Are You Ready For Cyberworld?

Technology changes our habits and behaviours and not always in a good way. There is growing evidence that we act differently with each other when communicating online and offline.

Welcome to cyberworld

So many changes are taking place in how we use technology that it is hard to decipher the latest fad from what is evolving as a new way of life. In either case, a merging of the real and cyberworld is taking place.

The effect of technology on our behaviour is not new, as humans have always developed new ways to improve their surroundings. But today’s leap is creating a new dimension as we engage in an online enabled cyberworld.

And it is spreading at speed as smartphones, social media, digital networks, artificial intelligence, machine learning and augmented reality steal our attention and rewire our brains. In the past, the impact of technology was relatively sedate as it helped create better lives for those it touched. In the future, its impact will transform how we live as it produces far-reaching and unpredictable outcomes.

People act differently in cyberworld as the anonymous nature of relationships enables more extreme behaviour. In some cases, people are more trusting and therefore exposed to those who want to take advantage. In other cases, people prey on the vulnerable and develop unhealthy friendships that, at times, translate into the real world.

The truth about technology

The truth about today’s technology is that it is causing chaos in more ways than can be imagined. It is disrupting every aspect of the economy and changing how billions of people think and act and even relate to government and other institutions. And it is only beginning.

Such change causes great excitement as it generates new challenges and opportunities but the impact is not good for everyone. Studies already highlight feelings of isolation amongst those spending excessive time in cyberworld, not least because it has an adverse effect on real world relationships.

Technology companies spend billions of pounds each year to increase the time we spend online and every extra moment informs them and increases our chances of addiction. Time spent checking smartphones, playing games, posting messages and listing photographs is time taken away from family and friends. Each time we step into cyberworld we depart from the real world and enter a specifically designed space, which isn’t always bad but is always different.

And the difference changes the rules, which is where the impact of technology is most evident. We are using technology to create a new domain called cyberworld that tightens its grip on the decisions we make and the freedoms we enjoy.

So, for the first time in history we are using technology not only to improve our current situation but also to create a new world full of unknowns and unknowables.