–287. doi:10.1097/PSY.0b013e3181656e09.

12. Cole, S. W., Hawkley, L. C., Arevalo, J. M. G., and Cacioppo, J. T. (2011). Transcript origin analysis identifies antigen-presenting cells as primary targets of socially regulated gene expression in leukocytes. PNAS 108, no. 7, 3080–3085. doi:10.1073/pnas.1014218108.

13. Norman, G. J., Cacioppo, J. T., Morris, J. S., Malarkey, W. B., Berntson, G. G., and DeVries, A. C. (2011). Oxytocin increases autonomic cardiac control: Moderation by loneliness. Biological Psychology 86, no. 3, 174–180.

14. Klinenberg, E. (March 30, 2012). I want to be alone: The rise of solo living. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/mar/30/the-rise-of-solo-living.

15. Sigman, A. (2009). Well connected? The biological implications of “social networking.” Biologist 56, no. 1, 14–20. Retrieved from http://www.aricsigman.com/IMAGES/Sigman_lo.pdf.

16. Penenberg, A. L. (July 1, 2010). Social networking affects brains like falling in love [blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/1659062/social-networking-affects-brains-falling-loved.

17. Wilson, R. E., Gosling, S. D., and Graham, L. T. (2012). A review of Facebook research in the social sciences. Perspectives on Psychological Science 7, no. 3, 203–220. doi: 10.1177/1745691612442904.

18. Burke, M., Marlow, C., and Lento, T. (2010). Social network activity and social well-being. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System, 1909–1912. doi:10.1145/1753326:1753613.

19. Clayton, R. B., Osborne, R. E., Miller, B. K., and Oberle, C. D. (2013). Loneliness, anxiousness, and substance use as predictors of Facebook use. Computers in Human Behavior 29, no. 3, 687–693. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012:12.002.

20. Skues, J. L., Williams, B., and Wise, L. (2012). The effects of personality traits, self-esteem, loneliness, and narcissism on Facebook use amongst university students. Computers in Human Behavior 28, no. 6, 2414–2419. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012:07.012.

21. Watson, R. (2010). Future files: A brief history of the next 50 years. London: Nicholas Brealey.

22. Anderson et al., 2012.

23. Oldmeadow, J. A., Quinn, S., and Kowert, R. (2013). Attachment style, social skills, and Facebook use amongst adults. Computers in Human Behavior 29, no. 3, 1142–1149. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012:10.006.

24. Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss, Vol. 1: Loss. New York: Basic Books, p.194.

25. Oldmeadow, Quinn, and Kowert, 2013.

26. Skues, Williams, and Wise, 2012.

27. Tamir, D. I., and Mitchell, J. P. (2012). Disclosing information about the self is intrinsically rewarding. PNAS 109, no. 21, 8038–8043. doi:10.1073/pnas.1202129109.

28. Arbitron and Edison Research. (April 2013). The infinite dial 2013: Navigating digital platforms. Retrieved from http://www.edisonresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Edison_Research_Arbitron_Infinite_Dial_2013.pdf.

29. Jiang, L. C., Bazarova, N. N., and Hancock, J. T. (2011). The disclosureintimacy link in computer-mediated communication: An attributional extension of the hyperpersonal model. Human Communication Research 37, no. 1, 58–77. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958:2010:01393.x; boyd, d. m., and Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social networking sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13, no. 1, 210–230. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-6101:2007:00393.x.

30. Trepte, S., and Reinecke, L. (2013). The reciprocal effects of social network site use and the disposition for self-disclosure: A longitudinal study. Computers in Human Behavior 29, no. 3, 1102–1112. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012:10.002.

31. Tamir and Mitchell, 2012.

32. Mauri, M., Cipresso, P., Balgera, A., Villamira, M., and Riva, G. (2011). Why is Facebook so successful? Psychophysiological measures describe a core flow state while using Facebook. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 14, no. 12, 723–731. doi:10.1089/cyber.2010:0377, p. 1.

33. Weinschenk, S. (November 7, 2009). 100 things you should know about people. #8 Dopamine makes you addicted to seeking information [blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.blog.theteamw.com/2009/11/07/100-things-you-should-know-about-people-8-dopamine-makes-us-addicted-to-seeking-information.

34. O’Doherty, J., Deichmann, R., Critchley, H., and Dolan, R. J. (2002). Neural responses during anticipation of a primary taste reward. Neuron 33, no. 5, 815–826. doi:10.1016/SO896-6273(02)00603-7.

35. Does Facebook “addiction” really exist? American psychologist Michael Fenichel has suggested that, like gambling or alcohol, Facebook might have its very own version of addiction. He describes the all too familiar situation in which Facebook usage can trump daily activities such as waking up, getting dressed, using the telephone, or checking email. Fenichel has accordingly introduced a new term to describe such a state: Facebook addiction disorder, or FAD. He defines FAD as a condition where hours are spent on Facebook, to the extent that the healthy balance of the individual’s life is affected. Fenichel claims that approximately 350 million people are suffering from the condition, which can be detected through a simple set of six criteria. People who are victims of the disorder must have at least two or three of the following criteria during a six- to eight-month period. For the family members and friends who think they are dealing with an addict, a sign to look out for is, apparently, multiple Facebook windows open. Three or more windows, bizarrely, confirms that they are indeed suffering from this condition. There remains no empirical evidence that Facebook addiction disorder exists (Fenichel, M. [n.d.]. Facebook addiction disorder [FAD]. Retrieved from http://www.fenichel.com/facebook).

36. Johnson, D. E., Guthrie, D., Smyke, A. T., Koga, S. F., Fox, N. A., Zeanah, C. H., and Nelson, C. A. (2010). Growth and associations between auxology, caregiving environment, and cognition in socially deprived Romanian children randomized to foster vs. ongoing institutional care. Archives of Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 164, no. 6, 507–516. doi:10.1001/archpediatrics.2010:56.

37. Oldmeadow, Quinn, and Kowert, 2013.

38. Dumon, M. (October 18, 2011). Meet George Clooney’s new girl: Stacy Keibler. Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/article/meet-george-clooney-s-new-girl-stacy-keibler.

39. Harkaway, N. (2012). The blind giant: Being human in a digital world. London: Vintage.

40. McCullagh, 2010.

41. McAfee. (2010). The secret online lives of teens. Retrieved from http://us.mcafee.com/en-us/local/docs/lives_of_teens.pdf.

42. Arbitron and Edison Research. (April 2013). The infinite dial 2013: Navigating digital platforms. Retrieved from http://www.edisonresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Edison_Research_Arbitron_Infinite_Dial_2013.pdf.

CHAPTER 10. SOCIAL NETWORKING AND IDENTITY

1. Government Office for Science. (2013). Future identities: Changing identities in the UK: The next 10 years. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/273966/13-523-future-identities-changing-identities-report.pdf.

2. Amichai-Hamburger, Y., Wainapel, G., and Fox, S. (2002). “On the Internet no one knows I’m an introvert”: Extroversion, neuroticism, and Internet interaction. CyberPsychology & Behavior 5, no. 2, 125–128. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12025878.

3. Suler, J. (2004). The online disinhibition effect. CyberPsychology & Behavior 7, no. 3, 321–326. doi:10.1089/1094931041291295. Christopherson, K. M. (2007). The positive and negative implications of anonymity in Internet social interactions: “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.” Computers in Human Behavior 23, no. 6, 3038–3056. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2006:09.001.

4. Zhao, S., Grasmuck, S., and Martin, J. (2008). Identity construction on Facebook: Digital empowerment in anchored relationships. Computers in Human Behavior 24, 1816–1836. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2008:02.012.

5. boyd, d. m., and Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social networking sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13, no. 1, 210–230. doi:10.1111/j.1083–6101:2007:00393.x.

6. boyd, d. m., and Ellison, N. B., 2007, p. 211.

7. What names are allowed on Facebook? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/help/112146705538576?q=name&sid=09QL15Kz6090K35pZ.

8. Rogers, C. (1951). Client-centered therapy. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.

9. Bargh, J. A., McKenna, K. Y. A., and Fitzsimons, G. M. (2002). Can you see the real me? Activation and expression of the “true self” on the Internet. Journal of Social Issues 58, no. 1, 33–48. doi:10.1111/1540–4560:00247.

10. McKenna, K. Y. A., Green, A. S., and Gleason, M. E. J. (2002). Relationship formation on the Internet: What’s the big attraction? Journal of Social Issues 58, no. 1, 9–31. doi:10.1111/1540–4560:00246.

11. McKenna, Green, and Gleason, 2002.

12. Tosun, L. P. (2012). Motives for Facebook use and expressing “true self” on the Internet. Computers in Human Behavior 28, 1510–1517. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012:03.018.

13. Tosun, L. P., and Lajunen, T. (2009). Why do young adults develop a passion for Internet activities? The associations among personality, revealing “true self” on the Internet, and passion for the Internet. CyberPsychology & Behavior 12, no. 4, 401–406. doi:10.1089/cpb.2009:0006.

14. Zhao, Grasmuck, and Martin, 2008.

15. Siibak, A. (2009). Constructing the self through the photo selection: Visual impression management on social networking websites. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace 3, no. 1, article 1. Retrieved from: http://cyberpsychology.eu/view.php?cisloclanku=2009061501&article=1.

16. Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Overlook.

17. d. m. boyd interviewed in Rosen, L. D. (2012). iDisorder: Understanding our obsession with technology and overcoming its hold on us. Harmondsworth, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 34.

18. Zhao, Grasmuck, and Martin, 2008.

19. While the majority of social networking research has focused on identity specifically on Facebook, there has been a proposal that, as different social networking platforms offer different types of social networking to users, so different identities might be managed on different social networking sites. For example, LinkedIn may be used to develop the hoped-for professional self, whereas Facebook is the platform to display the hoped-for social self (van Dijck, J. [2013]. “You have one identity”: Performing the self on Facebook and LinkedIn. Media, Culture & Society 35, no. 2, 199–215. doi:10.1177/0163443712468605).

20. Zhao, Grasmuck, and Martin, 2008.

21. Back, M. D., Stopfer, J. M., Vazire, S., Gaddis, S., Schmukle, S. C., Egloff, B., and Gosling, S. D. (2010). Facebook profiles reflect actual personality, not self-idealization. Psychological Science 21, no. 3, 372–374. doi: 10.1177/0956797609360756.

22. Rosen, 2012.

23. Buffardi, L. E., and Campbell, W. K. (2008). Narcissism and social networking Web sites. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 34, 1303–1314. doi: 10.1177/0146167208320061. Mehdizadeh, S. (2010). Self-Presentation 2.0: Narcissism and self-esteem on Facebook. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 13, no. 4, 357–364. doi:10.1089/cyber.2009:0257. Ryan, T., and Xenos, S. (2011). Who uses Facebook? An investigation into the relationship between the Big Five, shyness, narcissism, loneliness, and Facebook usage. Computers in Human Behavior 27, 1658–1664. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2011:02.004. Twenge, J. M., Konrath, S., Foster, J. D., Campbell, W. K., and Bushman, B. J. (2008). Egos inflating over time: A cross-temporal meta-analysis of the narcissistic personality inventory. Journal of Personality 76, no. 4, 875–902. doi: 10.1111/j.1467–6494:2008:00507.x.

24. Twenge et al., 2008.

25. In a study of Twitter users by Mor Naaman and his team from Rutgers, the subjects fell into two categories: “meformers” and “informers.” As their name suggests, the meformers posted endless updates on their own thoughts and feelings, while informers lived up to their particular name by sharing information and interacting more with followers. Of those studied, 80 percent of the subjects were classified as meformers, fitting well into the profile of our current narcissistic era (Naaman, M., Boase, J., and Lai, C. H. [2010]. Is it really about me? Message content in social awareness streams. Proceedings of the 2010 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 189–192. doi:10.1145/1718918:1718953).

26. Buffardi and Campbell, 2008. Mehdizadeh, 2010. Ryan and Xenos, 2011. Naaman, Boase, and Lai, 2010. McKinney, B. C., Kelly, L., and Duran, R. L. (2012). Narcissism or openness? College students’ use of Facebook and Twitter. Communication Research Reports 29, no. 2, 108–118. doi:10.1080/08824096: 2012:666919. Bergman, M., Fearrington, M. E., Davenport, S. W., and Bergman, J. Z. (2011). Millennials, narcissism, and social networking: What narcissists do on social networking sites and why. Personality and Individual Differences 50, 706–711. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2010:12.022. Carpenter, C. J. (2012). Narcissism on Facebook: Self-promotional and anti-social behavior. Personality and Individual Differences 52, no. 4, 482–486. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2011:11.011. Panek, E. T., Nardis, Y., and Konrath, S. (2013). Defining social networking sites and measuring their use: How narcissists differ in their use of Facebook and Twitter. Computers in Human Behavior 29, no. 5, 2004–2012. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2013:04.012.

27. Raskin, R., and Terry, H. (1988). A principal-components analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and further evidence of its construct validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54, no. 5, 890–902. doi:10.1037/0022–3514:54.5:890.

28. Panek, Nardis, and Konrath, 2013.

29. A potential upside from regularly viewing and modifying your social networking identity may be increased self-esteem. However, earlier research has shown that inducing self-awareness via a mirror can induce a negative mood, particularly for women (Fejfar, M. C., and Hoyle, R. H. [2000]. Effect of private self-awareness on negative affect and self-referent attribution: A quantitative review. Personality and Social Psychology Review 4, no. 2, 132–142. doi:10.1207/S15327957PSPR0402_02), so, for some, viewing one’s social networking profile may be the equivalent of an online mirror, and may have negative effects on self-esteem. But Facebook is not a true mirror, displaying an unedited image of ourselves; it is a modified and managed mirror that reflects back our self-edited best version of ourselves, and thus has the potential to be a rose-tinted distortion. Subsequently, research has found that viewing one’s own Facebook profile results in higher self-esteem levels compared to those who looked in a mirror, with those who edited their profiles during a short testing period possessing the highest levels of self-esteem (Tazghini, S., and Siedlecki, K. L. [2013]. A mixed method approach to examining Facebook use and its relationship to self-esteem. Computers in Human Behavior 29, no. 3, 827–832. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012:11.010). Unsurprisingly, it seems that the ability to create and present the ideal version of yourself has positive effects on self-esteem. While older forms of media such as glossy fashion magazines and TV shows increase body image issues, particularly in women, research has shown that the strongest media-related predictor of these issues is now social network site use (Tiggemann, M., and Miller, J. [2010]. The Internet and adolescent girls’ weight satisfaction and drive for thinness. Sex Roles 63, 79–90. doi:10.1007/s11199–010–9789-z). Girls who spent more time on Facebook and MySpace displayed higher scores of “drive for thinness,” a subscale of an eating disorder diagnostic tool. Facebook use was also linked to girls being less satisfied with their current weight and having higher levels of an internalized thin ideal. These associations were stronger for social networking sites than for traditional culprits of body image disorder in women, such as magazines and TV. Most of the research has been equivocal as to whether social networking can actually promote healthy types of self-esteem. At Canada’s York University, psychology student Soraya Mehdizadeh (2010) examined the online habits and personalities of Facebook users at the university, ranging from eighteen to twenty-five years old. Mehdizadeh explored how narcissism and self-esteem related to the various self-promotional contents of a Facebook profile, and found that individuals higher in narcissism and lower in self-esteem spent more time on the site and filled their pages with more self-promotional content. So filling a Facebook page with positive versions of oneself does not appear to do much for an individual’s self-esteem. Perhaps it’s because, for real reassurance, we all need real-world feedback, the literal and metaphorical pat on the back that comes with voice tone, eye contact, body language, and physical contact. A crucial factor may be the type of online activity involved. One study examined the relationship between self-esteem and Facebook use in a sample of some two hundred college students (Manago, Taylor, and Greenfield, [2012]. Me and my 400 friends: The anatomy of college students’ Facebook networks, their communication patterns, and well-being. Developmental Psychology 48, no. 2, 369–380. doi:10.1037/a0026338). Results indicated that self-esteem level was related to engaging in different online behaviors. For example, lower self-esteem was associated with feelings of connectedness to Facebook (that is, to the site itself), more frequently untagging oneself in photos, and accepting friend requests from acquaintances or strangers. In contrast, individuals with higher self-esteem were more likely to report that a positive aspect of Facebook was the ability to share pictures, thoughts, and ideas, and that other people’s posts could become annoying or bothersome. The conclusion was that individuals with low self-esteem use Facebook to accrue more friends and manage their profiles. Then again, perhaps large audiences inflate self-esteem, and if so, those who use Facebook to accrue large networks are potentially at risk of developing unhealthy estimates of their own worth (Gonzales, A. L., and Hancock, J. T. [2011]. Mirror, mirror on my Facebook wall: Effects of exposure to Facebook on self-esteem. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 14, nos. 1–2, 79–83. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2009:0411). Meanwhile, participants who also view others’ profile pages do not have as high self-esteem as those who focus solely on their own profiles (Gonzales and Hancock, 2011). Accordingly, another study found that those who focused on their own Facebook page had higher levels of self-esteem than a control group (Gentile, B., Twenge, J. M., Freeman, E. C., and Campbell, W. K. [2012]. The effect of social networking websites on positive self-views: An experimental investigation. Computers in Human Behavior 28, no. 5, 1929–1933. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012:05.012). Again, perhaps predictably, individualistic, self-focused social networking has the strongest association with rating yourself highly. However, these studies may only be highlighting correlations between those who most enjoy Facebook and high self-esteem. Does social networking simply reinforce the high opinion of individuals who already have robust self-esteem, or can it actually increase the levels of self-esteem in those who are not so confident in themselves? A critical determinant of any positive effects of social network use is the type of feedback users receive from their Facebook audience (Valkenburg, P. M., Peter, J., and Schouten, M. A. [2006]. Friend networking sites and their relationship to adolescents’ well-being and social self-esteem. CyberPsychology & Behavior 9, no. 5, 584–590. doi:10.1089/cpb.2006:9.584).

30. Valkenburg, Peter, and Schouten, 2006.

31. Valkenburg, Peter, and Schouten, 2006.

32. Facebook cull: Top reasons to unfriend someone. (July 3, 2013). Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/03/facebook-reasons-to-unfriend-someone_n_3541249.html.

33. Forest, A. L., and Wood, J. V. (2012). When social networking is not working: Individuals with low self-esteem recognize but do not reap the benefits of self-disclosure on Facebook. Psychological Science 23, no. 3, 295–302. doi:10.1177/0956797611429709.

34. Manago, A. M., Taylor, T., and Greenfield, P M. (2012). Me and my 400 friends: The anatomy of college students’ Facebook networks, their communication patterns, and well-being. Developmental Psychology 48, no. 2, 369–380. doi:10.1037/a0026338.

35. Manago, Taylor, and Greenfield, 2012.

36. Qiu, L., Lin, H., Leung, A. K., and Tov, W. (2012). Putting their best foot forward: Emotional disclosure on Facebook. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 15, no. 10, 569–572. doi:10.1089/cyber.2012:0200.

37. Sigman, A. (2009). Well connected? The biological implications of “social networking.” Biologist 56, no. 1, 14–20. Retrieved from http://www.aricsigman.com/IMAGES/Sigman_lo.pdf.

38. KidScape. (2011). Young people’s cyber life survey. Retrieved from http://www.kidscape.org.uk/resources/surveys.

39. Kanai, R., Bahrami, B., Roylance, R., and Rees, G. (2011). Online social network size is reflected in human brain structure. Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences 279, no. 1732, 1327–1334. doi:10.1098/rspb.2011: 1959.

40. Turkle, S. (2012). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other. New York: Basic Books.

41. James, O. (2008). Affluenza. London: Vermilion.

42. Krasnova, H., Wenninger, H., Widjaja, T., and Buxmann, P. (2013). Envy on Facebook: A hidden threat to users’ life satisfaction? In 11th International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik. Leipzig, Germany.

43. Marshall, T. C. (2012). Facebook surveillance of former romantic partners: Associations with post-breakup recovery and personal growth. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 15, no. 10, 521–526. doi:10.1089/cyber.2012:0125.

44. Tong, S. T., Van Der Heide, B., Langwell, L., and Walther, J. B. (2008). Too much of a good thing? The relationship between number of friends and interpersonal impressions on Facebook. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13, 531–549. doi:10.1111/j.1083–6101:2008:00409.x.

45. Klout scores are then supplemented with three nominally more specific measures, which Klout calls “true reach,” “amplification,” and “network impact.” True reach is based on the amount of influence, determined by the number of followers and friends who actively listen and react to one’s online messages; the amplification score relates to the likelihood that one’s messages will generate actions (retweets, @messages, likes, and comments); the network score reflects the influence that a person’s engaged audience has.

46. Llenas, B. (November 3, 2011). Klout CEO Fernandez responds to critics, gives insider tips and thinks ahead. Retrieved from http://iatinoifoxnews.com/latino/community/2011/11/03/klout-ceo-fernandez-responds-to-critics-gives-tips-and-talks-future.

47. Bates, D. (June 17, 2011). “Leaving Facebook? You can try … but ‘evil genius’ social network won’t make it easy.” Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2004610/Leaving-Facebook-You-try—evil-genius-social-network-wont-make-easy.html.

48. Stieger, S., Burger, C., Bohn, M., and Voracek, M. (in press). Who commits virtual identity suicide? Differences in privacy concerns, Internet addiction, and personality between Facebook users and quitters. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. doi:10.1089/cyber.2012:0323.

CHAPTER 11. SOCIAL NETWORKING AND RELATIONSHIPS

1. Plato. (1925). Plato in Twelve Volumes. (H. N. Fowler, Trans.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd. Retrieved from http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999:01.0174%3Atext%3DPhaedrus%3Apage%3D275.

2. Quoted in http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/market-data/communications-market-reports/cmr12/market-context.

3. Ofcom. (July 18, 2012). The communications market report2012. Retrieved from http://media.ofcom.org.uk/files/2012/07/CMR_analyst_briefing_180712.pdf.

4. Ofcom, 2012.

5. Seltzer, L. J., Prososki, A. R., Ziegler, T. E., and Pollak, S. D. (2012). Instant messages vs. speech: Hormones and why we still need to hear each other. Evolution and Human Behavior 33, 42–45. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2011:05.004.

6. Lord, L. (January 14, 2013). Generation Y, dating and technology: Digital natives struggle to connect offline. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/01/14/generation-y-online-dating-technology-relationships_n_2457722.html.

7. Turkle, S. (2012). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other. New York: Basic Books, p. 1.

8. Howard-Jones, P. (2011). The impact of digital technologies on human wellbeing: Evidence from the sciences of mind and brain. Retrieved from http://www.nominettrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/NT%20SoA%20-%20The%20impact%20of%20digital%20technologies%20on%20human%20wellbeing.pdf, p. 17.

9. Burke, M., Kraut, R., and Marlow, C. (2011). Social capital on Facebook: Differentiating uses and users. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 573–580. doi:10.1145/1978942:1979023.

10. Bessière, K., Kiesler, S., Kraut, R., and Boneva, B. S. (2008). Effects of Internet use and social resources on changes in depression. Information, Communication, and Society 11, no. 1, 47–70. doi:10.1080/13691180701858851.

11. Valkenburg, P. M., and Peter, J. (2007). Preadolescents’ and adolescents’ online communication and their closeness to friends. Developmental Psychology 43, no. 2, 267–277. doi:10.1037/0012–1649:43.2:267.

12. Grieve, R., Indian, M., Witteveen, K., Tolan, G. A., and Marrington, J. (2013). Face-to-face or Facebook: Can social connectedness be derived online? Computers in Human Behavior 29, no. 3, 604–609. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012:11.017.

13. Pollet, T. V., Roberts, S. G. B., and Dunbar, R. I. M. (2011). Use of social network sites and instant messaging does not lead to increased offline social network size, or to emotionally closer relationships with offline network members. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 14, no. 4, 253–258. doi:10.1089/cyber.2010:0161.

14. However, like humans, chimpanzees have “mirror neurons” at work in their brains, cells such as the ones related to eating, which can be activated simply by observing another chimp eating. It seems that the observer chimp has “empathized” with the luckier counterpart actually enjoying a real grape. So the ability to empathize is quite a basic component of the tool kit of the primate brain. Di Pellegrino, G., Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., Gallese, V., and Rizzolatti, G. (1992). Understanding motor events: A neurophysiological study. Experimental Brain Research 91, 176–180. Retrieved from http://www.fulminiesaette.it/_uploads/foto/legame/DiPellegrinoEBR92.pdf.

15. Sagi, A., and Hoffman, M. L. (1976). Empathic distress in the newborn. Developmental Psychology 12, no. 2, 175–176. doi:10.1037/0012–1649:12.2:175.

16. Knafo, A., Zahn-Waxler, C., Van Hulle, C., Robinson, J. L., and Rhee, S. H. (2008). The developmental origins of a disposition toward empathy: Genetic and environmental contributions. Emotion 8, no. 6, 737–752. doi:10.1037/a001417.

17. Ioannidou, F., and Konstantikaki, V. (2008). Empathy and emotional intelligence: What is it really about? International Journal of Caring Science 1, no. 3, 118–123. Retrieved from http://www.caringsciences.org/volume001/issue3/Vol1_Issue3_03_Ioannidou_Abstract.pdf, p. 118.

18. Konrath, S. H., O’Brien, E. H., and Hsing, C. (2011). Changes in dispositional empathy in American college students over time: A meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Review 15, no. 2, 180–198. doi:10.1177/1088868310377395.

19. McPherson, M., Smith-Lovin, L., and Brashears, M. E. (2006). Social isolation in America: Changes in core discussion networks over two decades. American Sociological Review 71, no. 3, 353–375. doi:10.1177/000312240607100301.

20. Rosen, L. D. (2012). iDisorder: Understanding our obsession with technology and overcoming its hold on us. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

21. Engelberg, E., and Sjöberg, L. (2004). Internet use, social skills, and adjustment. CyberPsychology & Behavior 7, no. 1, 41–47. doi: 10.1089/109493104322820101.

22. He, J. B., Liu, C. J., Guo, Y. Y., and Zhao, L. (2011). Deficits in early stage face perception in excessive Internet users. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 14, no. 5, 303–308. doi:10.1089/cyber.2009:0333.

23. McDowell, M. J. (2004). Autism, early narcissistic injury and self-organization: A role for the image of the mother’s eyes? Journal of Analytical Psychology 49, no. 4, 495–520. doi:10.1111/j.0021–8774:2004:00481.x.

24. Waldman, M., Nicholson, S., and Adilov, N. (2006). Does television cause autism? Working Paper No. 12632. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Waldman, M., Nicholson, S., and Adilov, N. (2012). Positive and negative mental health consequences of early childhood television watching. Working Paper No. 17786. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

25. Hertz-Picciotto, I., and Delwiche, L. (2009). The rise in autism and the role of age at diagnosis. Epidemiology 20, no. 1, 84–90. doi:10.1097/EDE.0b013e 3181902d15.

26. Amodio, D. M., and Frith, C. D. (2006). Meeting of minds: The medial frontal cortex and social cognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 7, 268–277. doi:10.1038/nrn1884.

27. Finkenauer, C., Pollman, M. M. H., Begeer, S., and Kerkhof, P. (2012). Examining the link between autistic traits and compulsive Internet use in a nonclinical sample. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 42, 2252–2256. doi:10.1007/s10803-012-1465-4.

28. About ECHOES. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://echoes2.org/?q=node/2.

29. Clayton, R. B., Nagurney, A., and Smith, J. R. (2013). Cheating, breakup, and divorce: Is Facebook use to blame? Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 16, no. 10, 717–720. doi:10.1089/cyber.2012:0424.

30. Anderson, B., Fagan, P., Woodnutt, T., and Chamorro-Prezumic, T. (2012). Facebook psychology: Popular questions answered by research. Psychology of Popular Media Culture 1, no. 1, 23–37. doi:10.1037/a0026452.

31. Marshall, T. C. (2012). Facebook surveillance of former romantic partners: Associations with post-breakup recovery and personal growth. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 15, no. 10, 521–526. doi:10.1089/cyber.2012:0125.

32. Marshall, 2012, p. 521.

33. Tokunaga, R. S. (2011). Social networking site or social surveillance site? Understanding the use of interpersonal electronic surveillance in romantic relationships. Computers in Human Behavior 27, no. 2, 705–713. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2010:08.014.

34. Stern, L. A., and Taylor, K. (2007). Social networking on Facebook. Journal of the Communication, Speech & Theatre Association of North Dakota 20, 9–20. Retrieved from http://www.cstand.org/userfiles/file/journal/2007.pdf#page=9.

35. Muise, A., Christofides, E., and Desmarais, S. (2009). More information than you ever wanted: Does Facebook bring out the green-eyed monster of jealousy? CyberPsychology & Behavior 12, no. 4, 441–444. doi:10.1089/cpb.2008:0263. Muscanell, N. L., Guadagno, R. E., Rice, L., and Murphy S. (2013). Don’t it make my brown eyes green? An analysis of Facebook use and romantic jealousy. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking 16, no. 4, 237–242. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2012:0411.

36. Facebook fuelling divorce, research claims. (December 21, 2009). Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/6857918/Facebook-fuelling-divorce-research-claims.html.

37. Facebook fuelling divorce, research claims, 2009.

CHAPTER 12. SOCIAL NETWORKING AND SOCIETY

1. Maag, C. (November 2012). A hoax turned fatal draws anger but no charges. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/28/us/28hoax.htmR_r=0.

2. LeBlanc, J. C. (October 2012). Cyberbullying and suicide: A retrospective analysis of 22 cases. AAP Experience National Conference & Exhibition Council on School Health. Retrieved from https://aap.confex.com/aap/2012/webprogram/Paper18782.html.

3. Tokunaga, R. S. (2010). Following you home from school: A critical review and synthesis of research on cyberbullying victimization. Computers in Human Behavior 26, no. 3, 277–287. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2009:11.014.

4. Lenhart, L., Madden, M., Smith, A., Purcell, K., Zickuhr, K., and Rainie, L. (2011). Teens, kindness and cruelty on social network sites. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Teens-and-social-media.aspx, pp. 26–27.

5. de Balzac, H. (2010). Father Goriot. (E. Marriage, Trans). Project Gutenberg ebook. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1237/1237-h/1237-h.htm. (Original work published 1835.)

6. Volk, A. A., Camilleri, J. A., Dane, A. V., and Marini, Z. A. (2012). Is adolescent bullying an evolutionary adaptation? Aggressive Behavior 38, no. 3, 222–238. doi:10.1002/ab.21418.

7. Olweus, D. (2012). Cyberbullying: An overrated phenomenon? European Journal of Developmental Psychology 9, no. 5, 520–538. doi:10.1080/17405629:2012:682358, p. 529.

8. Bonanno, R. A., and Hymel, S. (2013). Cyber bullying and internalizing difficulties: Above and beyond the impact of traditional forms of bullying. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 42, no. 5, 685–697. doi:10.1007/s10964-013-9937-1.

9. Pornari, C. D., and Wood, J. (2010). Peer and cyber aggression in secondary school students: The role of moral disengagement, hostile attribution bias, and outcome expectancies. Aggressive Behavior 36, no. 2, 81–94. doi:10.1002/ab.20336.

10. Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundation of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

11. Pornari and Wood, 2010.

12. Perren, S., and Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger, E. (2012). Cyberbullying and traditional bullying in adolescence: Differential roles of moral disengagement, moral emotions, and moral values. European Journal of Developmental Psychology 9, no. 2, 195–209. doi:10.1080/17405629:2011:643168.

13. Robson, C., and Witenberg, R. T. (2013). The influence of moral disengagement, morally based self-esteem, age, and gender on traditional and cyber bullying. Journal of School Violence 12, 211–231. doi:10.1080/15388220:2012: 762921.

14. Hardaker, C. (2010). Trolling in asynchronous computer-mediated communication: From user discussions to academic definitions. Journal of Politeness Research: Language, Behavior, Culture 6, no. 2, 215–242. doi:10.1515/jplr.2010:011.

15. Carey, T. (September 24, 2011). “Help me, mummy. It’s hot here in hell”: A special investigation into the distress of grieving families caused by the sick Internet craze “trolling.” Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2041193/Internet-trolling-Investigation-distress-grieving-families-caused-trolls.html.

16. Quoted in Paton, G. (October 2010). Facebook “encourages children to spread gossip and insults.” Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8067093/Facebook-encourages-children-to-spread-gossip-and-insults.html.

17. Jackson, L. A., and Wang, J. L. (2013). Cultural differences in social networking site use: A comparative study of China and the United States. Computers in Human Behavior 29, no. 3, 910–921. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012:11.024.

18. Anderson, B., Fagan, P., Woodnutt, T., and Chamorro-Prezumic, T. (2012). Facebook psychology: Popular questions answered by research. Psychology of Popular Media Culture 1, no. 1, 23–37. doi:10.1037/a0026452.

19. Huang, C. (June 6, 2011). Facebook and Twitter key to Arab Spring uprisings: Report. Retrieved from http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/facebook-and-twitter-key-to-arab-spring-uprisings-report.

20. Waldorf, L. (2012). White noise: Hearing the disaster. Journal of Human Rights Practice 4, no. 3, 469–474. doi:10.1093/jhuman/hus025.

21. Flores, A., and James, C. (2013). Morality and ethics behind the screen: Young people’s perspectives on digital life. New Media & Society 15, 834–852. doi:10.1177/1461444812462842.

22. Donne, J. (1839). Devotions upon emergent occasions. In H. Alfred (Ed.), The works of John Donne, pp. 574–575. Retrieved from http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/meditation17.php.

CHAPTER 13. THE SOMETHING ABOUT VIDEOGAMES

1. Entertainment Software Association. (2013). Essential facts about the computer and videogame industry. Retrieved from http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/esa_ef_2013.pdf.

2. Entertainment Software Association, 2013.

3. Lazzaro, N. (2004). Why we play games: Four keys to more emotion without story. Retrieved from http://www.xeodesign.com/xeodesign_whyweplaygames.pdf.

4. D’Angelo, W. (April 23, 2012). Top 10 in sales—first person shooters [blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.vgchartz.com/article/250080/top-10-in-sales-first-person-shooters.

5. Demetrovics, Z., Urbán, R., Nagygyörgy, K., Farkas, J., Zilahy, D., Mervó, B.,… and Harmath, E. (2011). Why do you play? The development of the motives for online gaming questionnaire (MOGQ). Behavior Research Methods 43, no. 3, 814–825. doi:10.3758/s13428–011–0091-y. Yee, N. (2006). Motivations for play in online games. CyberPsychology & Behavior 9, no. 6, 772–775. doi:10.1089/cpb.2006:9.772.

6. Kuss, D. J., and Griffiths, M. D. (2012). Internet gaming addiction: A systematic review of empirical research. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 10, no. 2, 278–296. doi:10.1007/s11469-011-9138-5.

7. Hopson, J. (April 27, 2001). Behavioral game design. Retrieved from http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3085/behavioral_game_design.php.

8. Yee, N. (2002). Facets: 5 motivation factors for why people play MMORPGs. Retrieved from http://www.nickyee.com/facets/home.html.

9. The reason that Internet addiction studies are included is because cyberpsychologists are currently unclear as to whether videogame addiction is the same thing as Internet addiction. Ten years ago, when lots of these studies were being done, the two were conflated, as researchers assumed Internet addiction was the same thing as videogame addiction, or that videogame addiction was a manifestation of Internet addiction. Thus, researchers looked at Internet addiction in samples of excessive gamers. We would be unable to gain a complete picture of the current literature without also including Internet addiction.

10. Kuss and Griffiths, 2012. Hur, M. H. (2012). Current trends of Internet addiction disorder research: A review of 2000–2008 Korean academic journal articles. Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development 22, no. 3, 187–201. doi:10.1080/02185385:2012:691718.

11. Back in 1998, and therefore predating widespread gaming on the Internet, Dr. Kimberly Young modified preexisting criteria used to diagnose pathological gambling in order to suggest that pathological Internet use shared similar features: preoccupation, tolerance, withdrawal, failure to control, longer use than intended, functional impairment, lying, and escape (Young, K. S. [1998]. Internet addiction: The emergence of a new clinical disorder. CyberPsychology & Behavior 1, no. 3, 237–244. doi:10.1089/cpb.1998: 1.237). As the director of the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery, Young takes the view that “Internet addicts suffer from emotional problems such as depression and anxiety-related disorders and often use the fantasy world of the Internet to psychologically escape unpleasant feelings or stressful situations” (Young, K. [March 15, 2012]. FAQs. Retrieved from http://netaddiction.com/faqs). Consequences include regular loss of sleep, changes to diet, relationship difficulties, damage to real-world social life, loss of income or employment, poorer academic performance, irritability or anxiety when not using the Internet, and an inability to cut back or stop Internet use. As if that weren’t enough, excessive use has been linked to higher levels of hostility, stress, loneliness, depression, and increased suicidal thoughts (Ko, C. H., Yen, J. Y., Yen, C. F., Chen, C. S., and Chen, C. C. [2012]. The association between Internet addiction and psychiatric disorder: A review of the literature. European Psychiatry 27, no. 1, 1–8. doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2010:04.011). Another lobbyist is David Greenfield (no relation), who heads up the Center for Internet Behavior in Connecticut and is the author of Virtual Addiction (Greenfield, D. N. [1999]. Virtual Addiction: Help for Netheads, Cyberfreaks, and Those Who Love Them. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger). Greenfield believes that some services available over the Internet offer an unprecedented and alluring cocktail of stimulating content, ease of access, convenience, low cost, visual stimulation, autonomy, and anonymity, all of which contribute to a highly psychoactive experience. Defining “psychoactive” as something that alters mood and potentially impacts behavior, Greenfield claims that online sex, gaming, gambling, and shopping can all produce a mood-altering effect, suggesting that a wide variety of Internet activities could all be lumped together as “addictive.”

12. Signs of gaming addiction in adults. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.video-game-addiction.org/internet-addictions-adults.html.

13. Starcevic, V. (2013). Is Internet addiction a useful concept? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 47, no. 1, 16–19. doi:10.1177/0004867412461693.

14. In the United States, a review of excessive Internet use in youths showed prevalence ranging between 0 and 26.3 percent (Moreno, M. A., Jelenchick, L., Cox, E., Young, H., and Christakis, D. A. [2011]. Problematic Internet use among U.S. youth: A systematic review. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 165, no. 9, 797–805. doi: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011:58). Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, Daniel Shek, a psychology professor at the Polytechnic University and an expert on “healthy parenting,” came up with an estimated prevalence of Internet addiction of 20 percent in Chinese adolescents (Shek, D. T., Tang, V. M., and Lo, C. Y. [2008]. Internet addiction in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong: Assessment, profiles, and psychosocial correlates. Scientific World Journal 8, 776–787. doi:10.1100/tsw.2008:104). In contrast, in a European study Konstantinos Siomos, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and chair of the Hellenic Society for the Study of Internet Addiction Disorder, surveyed more than two thousand Greek teenagers, again sampled using a diagnostic questionnaire of Internet addiction. Siomos found that the prevalence of Internet addiction was 8.2 percent (Siomos, K. E., Dafouli, E. D., Braimiotis, D. A., Mouzas, O. D., and Angelopoulos, N. V. [2008]. Internet addiction among Greek adolescent students. CyberPsychology & Behavior 11, no. 6, 653–657. doi:10.1089/cpb.2008:0088). A review of the publications produced until the end of 2009 showed, from different studies mainly conducted in the Far East, highly varied prevalence rates of Internet addiction (Ko et al., 2012).

15. Gentile, D. (2009). Pathological video-game use among youth ages 8 to 18: A national study. Psychological Science 20, no. 5, 594–602. doi:10.1111/j.1467–9280:2009:02340.x.

16. Kuss and Griffiths, 2012.

17. Gentile, D. A., Choo, H., Liau, A., Sim, T., Li, D., Fung, D., and Khoo, A. (2011). Pathological videogame use among youths: A two-year longitudinal study. Pediatrics 127, no. 2, 319–329. doi:10.1542/peds.2010–1353.

18. Weinstein, A., and Lejoyeux, M. (2010). Internet addiction or excessive Internet use. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 36, no. 5, 277–283. doi:10.3109/00952990:2010:491880.

19. Weinstein, A. M. (2010). Computer and videogame addiction: A comparison between game users and non-game users. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 36, no. 5, 268–276. doi:10.3109/00952990:2010:491879.

20. The ventral striatum is the lower part and the dorsal striatum the upper part of a large area, the striatum, which occupies a central part of the brain in all mammals. In higher animals the striatum is subdivided into the upper part, called the putamen, and the lower, the caudate nucleus. Within the ventral striatum/caudate nucleus, another area, the nucleus accumbens, is a dopamine-rich region closely linked to drug addiction. The striatum is also directly and reciprocally connected to the substantia nigra, the primary site of degeneration in Parkinson’s disease, a movement disorder. There is no single “function” for the striatum, which has diffuse and complex anatomical connections and which has been related to a variety of processes ranging from reward to movement.

21. Kühn, S., Romanowski, A., Schilling, C., Lorenz, R., Mörsen, C., Seiferth, N.,… and Gallinat, J. (2011). The neural basis of gaming. Translational Psychiatry 1, no. 11, e53. doi:10.1038/tp.2011:53.

22. Linnet, J., Peterson, E., Doudet, D. J., Gjedde, A., and Moller, A. (2010). Dopamine release in ventral striatum of pathological gamblers losing money. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 112, no. 4, 326–333. doi: 10.1111/j.1600–0447:2010:01591.x.

23. Kühn et al., 2011.

24. Erickson, K. I., Boot, W. R., Basak, C., Neider, M. B., Prakash, R. S., Voss, M. W.,… and Kramer, A. F. (2010). Striatal volume predicts level of videogame skill acquisition. Cerebral Cortex 20, no. 11, 2522–2530. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhp293.

25. Drevets, W. C., Price, J. C., Kupfer, D. J., Kinahan, P. E., Lopresti, B., Holt, D., and Mathis, C. (1999). PET measures of amphetamine-induced dopamine release in ventral versus dorsal striatum. Neuropsychopharmacology 21, no. 6, 694–709. doi:10.1016/S0893-133X(99)00079-2.

26. Robbins, T. W., and Everitt, B. J. (1992). Functions of dopamine in the dorsal and ventral striatum. Seminars in Neuroscience 4, no. 2, 119–127. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/104457659290010Y.MacDonald, P. A., MacDonald, A. A., Seergobin, K. N., Tamjeedi, R., Ganjavi, H., Provost, J. S., and Monchi, O. (2011). The effect of dopamine therapy on ventral and dorsal striatum-mediated cognition in Parkinson’s disease: Support from functional MRI. Brain 134, no. 5, 1447–1463. doi:10.1093/brain/awr075.

27. Koepp, M. J., Gunn, R. N., Lawrence, A. D., Cunningham, V. J., Dagher, A., Jones, T.,… and Grasby, P. M. (1998). Evidence for striatal dopamine release during a videogame. Nature 393, no. 6682, 266–267. doi:10.1038/30498.

28. Metcalf, O., and Pammer, K. (2014). Sub-types of gaming addiction: Physiological arousal deficits in addicted gamers differ based on preferred genre. European Addiction Research 20, no. 1, 23–32. doi:10.1159/000349907.

29. Han, D. H., Lee, Y. S., Yang, K. C., Kim, E. Y., Lyoo, I. K., and Renshaw, P. F. (2007). Dopamine genes and reward dependence in adolescents with excessive Internet videogame play. Journal of Addiction Medicine 1, no. 3, 133–138. doi:10.1097/ADM.0b013e31811f465f.

30. Lush, T. (August 29, 2011). At war with World of Warcraft: An addict tells his story. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/aug/29/world-of-warcraft-video-game-addict.

31. Personal communication, March 8, 2013.

32. King, D. L., Delfabbro, P. H., and Griffiths, M. D. (2011). The role of structural characteristics in problematic videogame play: An empirical study. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 9, no. 3, 320–333. doi:10.1007/s11469–010–9289-y.

33. Lazzaro, 2004.

34. Trepte, S. and Reinecke, L. (2010). Avatar creation and videogame enjoyment: Effects of life-satisfaction, game competitiveness, and identification with the avatar. Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications 22, no. 4, 171–184. doi:10.1027/1864–1105/a000022.

35. Bavelier, D., Green, C. S., and Dye, M. W. (2010). Children, wired: For better and for worse. Neuron 67, no. 5, 692–701. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2010:08.035, p. 698.

36. Nunneley, S. (April 30, 2013). Guardian analysis of top 50 games sold in 2012 found “more than half contain violent content labels” [blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.vg247.com/2013/04/30/guardian-analysis-of-top-50-games-sold-in-2012-found-more-than-half-contain-violent-content-labels.

CHAPTER 14. VIDEOGAMES AND ATTENTION

1. Dowd, M. (December 6, 2011). Silence is golden. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/07/opinion/dowd-silence-is-golden.html?_r=0.

2. Christakis, D. A., Zimmerman, F. J., DiGiuseppe, D. L., and McCarty, C. A. (2004). Early television exposure and subsequent attentional problems in children. Pediatrics 113, 708–713. Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/113/4/708.short.

3. Some experts think that gaming is indeed more detrimental than TV. In his recent review, psychologist Paul Howard-Jones points to the difference between the two media in terms of the degree of personal involvement and interactivity. He concludes: “In terms of content … it seems the Internet leisure activities popular with children, such as games, might not teach the types of attentional capabilities required for ‘paying attention’ in the classroom and other contexts. Given the additional interactivity and the levels of psychological and cognitive engagement they can provide, a case can be made that some Internet activities (such as games) might pose a greater threat to some attentional abilities other than television” (Howard-Jones, P. [2011]. The impact of digital technologies on human wellbeing: Evidence from the sciences of mind and brain. Retrieved from http://www.nominettrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/NT%20SoA%20-%20The%20impact%20of%20digital%20technologies%20on%20human%20wellbeing.pdf).

4. Swing, E. L., Gentile, D. A., Anderson, C. A., and Walsh, D. A. (2010). Television and videogame exposure and the development of attention problems. Pediatrics 126, no. 2, 214–221. doi:10.1542/peds.2009–1508.

5. Swing et al., 2010.

6. Gentile, D. A., Swing, E. L., Lim, C. G., and Khoo, A. (2012). Videogame playing, attention problems, and impulsiveness: Evidence of bidirectional causality. Psychology of Popular Media Culture 1, no. 1, 62. doi:10.1037/a0026969.

7. McKinley, R. A., McIntire, L. K., and Funke, M. A. (2011). Operator selection for unmanned aerial systems: Comparing videogame players and pilots. Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine 82, no. 6, 635–642. doi: 10.3357/ASEM.2958:2011.

8. Appelbaum, L. G., Cain, M. S., Darling, E. F., and Mitroff, S. R. (2013). Action videogame playing is associated with improved visual sensitivity, but not alterations in visual sensory memory. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics 75, no. 6, 1161–1167. doi: 10.3758/s13414-013-0472-7.

9. Quoted in Gamers really do see more. (June 11, 2013). Duke Today. Retrieved from http://today.duke.edu/2013/06/vidvision.

10. Boot, W. R., Blakely, D. P., and Simons, D. J. (2011). Do action videogames improve perception and cognition? Frontiers in Psychology 2, 1–6. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2011:00226.

11. Bavelier, D., Green, C. S., Pouget, A., and Schrater, P. (2012). Brain plasticity through the life span: Learning to learn and action videogames. Annual Review of Neuroscience 35, 391–416. doi:10.1146/annurev-neuro-060909–152832. Castel, A. D., Pratt, J., and Drummond, E. (2005). The effects of action videogame experience on the time course of inhibition of return and the efficiency of visual search. Acta Psychologica 119, no. 2, 217–230. doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2005:02.004. Donohue, S. E., Woldorff, M. G., and Mitroff, S. R. (2010). Videogame players show more precise multisensory temporal processing abilities. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics 72, no. 4, 1120–1129. doi:10.3758/APP.72:4.1120. Dye, M. W. G., Green, C. S., and Bavelier, D. (2009). Increasing speed of processing with action videogames. Current Directions in Psychological Science 18, no. 6, 321–326. doi:10.1111/j.1467–8721:2009:01660.x. Feng, J., Spence, I., and Pratt, J. (2007). Playing an action videogame reduces gender differences in spatial cognition. Psychological Science 18, no. 10, 850–855. doi:10.1111/j.1467–9280:2007:01990.x. Green, C. S., and Bavelier, D. (2003). Action videogame modifies visual selective attention. Nature 423, no. 6939, 534–537. Retrieved from http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v423/n6939/abs/nature01647.html. Green, C. S., and Bavelier, D. (2007). Action-video-game experience alters the spatial resolution of vision. Psychological Science 18, no. 1, 88–94. doi:10.1111/j.1467–9280:2007:01853.x. Green, C. S., and Bavelier, D. (2012). Learning, attentional control, and action videogames. Current Biology 22, no. 6, R197–R206. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2012:02.012. Green, C. S., Pouget, A., and Bavelier, D. (2010). Improved probabilistic inference as a general learning mechanism with action videogames. Current Biology 20, 1573–1579. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2010:07.040. Hubert-Wallander, B., Green, C. S., and Bavelier, D. (2011). Stretching the limits of visual attention: The case of action videogames. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science 2, no. 2, 222–230. doi:10.1002/wcs.116. Subrahmanyam, K., and Greenfield, P M. (1994). Effect of videogame practice on spatial skills in girls and boys. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 15, no. 1, 13–32. doi:10.1016/0193–3973(94) 90004–3.

12. Green and Bavelier (2003), p. 536. The subjects were between eighteen and twenty-three years old and were divided into two separate groups. The gamers were already familiar with playing action videogames such as Grand Theft Auto for a minimum of one hour a day, at least four days a week, during the previous six months. The second group, the nonplayers, had had little or no videogame usage in the previous six months.

13. See citations in n. 11.

14. Rosser, J. C. J., Lynch, P J., Cuddihy, L., Gentile, D. A., Klonsky, J., Merrell, R., and Curet, M. (2007). The impact of videogames on training surgeons in the 21st century. Archives of Surgery 142, no. 2, 181–186. Retrieved from http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18510967.

15. What is Big Brain Academy? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bigbrainacademy.com/ds/what/index.html.

16. Boot, Blakely, and Simons, 2011.

17. Han, D. H., Renshaw, P. F., Sim, M. E., Kim, J. I., Arenella, L. S., and Lyoo, I. K. (2008). The effect of Internet videogame play on clinical and extrapyramidal symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research 103, nos. 1–3, 338–340. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2008:01.026.

18. Bavelier, D., Green, C. S., Han, D. H., Renshaw, P. F., Merzenich, M. M., and Gentile, D. A. (2011). Brains on videogames. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 12, no. 12, 763–768. doi:10.1038/nrn3135.

19. Walshe, D. G., Lewis, E. J., Kim, S. I., O’Sullivan, K., and Wiederhold, B. K. (2003). Exploring the use of computer games and virtual reality in exposure therapy for fear of driving following a motor vehicle accident. CyberPsychology & Behavior 6, no. 3, 329–334. doi:10.1089/109493103322011641.

20. Fernández-Aranda, F., Jiménez-Murcia, S., Santamaría, J. J., Gunnard, K., Soto, A., Kalapanidas, E.,… and Penelo, E. (2012). Videogames as a complementary therapy tool in mental disorders: PlayMancer, a European multicentre study. Journal of Mental Health 21, no. 4, 364–374. doi:10.3109/09638237:2012:664302.

21. Gambotto-Burke, A. (August 13, 2011). Hi-tech stimuli help to dull the pain. Retrieved from http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/hi-tech-stimuli-help-to-dull-the-pain/story-e6frg8y6–1226113730661.

22. Coyne, S. M., Padilla-Walker, L. M., Stockdale, L., and Day, R. D. (2011). Game on … girls: Associations between co-playing videogames and adolescent behavioral and family outcomes. Journal of Adolescent Health 49, no. 2, 160–165. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010:11.249.

23. Bessière, K., Seay, A. F., and Kiesler, S. (2007). The ideal elf: Identity exploration in World of Warcraft. CyberPsychology & Behavior 10, no. 4, 530–535. doi:10.1089/cpb.2007:9994.

24. Xanthopoulou, D., and Papagiannidis, S. (2012). Play online, work better? Examining the spillover of active learning and transformational leadership. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 79, no. 7, 1328–1339. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2012:03.006.

25. Bailey, K., West, R., and Anderson, C. A. (2010). A negative association between videogame experience and proactive cognitive control. Psychophysiology 47, no. 1, 34–42. doi:10.1111/j.1469–8986:2009:00925.x.

26. Braver, T. S., Gray, J. R., and Burgess, G. C. (2007). Explaining the many varieties of working memory variation: Dual mechanisms of cognitive control. In A. Conway, C. Jarrold, M. J. Kane, A. Miyake, and J. N. Towse (Eds.), Variation in working memory, pp. 76–106. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

27. Bailey, West, and Anderson, 2010.

28. Ventura, M., Shute, V., and Zhao, W. (2013). The relationship between videogame use and a performance-based measure of persistence. Computers & Education 60, no. 1, 52–58. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012:07.003.

29. ADHD and ADD (attention deficit disorder) are general terms frequently used to describe individuals who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or, as the abbreviated name suggests, attention problems without the hyperactive and impulsive behaviors. The terms ADHD and ADD are often used interchangeably both for those who do have symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsiveness and for those who do not. For our purposes we can consider the two together under the same umbrella terminology relating to attentional problems.

30. Howard-Jones, P. (2011). The impact of digital technologies on human wellbeing: Evidence from the sciences of mind and brain. Retrieved from http://www.nominettrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/NT%20SoA%20-%20The%20impact%20of%20digital%20technologies%20on%20human%20wellbeing.pdf, p. 52.

31. Parkes, A., Sweeting, H., Wight, D., Henderson, M. (2013). Do television and electronic games predict children’s psychosocial adjustment? Longitudinal research using the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Archives of Disease in Childhood 98, no. 5, 341–348. doi:10.1136/archdischild-2011-301508.

32. Researchers use terms such as “excessive,” “obsessive,” “compulsive,” “pathological,” “harmful,” and “addictive” when referring to Internet use that results in harmful consequences to a user and an inability to control Internet use, as “Internet addiction” is not a formally recognized disorder. These terms are used throughout to refer to the same behavior—an inability to cut back or control Internet use, despite significant negative consequences.

33. Collins, E., Freeman, J., and Chamarro-Premuzic, T. (2012). Personality traits associated with problematic and non-problematic massively multiplayer online role playing game use. Personality and Individual Differences 52, no. 2, 133–138. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2011:09.015.

34. Ha, J. H., Yoo, H. J., Cho, I. H., Chin, B., Shin, D., and Kim, J. H. (2006). Psychiatric comorbidity assessed in Korean children and adolescents who screen positive for Internet addiction. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 67, no. 5, 821–826. doi:10.4088/JCP.v67n0517.

35. Yen, J. Y., Ko, C. H., Yen, C. F., Wu, H. Y., and Yang, M. J. (2007). The comorbid psychiatric symptoms of Internet addiction: Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, social phobia, and hostility. Journal of Adolescent Health 41, 93–98. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007:02.002.

36. Swing et al., 2010.

37. Chan, P. A., and Rabinowitz, T. (2006). A cross-sectional analysis of videogames and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in adolescents. Annals of General Psychiatry 5, no. 16, 5–16. doi:10.1186/1744–859X-5–16, p. 4.

38. Bioulac, S., Arfi, L., and Bouvard, M. P. (2008). Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and videogames: A comparative study of hyperactive and control children. European Psychiatry 23, no. 2, 134–141. doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2007: 11.002.

39. Doward, J., and Craig, E. (May 6, 2012). Ritalin use for ADHD children soars fourfold. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/may/06/ritalin-adhd-shocks-child-psychologists.

40. Zuvekas, S. H., and Vitiello, B. (2012). Stimulant medication use in children: A 12-year perspective. American Journal of Psychiatry 169, no. 2, 160–166. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2011:11030387.

41. Hollingworth, S. A., Nissen, L. M., Stathis, S. S., Siskind, D. J., Varghese, J. M., and Scott, J. G. (2011). Australian national trends in stimulant dispensing: 2002–2009. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 45, no. 4, 332–336. doi:10.3109/00048674:2010:543413.

42. A major thought to flag here, however, is that whatever findings may emerge from one group of subjects, we must always be aware of possible cultural factors making an all-important difference. For example, a Korean scientist, Seok Young Moon, all too aware of the issue, concluded: “While investigating whether teachers’ and parents’ perspectives on ADHD are influenced by culture, I found that cultural influence plays an important role: In Korea, according to Confucianism, parents and teachers tend to focus more on children’s academic achievement and take children’s distractive behaviors as a negative reflection on themselves and their authority. Korean teachers and parents try to take personal responsibility for children’s distractive behaviors, and have negative attitudes toward medication because the medication does not help to increase academic improvement. U.S. parents and teachers, influenced by western culture’s focus on independence, tend not to take personal responsibility for the children’s behaviors but to focus more on children’s current problems and treatment. U.S. parents and teachers did not mind a third party’s engagement in dealing with children with ADHD and their behaviors. U.S. parents were more positive about medical treatments because medication helps to reduce children’s distractive behaviors” (Moon, S. Y. [n.d.]. Cultural perspectives on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A comparison between Korea and the United States. Journal of International Business and Cultural Studies, 1–11. Retrieved from http://ww.aabri.com/manuscripts/11898.pdf).

43. Turner, D. C., Robbins, T. W., Clark, L., Aron, A. R., Dowson, J., and Sahakian, B. J. (2003). Cognitive enhancing effects of modafinil in healthy volunteers. Psychopharmacology 165, no. 3, 260–269. doi:10.1007/s00213-002-1250-8.

44. Han, D. H., Lee, Y. S., Na, C., Ahn, J. Y., Chung, U. S., Daniels, M. A.,… and Renshaw, P. F. (2009). The effect of methylphenidate on Internet videogame play in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Comprehensive Psychiatry 50, no. 3, 251–256. doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2008:08.011, p. 251.

45. Howard-Jones, 2011.

NOTES

CHAPTER 1. MIND CHANGE: A GLOBAL PHENOMENON