Mary Aiken, who is based in Ireland, is a world-renowned forensic cyberpsychologist and the director of the CyberPsychology Research Network. While attributing her professional capacity, Aiken has worked with some of the leading agencies in the world, including Europol, INTERPOL, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), providing them with research and training workshops. Aiken's primary area of study has been on cybersecurity and organized cybercrimes that may revolve around human trafficking and violation of children's rights online. Based on her groundbreaking works in this field of study, Aiken is considered as the main inspiration for the television series CSI: Cyber .
In her book 'The cyber effect: A pioneering cyber-psychologist explains how human behavior changes online ,’ Aiken (2016) builds on the thesis that is reflected on the fact that continued uptake of cyberspace is changing the way persons think, feel, and behave. Aiken explores the fact that how people operate while in the online platform is significantly different when compared to how one is likely to operate physically. That has led to a significant change in the world, which is now shifting towards becoming a hyperconnected world; thus, posing a considerable challenge in terms of cybersecurity.
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The first key there that Aiken seeks to build upon is the aspect of making friends. According to Aiken (2016), making friends has shifted from the physical to cyberspace, where a significant number of people can connect with others through the cyber environment without having to focus on physical relationships. Secondly, Aiken also reflects on personal identity, which is also changing as a result of continued exposure to the cyberspace. People are starting to view their characters based on their cyberspaces or environments, which can also be described as the 'cyber self' attributed to the enormous demand for the internet (Suhail & Bargees, 2006).
The first social problem that Aiken discusses revolves around the loss of social connectedness, considering that people are placing much of their attention on cyberspace while ignoring the need for having to create physical relationships with those around them. The second critical social problem that Aiken discusses is on the fact that a significant number of children are joining the hyperconnected world, which is exposing them to a different environment than what is expected of them through the internet. The last social problem is privacy, as people are ignoring the need to build on their privacy in their bid to use the cyber environment; thus, exposing themselves to serious privacy challenges.
In seeking to provide her solution to keeping children and teenagers away from the internet, Aiken (2016) explores the fact that most of these children and teenagers are shifting their focus towards the internet due to a lack of connection with their parents. She goes ahead to suggest that parents have a crucial role in ensuring that they build physical and positive relationships with their children at all times. The expectation is that this will work towards creating a significant shift in the demand for the internet among children and teenagers, as they would focus much of their attention on the relationships created.
The first addictive behaviors that Aiken discusses revolves around cyber addictions, which leads to persons experiencing the need always to check their phones regularly, suggesting that they are very much connected to the cyberenvironment. The other compulsive behavior discussed reflects on the fact that persons often do not feel comfortable when not connected to the internet. In most cases, this may lead persons towards behaving in a manner that is irrational as a result of their compulsive behaviors. Lastly, Aiken discusses the fact that most people show a compulsive behavior that pushes them towards creating a higher demand for cyber-relationships while ignoring the need for physical relationships.
Aiken proposes the need for persons that are afflicted with psychological, social, or emotional disorders associated with the overuse of technology to go through therapy as one of the ways allowing them to deal with the effects. In her comparison, Aiken seeks to believe in the fact that the psychological, social, and emotional impact of technology is somewhat similar when compared to those of drugs and other substances. That serves as a clear indication of the need for having to come up with an approach through which to ensure that persons afflicted by the disorders actually receive psychological help to help them improve on their capacities for physical engagement.
The first example of how criminals are caught internationally, as they engage in cybercrimes, is by tracking those involved in some of these crimes using the technologies that they use. By monitoring them, it becomes much more comfortable for law enforcement officers to actually build on their capacities to aid in the arrest of these persons suspected of crimes. The second example of by retrieval and preservation of data associated with the cybercriminals, which makes it much easier to convict these persons after they have been arrested for having engaged in specific criminal activities.
The first aspect that I was able to learn from the book, as it relates to my own life, is that although I may view the internet as being rather important, it is crucial for me to consider the adverse effects arising from its overuse. Secondly, I learned that my continued use of the internet creates a situation where I find myself being exposed to psychological, social, or emotional disorders that I may not understand, as the internet is highly addictive and is much more likely to impact my life in a significant way.
References
Aiken, M. (2016). The cyber effect: A pioneering cyber-psychologist explains how human behavior changes online . Spiegel & Grau.
Suhail, K., & Bargees, Z. (2006). Effects of excessive Internet use on undergraduate students in Pakistan. CyberPsychology & Behavior , 9 (3), 297-307.
