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Title
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The Psychological Impacts of Cyberlife Engagement
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Author
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Kwan, Virginia S. Y.
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Bodford, Jessica E.
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Research Area
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Cognition and Emotions
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Topic
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Information Processing
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Abstract
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This essay synthesizes scientific research across two decades on the influence of cyberlife engagement on cognitive processes, mental and physical health, and interpersonal interactions, highlighting the increasingly pervasive presence of digital innovation in society. New possibilities afforded by the integration of technology in commerce, relationships, therapy, and education are discussed, as are prevalent topics of interest within cyberpsychological research. We present an analysis of the positivity with which information and communication technology is portrayed in scientific literature since its emergence in society and discuss important future directions of study as technology's presence and influence continue to grow on an exponential scale. Last, we present current voids in cyberpsychological research, focusing particularly on the question of digital culture, or the impact of cyberlife engagement on global cultures as both geographical and custom‐based barriers are traversed with increasing ease.
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Identifier
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etrds0346
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extracted text
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The Psychological Impacts
of Cyberlife Engagement
VIRGINIA S. Y. KWAN and JESSICA E. BODFORD
Abstract
This essay synthesizes scientific research across two decades on the influence of
cyberlife engagement on cognitive processes, mental and physical health, and interpersonal interactions, highlighting the increasingly pervasive presence of digital
innovation in society. New possibilities afforded by the integration of technology
in commerce, relationships, therapy, and education are discussed, as are prevalent
topics of interest within cyberpsychological research. We present an analysis of the
positivity with which information and communication technology is portrayed
in scientific literature since its emergence in society and discuss important future
directions of study as technology’s presence and influence continue to grow on an
exponential scale. Last, we present current voids in cyberpsychological research,
focusing particularly on the question of digital culture, or the impact of cyberlife
engagement on global cultures as both geographical and custom-based barriers are
traversed with increasing ease.
Since its emergence in society, the impact of information and communication
technology on its human users has been dichotomized. On the one hand,
it is often heralded for its ability to foster efficiency and productivity both
within and outside the workplace. On the other hand, it has raised concerns
over the potential harm to personal privacy, social interaction, and global
security. For more than a decade, this “Internet paradox” has further framed
technology as a vehicle for communication that can easily traverse geographical distance, and yet might also reduce social involvement and subjective
well-being (Teske, 2002).
As technology becomes increasingly prevalent in global society, so do
publications concerning the scientific study of technology and its impact.
The field of cyberpsychology has since emerged in scientific literature to
better understand the nature of human interaction with—and through—
technology, as well as the psychological impacts stemming from these
Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Edited by Robert Scott and Stephen Kosslyn.
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 978-1-118-90077-2.
1
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EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
digital interactions. Cyberpsychology is known by a diverse set of names
including Internet psychology, digital psychology, and media psychology,
all of which similarly focus on the effects of information and communication
technologies on social life and internal processes. Despite its name, the study
of cyberpsychology extends far beyond the realm of psychological literature;
fields such as cybernetics, sociology, education, human–computer interaction, developmental psychology, industrial–organizational psychology, and
marketing are also key stakeholders in this emerging topic.
CYBERLIFE ENGAGEMENT IN CYBERPSYCHOLOGY
In this essay, we review psychological research on the impact of cyberlife
engagement. Here, we define cyberlife as an individual’s use of, presence
in, and interaction with cyberspace, including the use of the Internet,
social networking sites, e-mail, and virtual Internet-based communities.
Cyberlife engagement therefore describes a human user’s engagement
with any form of cyberlife, as opposed to the use of any device that relies
on technology (e.g., hearing aids and digital clocks). To capture a wide
variety of relevant research, we conducted a literature search across a
variety of journals accessible through EBSCOhost using author-supplied
keywords psychology AND technology OR computer* OR cyber* OR internet
OR online OR phish* OR e-mail* OR email* OR facebook or myspace OR “social
network*” OR media. In addition, we indexed all articles published from main
cyberpsychology journals including Computers in Human Behavior; Journal
of Computer-Mediated Communication; Media Psychology; Cyberpsychology,
Behavior, and Social Networking; and Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial
Research on Cyberspace.
Of the search results—which comprised 182 peer-reviewed publications—
the widest proportion of articles was based on surveys and self-report
data (43.16%), followed by experimental research (16.84%) and theoretical
discussions addressing cyberpsychological concepts and developments
(15.79%). Notably, a vast majority of articles (80.35%) were analyzed at
the level of the individual, although these studies have represented a
wide variety of countries over the last 20 years. To date, only a marginal
number (1.16%) of articles have compared cyberlife engagement on the
national level. Nevertheless, this level of analysis is growing in popularity
as sociological approaches in cyberpsychology are growing more prevalent.
Because these articles were not directly relevant to the psychological study
of cyberlife engagement, they were omitted from our discussion in the
following section.
The Psychological Impacts of Cyberlife Engagement
3
KEY PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES
Across publication venues and research domains, the psychological variables of interest in cyberpsychological research fall under three main areas
(Figure 1). First, cognitive processes account for research on attention and
memory, productivity, learning, speech perception, and the use of and
exposure to technology (e.g., digital literacy). Second, well-being and mental
or physical health includes studies pertaining to psychological well-being,
intervention effectiveness, physiological processes, and problematic behaviors. Third, interpersonal adjustment comprises research on self-concept
processes, affective processes, and social interaction. Of these three areas,
studies on mental or physical health constitute the most widely published
areas of cyberpsychological research (49.23%), followed distantly by research
into cognitive processes (27.69%) and interpersonal adjustment (23.08%).
In recent years, psychological variables of increasing prevalence in the
literature include learning, self-processes, and social interaction. In contrast,
research on problematic behaviors both online and as aided through technological devices is on the decline, as is research on psychological well-being
(Figure 2). Overall, although cyberpsychology was largely dominated by
research on cognitive processes in the late 1980s (i.e., learning in classrooms
with computer access), interest in interpersonal adjustment is on the rise
as the influence of social networking sites, online dating, and text-based
communication on human interaction grows ever more important each year.
Main areas of interest
23%
28%
49%
Cognitive processes
Well-being, mental/physical health
Interpersonal adjustment
Figure 1 Frequency of main areas of interest returned in literature search.
4
1999
Learning
1998
2001
Self-concept
2000
2002
2004
2005
Social interaction
2003
2008
Well-being
2007
Specific topics of interest
2010
2011
2012
Problematic behaviors
2009
2013
Figure 2 Frequency of specific psychological variables of interest as a percentage of total for learning, self-concept, social interaction, psychological well-being, and problematic behaviors.
0%
200%
400%
600%
800%
100%
The Psychological Impacts of Cyberlife Engagement
5
THE VALENCE OF CYBERLIFE ENGAGEMENT
With the emergence of any new technology comes a fresh wave of attention regarding the impact of cyberlife engagement on daily life. The valence
with which the public portrays technological advancements may vary widely
across time and disciplines depending on the nature of the advancements in
question. Here, we refer to the psychological use of the term valence, meaning
the intrinsic attractiveness or aversiveness (i.e., positive or negative valence)
associated with a given target. In this sense, valence is affective, concerning the positive or negative emotions that technology’s presence may evoke
in society. To observe these longitudinal trends, we analyzed the valence
(i.e., positive, negative, and neutral) of the outcomes of cyberlife engagement
based on the conclusions drawn by the authors of the articles. For articles
with more than one outcome of interest (e.g., cognitive processes as well as
affective processes), we coded positivity or negativity as a ratio of all outcome
valences.
Within our search results, some areas of research appear to portray technology predominately in a positive light. Education, for example, has more or
less consistently depicted cyberlife engagement favorably for the new possibilities it affords learning environments, teaching styles, and student comprehension. Exciting new possibilities including virtual learning environments
have drawn attention to the ubiquity, affordability, and ease of implementation of online courses and tutoring opportunities (Knight, 2010). Because
virtual learning environments support learning that is self-regulated rather
than driven by in-person contact with professors and classmates, studies
suggest that students are adopting a more active investment in learning outcomes and motivation (Barber, Bagsby, Grawitch, & Buerck, 2011; Sottilare &
Proctor, 2012).
The practice of gamification—that is, the use of video games to teach
educational concepts in a memorable and interactive way (Domínguez et al.,
2013; Yu-Liang, 2010)—became increasingly prevalent in school systems
across developed nations. By the early 2000s, it was not the use of technology
in the classroom but rather outside it that brought educational technology to
the forefront of cyberpsychological research once more. Digitally mediated
distance education such as massive open online courses (MOOCs) have
grown exponentially in popularity since their emergence in 2008, and are
now offered by approximately 90% of all higher education institutions
(Kruger-Ross & Waters, 2013; Mackness, Mak, & Williams, 2010). The implications of earning a degree without being physically present in a college
setting are a topic of debate among scholars and parents alike, as is the ease
with which students are able to use outside resources (e.g., textbooks and
notes) during Internet-based exams.
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EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
Online education is not, however, limited solely to secondary or higher
schooling. Groups unaffiliated with school systems or universities are
increasingly using technology to implement targeted interventions and
training courses ranging from managing disease and hospital climate (Irvine
et al., 2012; Klein & Card, 2011) to alcohol use prevention during pregnancy
(Tzilos, Sokol, & Ondersma, 2011).
Industrial–organizational psychology, on the other hand, has most frequently published cyberpsychological research on the detrimental effects
of technology in the workplace, including studies on cyberloafing (i.e., the
recreational use of computers or the Internet during work hours; e.g., Whitty,
2004; Zoghbi-Manrique-de-Lara, 2012). In addition, the disciplines of criminal and forensic psychology have focused on cybercrime and cybersecurity
issues on human users, online organizations (e.g., e-commerce, banking
companies), and national governments. As the incidence of cybercrime has
grown on a worldwide level (Kigerl, 2012), so too has the concern of cyberwarfare between nations (Weinberger, 2011), highlighting the importance of
research into computer and network infrastructure and predictors of human
intentions to cause digitally mediated harm.
Social psychology and clinical psychology appear to portray cyberlife
engagement as mixed blessings, in which approximately equal publications
present positive and negative outcomes of technology use on psychological
processes. Clinical research has begun to focus on online interventions to
increase efficiency and accessibility of Internet-based therapy. As early as
the late 1990s, the term therap-e-mail was used to refer to counseling services
provided via text-based mediums as a way of overcoming power imbalances
between clients and therapists. Although originally received with skepticism
(Castelnuovo, Gaggioli, Mantovani, & Riva, 2003; Murphy & Mitchell, 1998),
recent research suggested that merely writing about emotional experiences
produced positive outcomes in both physical and mental health (Sheese,
Brown, & Graziano, 2004). In younger populations, the influence of peer
participation in such interventions has proven beneficial in intervention
retention rates and psychological outcomes, looking specifically at eating
disorders, exercise motivation, and alcohol use in college students (Bauer,
Moessner, Wolf, Haug, & Kordy, 2009; Crutzen et al., 2009; Sidman, Fiala, &
D’Abundo, 2011). Due to the recent influx in mobile device usage, counseling
psychologists are seeking to integrate counseling and mobile technology
to strengthen these benefits when conducted through digital mediums
(Warren, 2012); however, this lack of face-to-face interaction with licensed
clinicians brings to question the standardization of Internet-based psychological and behavioral interventions. Consequently, new research seeks to
set guidelines in the practice and evaluation of cybertherapy (Proudfoot
et al., 2011), although the efficacy of such guidelines has yet to be established.
The Psychological Impacts of Cyberlife Engagement
7
It would not, however, be accurate to state that text alone can produce psychological and behavioral changes as drastic as those caused in
physical—rather than purely technological—contexts. For more than a
decade, immersive virtual environments, commonly referred to as virtual
reality, have been used to recreate realistic settings for use in video gaming
and recreational sports, rehabilitation and specialized training programs
(Blascovich & Bailenson, 2011; Riva, 2009; Rizzo et al., 1999; Wiederhold &
Wiederhold, 2003).
Social psychologists have been interested in the use of chat rooms and
online forums for dating, “singles bars,” and sexual chatting (Mills, 1998).
In the years since, online dating has grown in popularity around the world,
regardless of age or demographic (Alvarez, 2012). Concerns regarding the
veracity of online dating profiles have instigated research into motivations
for and outcomes of relationship formation based entirely online, although
with mixed findings. While recent communications research posits that
deception is rarely perceived and therefore poses dangers to other dating
site users (Toma & Hancock, 2012), research into marital satisfaction and
divorce rates across relationships that originated either online or offline
suggests that online dating may facilitate happy, long-lasting marriages
more frequently than offline relationships (Cacioppo, Cacioppo, Gonzaga,
Ogburn, & VanderWeele, 2013). One possible cause for this finding is the
unimportance or even lack of information pertaining to physical appearance
or status, which may inaccurately attract or deter potential mates regardless
of personality compatibility.
Beyond online dating, social psychological research has explored friendship and self-disclosure tendencies through blogging (Gurak & Antonijevic,
2008), discussion boards (Kovatcheva & Kommers, 2004), and specialized
online communities for target groups (Hume & Bressers, 2009; Leung et al.,
2011). Across Internet mediums, results suggest that self-disclosure and
online relationship formation—both romantic and friendship-based—produce similar psychological benefits as social support in in-person contexts.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CYBERLIFE ENGAGEMENT
Over time, however, the valence with which cyberlife engagement is portrayed in scientific literature has varied largely as a function of emerging
technologies, new inventions, and increased accessibility of most digital
modalities. In the mid-1980s, for example, technology was depicted more
positively with a focus on its potential for increased efficiency and productivity. Computers were, in essence, viewed as little more than glorified
calculators (Burden, 1984) and therefore construed as a tool rather than a
source of direct societal, psychological, and behavioral change.
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EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
By the turn of the 1990s, increased lay access to the Internet and e-mail
transformed computers from predominately word-processing machines into
a means of two-way communication rather than a one-way recipient of user
commands. In addition, the Internet became a highly important source of
information accessible at the click of a mouse, including the Web’s first search
engines (e.g., W3Catalog, Aliweb, JumpStation; Koster, 1994), which could be
used to access educationally and occupationally relevant information with
greater ease than library catalogs and print indices.
Over the course of the 1990s, however, the increased use of technology as
a communication medium yielded a reactionary period in which the very
nature of human interaction began to undergo a rapid change. The advent
of multimedia e-mail (i.e., embedding graphics and sound), chat rooms,
forums and online communities, and multiplayer online gaming seemed to
induce apprehension in older generations. This gradual change precipitated
a novel research focus to the ways in which interactions through digital
mediums differ from those that take place in physical life. A key component
of this interest was the anonymity inherent in digital communication,
which some researchers predicted would lead to a decreased sense of
social inhibition when interacting with other Internet users (McKenna &
Bargh, 2000). Attention shifted toward cybersex and sexual media content,
cybertherapy and online interventions, and multimedia content, particularly
video hosting websites like ShareYourWorld and—much later—YouTube.
By the early 2000s, it became apparent that the viewing and sharing of
Web-based video would far exceed the standard television, which brought
to question the ease with which children and teenagers could access not only
mature content but also popular media depicting celebrities, models, and
adult behavior in a potentially harmful light. For example, search engines
and online magazine websites provided young women with increased
access to unrealistic depictions of ideal beauty. Consequently, research
began to suggest that media consumption through online forms posed a
heavy impact on body image and self-esteem (H. D. Posavac, S. S. Posavac,
& Weigel, 2001; Tiggemann & Miller, 2010).
As the decade wore on, so too did advances in Internet-based communication such as social networking sites, which have since become a predominate
target of Internet traffic. More recent studies indicate that 91% of Internet
access on mobile devices and 79% on desktop or laptop computers can be
attributed to social activities (Rainie, 2011). Whereas less than two decades
previous technology was construed as a source of productivity, it was now
confounded with time spent on globally accessible websites devoted solely to
conversation, much of which contributed to the increasingly negative valence
of cyberlife engagement portrayals within scientific literature. It is not surprising that research into online self-disclosure and trust garnered increased
The Psychological Impacts of Cyberlife Engagement
9
attention, nor that school systems and educational organizations sought to
convert socially oriented Internet communities to a classroom-purpose tool.
A recent survey found that a vast majority of teachers consider these digital
mediums to be a major impact on their ability to access content, resources,
and materials for teaching (92%); to interact with parents (67%) and students (57%); and to complete and grade assignments (73%; Purcell, Heaps,
Buchanan, & Friedrich, 2013).
However, even within educational technology and developmental
psychology—both of which have published vast quantities of cyberpsychological research depicting technology in a positive light—has come the rising
concern of cyberbullying, or the use of the Internet or mobile technologies
to cause intentional psychological harm to a peer. Whereas traditional
bullying requires that the student being bullied be physically present and in
a situation conducive to bullying, cyberbullying can take place regardless
of time or geographical location. Furthermore, the openness of teenagers
and young adults with respect to online privacy increases the ease with
which they can be found through search engines and social networking sites
(Qing, 2010; Rigby & Smith 2011). Although cyberbullying is of widespread
concern, it has posed the greatest threat for students with developmental or
intellectual disabilities (Didden et al., 2009), further adding to the negative
valence with which cyberlife engagement has been portrayed in the last
decade.
Also during the 2000s, the dawn of online shopping posed both a benefit
and a threat to Internet users. Within a short span of time, the increased
transmission of credit and debit card information through online venues
brought into question the ease with which phishing and identity theft could
be carried out online. Phishing can be defined as the malicious use of deception to acquire personal or financial information by masquerading as an
established online organization (e.g., banking institution and online entity;
Dhamija, Tygar, & Hearst, 2006). Although technology was—and continues
to be—a crucial means by which such deception can take place, it has since
been put to use in the fight against cybercrime by tracking phishing and
identity theft activity on a global scale and working to decrease vulnerability
to and credibility of such activity.
Across the time span of our literature search, it would therefore appear that
although technology was first portrayed in a highly positive light when its
primary purpose was to aid in productivity within education and the workplace, as its ubiquity and overarching influence has grown in daily life so
too has research into the negative impacts of cyberlife engagement on psychological processes. Common research questions now include how much is
too much? and—as mobile applications and websites are now being developed for toddlers and young children—how young is too young? Indeed, some
10
EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
recent studies have begun with the assumption that technology’s presence
in human life is inherently detrimental and seeks to remedy this seeming
fact (Hastie, Chun, & Nian-Shing, 2010; Wong, 2010). In response has come
the recent evolution of positive technology, a new field within cyberpsychology that seeks to identify the beneficial impacts of cyberlife engagement on
affective quality, personal experience, and social connectedness (Botella et al.,
2012; Riva, Baños, Botella, Wiederhold, & Gaggioli, 2012; Wiederhold & Riva,
2012). It remains to be seen whether positive technology will remedy the
negative tone so frequently adopted when researching and communicating
technology’s impact in future years.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS IN CYBERLIFE ENGAGEMENT
With every year, technological innovations continue to grow at a seemingly
exponential rate. As the number of Internet-accessible devices per person
rises ever higher, so does the extent to which the average user begins to
juggle between devices. In recent years, research on media multitasking has
attracted attention regarding predictors and outcomes of dividing attention
across multiple applications, browser tabs, computer monitors, and methods of communication. It is expected that, following the publication of a
recent study suggesting that media multitasking is related to depression and
social anxiety (Becker, Alzahabi, & Hopwood, 2013), additional research will
explore the ramifications of digital juggling across cognition (i.e., attention,
cognitive load, distractibility; Levine, Waite, & Bowman, 2012), social outcomes, and psychopathology.
Although far from new in cyberpsychological research, studies of the preference for technological communication have grown in prevalence as members of younger generations adopt—and are more partial to—conducting
conversations through digital mediums. This physical removal from social
situations has become a notable concern in the social psychological, communications, and sociological communities, because as methods of interaction
continue to shift online, the very nature of social dialogue begins to blur, as
does the establishment and preservation of close relationships. Of particular concern is the effect of social networking websites, which now accounts
for a considerable proportion of digital communication, on self- and interpersonal perception. Users are now given considerable power in managing
others’ impressions through photos, status updates, and often carefully monitored information reflecting a chosen selection of their social, occupational,
or personal lives. As such, it is expected that future research will continue
to explore the impact of cyberlife engagement on social interaction and connectedness.
The Psychological Impacts of Cyberlife Engagement
11
With the publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, Fifth Edition came a flurry of discussion on the establishment
of Internet Addiction Disorder and Internet Gaming Disorder (American
Psychiatric Association, 2013). Although the concept of Internet addiction
is not a, particularly, novel one, the evolution of computer and gaming
graphics, computing speed, mobile devices, and digital accessibility around
the world has brought about an ever-increasing interest in users’ attachment to technology and its many venues (Essig, 2012; King et al., 2012;
Ran et al., 2010). Of particular interest have been the physiological and
neurological bases of this attachment, and whether Internet Addiction
Disorder psychologically manifests itself in the same manner as behavioral
or substance use addictions. It is possible that increased exposure to the
Internet and computer or video games contributes to a long-lasting alteration in reward sensitivity not unlike changes stemming from substance
dependence. Indeed, recent research indicates that participants who were
asked to engage in a computer game displayed significantly reduced
dopamine receptor activity compared with control participants (Weinstein,
2010). If this effect is exacerbated in users with long-term Internet or game
addiction, this reduced dopamine response to digital stimuli may indicate
sensitization—and therefore increased addiction—to cyberlife engagement.
CONCLUSIONS AND DIGITAL CULTURE
Regardless of age, ethnicity, occupation, or purpose, technology has become
an integral part of daily life on a global scale. Digital innovations make
possible the integration of cyberspace and the classroom, the dating world,
the social network, and even the immersive physical reality in which we live;
however, the valence with which this integration is portrayed in scientific
literature has worsened as technology’s place in society grows ever more
ubiquitous, instinctual, and crucial across most life domains. Even so, it
is unquestionable that cyberlife brings members of diverse populations
together irrespective of city, country, or even continent of origin. How,
then, is cyberlife engagement altering the very foundations of culture on an
international level?
In the 1960s, communications philosopher Marshall McLuhan accurately
predicted that the Internet, at that point in its nascent stage as ARPANET,
would so closely connect every population that our world would become
a village (McLuhan, 1964). This “global village” has grown increasingly
intimate with the development of the World Wide Web, globally accessible online communities, and the increasing reliance of organizations on
electronic communication with clients and employees around the world. It
remains to be determined precisely how cyberlife engagement has impacted
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EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
our conceptualization of culture; however, it is possible that as geographic
barriers are crossed through digital mediums, so too are cultural divisions.
The consequences of this integration of lifestyles, customs, traditions, and
values may generate what futurist Alvin Toffler termed the law of raspberry
jam, in which culture—as it is spread across a wider surface—grows ever
thinner. It is therefore imperative that future research explore the cultural
differences and ramifications of cyberlife engagement, and the ways in which
technology impacts diverse populations on the level of the individual, city,
state, and nation.
On its widespread emergence in society as little more than a tool, computers were largely construed as a means by which both productivity and
convenience could be exploited. Over the decades, however, the universality
and pervasive presence of digital modalities has transformed technology
from an instrument to a medium of communication, idea, education,
counseling, business, crime, and addiction. It goes without question that
technology—across devices, modes, and purposes—is here to stay, as is the
integration of physical and digital realities. Not only must we, as human
users, evolve to interact with our rapidly changing societies, but we must
also work to better understand the ever-developing nature of human
interaction as a whole, as well as the psychological impacts posed by our
engagement with the cyberworld.
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VIRGINIA S. Y. KWAN SHORT BIOGRAPHY
Virginia S. Y. Kwan received her PhD from UC Berkeley (2002), taught at
Princeton University (2002–2009), and is an Associate Professor at Arizona
State University. Virginia’s major research interests revolve around the
broad content areas of social-perception processes, which she studies on
three levels: (i) self-perception, (ii) interpersonal perception, and (iii) group
perception. She has developed a research program that examines social
perception using multiple methods, multiple cultures, and multiple species.
Her research has appeared in the top theoretical and empirical journals in
psychology, including Psychological Review, Psychological Science, Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Personality, Journal of Experimental
Social Psychology, and Experimental Brain Research. Virginia’s accomplishments have been recognized by a number of awards and honors, including
Psychological Science’s Rising Star (2007), Fellow of the Center for Advanced
Study in the Behavioral Sciences (2004–2005), the Best Article published in
the Journal of Research in Personality (2002), Theoretical Innovation Prize
(2002), the Inaugural Sage Young Scholars Award (2008), and Early Professional Career Award (2012), Division 52, International Psychology, American
Psychological Association. Virginia has also contributed her time generously
to the professional societies, serving as the Treasurer and Secretary of the
International Society for Self and Identity (2003–2006), as elected member of
the committee on International Relations in Psychology (2012–present), and
The Psychological Impacts of Cyberlife Engagement
17
edited a number of special issues including “Missing links in social cognition:
The continuum from nonhuman agents to dehumanized agents,” “Two sides
to every self-processes,” and “The social cognition of modern disasters.”
Lab webpage: http://psychology.clas.asu.edu/kwan
JESSICA E. BODFORD SHORT BIOGRAPHY
Jessica E. Bodford received her BS with Highest Honors in Psychology, BA
in Spanish, minor in Information Systems, and certification as a Carolina
Research Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She currently works with Dr. Virginia Kwan as a graduate student of Arizona State’s
PhD program in Social Psychology. Her primary research interest resides in
the area of digital culture, exploring the dual impact of cyberlife engagement
on various facets of social resilience, or a person’s ability to cope with personal or societal stressors. In past and ongoing research, she has examined
the impacts of social networking, text-based communication, and technological exposure on social processes such as trust, relationship quality, academic
persistence, and life satisfaction within and across cultures. She is the recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, which
supports her current and forthcoming research on cyberlife engagement.
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