Latest Read - The Cyber Effect
Cover of “The Cyber Effect” which has a white rabbit jumping into a small black hole
A couple of weeks ago, I finished The Cyber Effect by Dr. Mary Aiken. For some reason, I kept delaying sharing that I had finished the book (as I normally do with most things I read), and I’m not even sure why. (Although maybe taking my first full week of vacation since starting my current job almost a year and a half ago might have been a factor).
When I finally started to type while looking at my notes, I noticed Squarespace had a lighting bolt next to the normal formatting options (paragraph type, bold etc.). When I clicked on it, it gave me the option to create AI content so I asked it to write me a blog about the book.
Here is its opening:
As we move further into the digital age, it has become imperative that we understand how technology impacts our lives. From addiction to depression and social disorders, the prevalence of technology in our daily lives has led to serious concerns that we can no longer ignore. One book that delves into this topic is "The Cyber Effect," written by Dr. Mary Aiken.
Not my favorite opening but the second segment got a bit better:
In "The Cyber Effect," Dr. Aiken poses the question of how our immersion in the digital world is affecting our behaviour, attitudes, and cognitions. Drawing on her experience of over 20 years in forensic cyberpsychology, Dr. Aiken provides insightful analysis and drawn from real cases to examine various issues about the psychological impact of technology on our lives.
The rest of it is a bit more like the first so I’m not saving it, in favor of going back to look at the page numbers I marked so I can share some takeaways:
Aiken makes a strong argument throughout the book for the addictive nature of the internet with evidence as well as how those addictions then “mutate” easily. She does so through lenses of cyber romance to online gambling etc.
Page 79 has a really interesting section that I think many educators and educational designers will relate to - locus of control. How much of what you do online do you believe you can control? Growth vs fixed mindset etc. Does this effect your experience?
Page 171 explores how self-concept, especially for young people, may be effected by the prevalence of selfies but also makes an interesting connection to something, perhaps, we could reinforce for learners (around page 196) - that by taking selfies (or how you post in general) is different depending on the audience you are trying to reach. The ideas around self-concept continue to develop with an exploration of the difference between using “I'“ vs “me.” This idea (around page 203) is something I’d really like to research and explore a bit more. How are upcoming generations forming these concepts? How does it compare to what we know about development?
There are moments where some of Aiken’s potential bias might be showing (and I do believe she acknowledges some of her biases) such as on page 307 when she talks about people who do not make eye contact (from a negative cognitive view). This has always felt like an ableist argument, especially given how we are learning more and more about neurodiversity. There is also a segment around page 312 where she mentions that cyberbullying isn’t a thing in Japan - while this was originally released in 2016, that is still a bit culturally out-of-touch. I’m not an expert, but given what I have seen online, cyberbulling (and definitely in person bullying) is certainly a thing in Asian cultures but perhaps not as well acknowledged culturally (but this could also just be me projecting my limited frame of reference).
Overall this is a pretty interesting read, although perhaps already becoming a bit dated. Has anyone read anything published since 2016 that would support and / or contradict some of these ideas? I’d love to continue thinking about how our behaviors continue to evolve as our residency in online spaces continues to change.
