The Cyber Effect

"From one of the world's leading experts in cyberpsychology--a discipline that combines psychology, forensics, and technology--comes a groundbreaking exploration of the impact of technology on human behavior. In the first book of its kind, Mary Aiken applies her expertise in cyber-behavioral analysis to a range of subjects, including criminal activity on the Deep Web and Darknet; deviant behavior; Internet addictions; the impact of technology on the developing child; teenagers and the Web; cyber-romance and cyber-friendships; cyberchondria; the future of artificial intelligence; and the positive effects on our digital selves, such as online altruism"--

A groundbreaking exploration of how cyberspace is changing the way we think, feel, and behave “A must-read for this moment in time.”—Steven D. Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics • One of the best books of the year—Nature Mary Aiken, the world’s leading expert in forensic cyberpsychology, offers a starting point for all future conversations about how the Internet is shaping development and behavior, societal norms and values, children, safety, privacy, and our perception of the world. Drawing on her own research and extensive experience with law enforcement, Aiken covers a wide range of subjects, from the impact of screens on the developing child to the explosion of teen sexting and the acceleration of compulsive and addictive behaviors online. Aiken provides surprising statistics and incredible-but-true case studies of hidden trends that are shaping our culture and raising troubling questions about where the digital revolution is taking us. Praise for The Cyber Effect “How to guide kids in a hyperconnected world is one of the biggest challenges for today’s parents. Mary Aiken clearly and calmly separates reality from myth. She clearly lays out the issues we really need to be concerned about and calmly instructs us on how to keep our kids safe and healthy in their digital lives.”—Peggy Orenstein, author of the New York Times bestseller Girls & Sex “[A] fresh voice and a uniquely compelling perspective that draws from the murky, fascinating depths of her criminal case file and her insight as a cyber-psychologist . . . This is Aiken’s cyber cri de coeur as a forensic scientist, and she wants everyone on the case.”—The Washington Post “Fascinating . . . If you have children, stop what you are doing and pick up a copy of The Cyber Effect.”—The Times (UK) “An incisive tour of sociotechnology and its discontents.”—Nature “Just as Rachel Carson launched the modern environmental movement with her Silent Spring, Mary Aiken delivers a deeply disturbing, utterly penetrating, and urgently timed investigation into the perils of the largest unregulated social experiment of our time.”—Bob Woodward “Mary Aiken takes us on a fascinating, thought-provoking, and at times scary journey down the rabbit hole to witness how the Internet is changing the human psyche. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand the temptations and tragedies of cyberspace.”—John R. Suler, PhD, author of The Psychology of Cyberspace “Drawing on a fascinating and mind-boggling range of research and knowledge, Mary Aiken has written a great, important book that terrifies then consoles by pointing a way forward so that our experience online might not outstrip our common sense.”—Steven D. Levitt “Having worked with law enforcement groups from INTERPOL and Europol as well as the U.S. government, Aiken knows firsthand how today’s digital tools can be exploited by criminals lurking in the Internet’s Dark Net.”—Newsweek

Dr Mary Aiken is the world's leading expert in forensic cyberpsychology - a discipline that combines psychology, criminology and technology to investigate the intersection between technology and human behaviour. In this, her first book, Aiken has created a starting point for all future conversations about how the Internet is shaping our perception of the world, development and behaviour, societal norms and values, children, safety and security. Covering everything from the impact of screens on the developing child to the explosion of teen sexting, and the acceleration of compulsive and addictive online behaviours (gaming, shopping, pornography), The Cyber Effect also examines the escalation in cyberchondria (self-diagnosis online), cyberstalking and organized crime in the Deep Web. Cyberspace is an environment full of surveillance, but who is looking out for us? Full of surprising statistics and incredible-but-true case studies of the hidden trends that are shaping our culture, this book raises troubling questions about where the digital revolution is taking us. Upending your assumptions about your online life and forever changing the way you think about the technology that you, your friends and your family use, The Cyber Effect offers a fascinating and chilling look at a future we can still do something about.

How does your personality shape your life and what, if anything, can you do about it? Are you hardwired for happiness, or born to brood? Do you think you're in charge of your future, or do you surf the waves of unknowable fate? Would you be happier, or just less socially adept, if you were less concerned about what other people thought of you? And what about your "Type A" spouse: is he or she destined to have a heart attack, or just drive you to drink? In the past few decades, new scientific research has transformed old ideas about the nature of human personality. Neuroscientists, biologists, and psychological scientists have reexamined the theories of Freud and Jung as well as the humanistic psychologies of the 1960s, upending the simplistic categorizations of personality "types," and developing new tools and methods for exploring who we are. Renowned professor and pioneering research psychologist Brian R. Little has been at the leading edge of this new science. In this wise and witty book he shares a wealth of new data and provocative insights about who we are, why we act the way we do, what we can -- and can't -- change, and how we can best thrive in light of our "nature." Me, Myself, and Us explores questions that are rooted in the origins of human consciousness but are as commonplace as yesterday's breakfast conversation, such as whether our personality traits are "set" by age thirty or whether our brains and selves are more plastic. He considers what our personalities portend for our health and success, and the extent to which our well-being depends on the personal projects we pursue. Through stories, studies, personal experiences, and entertaining interactive assessments, Me, Myself, and Us provides a lively, thought-provoking, and ultimately optimistic look at the possibilities and perils of being uniquely ourselves, while illuminating the selves of the familiar strangers we encounter, work with, and love.

Internet is a real place. Every time we switch on our computers, use a program or an application, or log in to a social media site, we enter a virtual space made up of worlds, domains, forums and rooms. But we behave differently when we interact with technology: technology amplifies and accelerates our deeds; it can help us find useful information, benefit from a wide range of services and stay in touch with our friends, but it can also create addictive-type behaviours and subliminally manipulate us online. Mary Aiken, a cyberpsychologist specialised in the impact of technology on human behaviour, warns us about cybersecurity: "We need a human-centred approach that is mindful of how humans actually use connected things and not how the tech sector presumes or expects them to". This is the fifth essay in the Big Ideas series created by the European Investment Bank.

In the wake of fresh allegations that personal data of Facebook users have been illegally used to influence the outcome of the US general election and the Brexit vote, the debate over manipulation of social Big Data continues to gain more momentum. Cyber Influence and Cognitive Threats addresses various emerging challenges in response to cybersecurity, examining cognitive applications in decision-making, behaviour and basic human interaction. The book examines the role of psychology in cybersecurity by addressing each factor involved in the process: hackers, targets, cybersecurity practitioners, and the wider social context in which these groups operate. Cyber Influence and Cognitive Threats covers a variety of topics including information systems, psychology, sociology, human resources, leadership, strategy, innovation, law, finance and others. Explains psychological factors inherent in machine learning and artificial intelligence Explores attitudes towards data and privacy through the phenomena of digital hoarding and protection motivation theory Discusses the role of social and communal factors in cybersecurity behaviour and attitudes Investigates the factors that determine the spread and impact of information and disinformation

Digital technologies are deeply embedded in everyday life with opportunities for information access and perpetual social contact now mediating most of our activities and relationships. This book expands the lens of Cyberpsychology to consider how digital experiences play out across the various stages of people’s lives. Most psychological research has focused on whether human-technology interactions are a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’ thing for humanity. This book offers a distinctive approach to the emergent area of Cyberpsychology, moving beyond these binary dilemmas and considering how popular technologies have come to frame human experience and relationships. In particular the authors explore the role of significant life stages in defining the evolving purpose of digital technologies. They discuss how people’s symbiotic relationship with digital technologies has started to redefine our childhoods, how we experience ourselves, how we make friends, our experience of being alone, how we have sex and form romantic relationships, our capacity for being antisocial as well as the experience of growing older and dying. This interdisciplinary book will be of great interest to scholars and practitioners across psychology, digital technology and media studies as well as anyone interested in how technology influences our behaviour.

Cyber Victimology provides a global socio-legal-victimological perspective on victimisation online, written in clear, non-technical terms, and presents practical solutions for the problem. Halder qualitatively analyzes the contemporary dimensions of cyber-crime victimisation, aiming to fill the gap in the existing literature on this topic. A literature review, along with case studies, allows the author to analyze the current situation concerning cyber-crime victimisation. A profile of victims of cyber-crime has been developed based on the characteristics of different groups of victims. As well, new policy guidelines on the basis of UN documents on cybercrimes and victim justice are proposed to prevent such victimisation and to explore avenues for restitution of justice for cases of cyber-crime victimisation. This book shows how the effects of cyber victimisation in one sector can affect others. This book also examines why perpetrators choose to attack their victim/s in specific ways, which then have a ripple effect, creating greater harm to other members of society in unexpected ways. This book is suitable for use as a textbook in cyber victimology courses and will also be of great interest to policy makers and activists working in this area.