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- Subtle matter: the first textbook on cyber psychology will appear in Russia
Subtle matter: the first textbook on cyber psychology will appear in Russia
The first textbook on cyber psychology will be published in Russia. It may be released by the end of this year. This field of knowledge studies human interactions with digital technologies, the Internet, virtual environments, gadgets and applications, experts explain. The manual is useful not only for psychologists and specialized specialists, but also for the general public. How the new textbook will be useful is in the Izvestia material.
Useful materials
Russia's first textbook on cyberpsychology may appear in leading online educational libraries by the end of 2025. This is reported by TASS with reference to the head of the Laboratory of Cyberpsychology at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the National Research Nizhny Novgorod State University named after N.I. Lobachevsky, Valery Demareva.
The layout of the manual, according to her, is already ready. The textbook will be produced by a scientific publishing house that distributes educational literature in universities by subscription. It is assumed that the new manual will be free for students, which will allow it to be included in the list of recommended literature.
The textbook discusses the concept of cyberpishology, its object, subject, research methodology, history and practical use.
"We are going through practical applications: cyberpsychology and the gaming industry, cyberpsychology and military applications, cyberpsychology and digital pedagogy. We are going through the key areas where cyberpsychology is used today," Demareva explained.
Betting on awareness
Cyberpsychology itself is a branch of applied psychology that studies the peculiarities of human and social interaction with virtual environments, Valeria Demareva told Izvestia. This field of knowledge is based on an interdisciplinary approach and covers both cognitive and behavioral aspects, as well as issues of identity, communication, safety and mental health in the context of constant interaction with digital technologies.
Cyberpsychology is a modern scientific discipline at the intersection of psychology, computer science, media communications and sociology, studying the psychological aspects of human interaction with the Internet, gadgets and applications, confirms psychologist Mikhail Miller. She explores how the digital environment affects thinking, behavior, identity, emotions, and interpersonal relationships.
Today, a significant part of people's lives takes place online: in social networks, messengers, and forums, recalls social psychologist Mikhail Kasatkin.
—Cyberpsychology helps us understand why we react to likes the way we do, why it's sometimes easier to confess our feelings in correspondence than face—to-face, and how virtual communication affects self-esteem and mood," the expert clarifies.
In addition, the focus is on such phenomena as Internet addiction, cyberbullying, the impact of social networks, virtual reality, as well as the risks and opportunities of digitalization for different age and social groups, Miller lists.
Cyberpsychology, according to Demareva, is extremely relevant in the context of the rapid digitalization of society.
— Technologies are penetrating deeper and deeper into the field of education, healthcare, business, personal communication, and even human self-awareness. It is cyberpsychology that helps to understand how the digital environment affects attention, memory, thinking, motivation and behavior, what risks online deviations carry, how to organize effective and safe online training, how to work with clients in the online counseling format," the Izvestia interlocutor emphasizes.
Comprehensive study
According to Miller, the importance of cyberpsychology is constantly growing for several reasons. The main one is the active digitalization of life.
"The Internet, smartphones and gadgets have become an integral part of everyday life, transforming communication, education, work, leisure, personal relationships and even self—identification," the psychologist notes.
New challenges and risks are also an important aspect, he clarifies. Today, specific problems have emerged — Internet addiction, online bullying, digital phobias and fatigue, manipulation in social networks and the influence of algorithms on behavior.
According to Miller, the issue of the need for new competencies is also acute. Modern society needs specialists who are able to regulate the psychological consequences of digitalization, form digital literacy and ensure cybersecurity.
In the context of the latter, cyberpsychology is an important discipline, since it allows us to explain the behavior of both fraud victims and the attackers themselves, Alexey Lukatsky, a business consultant on information security at Positive Technologies, draws attention.
"It also provides an opportunity to understand why people commit certain actions that lead to various information security incidents," the source points out.
In general, cyberpsychology is relevant for all ages, as digital technologies affect both children and adults and the elderly. And each group has its own risks and needs, which requires scientific analysis and practical recommendations, Miller believes.
Applied application
The textbook on cyberpsychology will become an actual source of knowledge about modern phenomena, necessary for specialists who are able to work with the digital generation, analyze and predict the psychological consequences of digitalization, Mikhail Miller is convinced.
First of all, the manual is addressed to students studying in the fields of Psychology, Education, Digital Technologies and related specialties, Valeria Demareva lists. It is also useful for practicing psychologists, educators, specialists in the field of UX design, cybersecurity, HR and online learning.
"Due to its practical focus and coverage of a wide range of topics — from the history of the discipline's formation to online counseling and neuromarketing — the textbook can be useful to anyone who works with digital products and is interested in the impact of technology on the human psyche and behavior," the Izvestia interlocutor believes.
For practicing psychologists, psychotherapists and consultants, the manual will provide tools for diagnosing and correcting psychological problems related to the Internet, Miller is sure.
The textbook will be useful for parents and educators, the psychologist admits, because it will explain how modern children interact with gadgets, what risks and opportunities it carries, how to build a trusting dialogue and ensure digital security in the family.
— The teacher will be able to better understand why teenagers react so strongly to comments in the class chat. It will be easier for parents to figure out why a child spends hours on the phone and how to work with it without scandals. And users themselves will be able to learn how to protect themselves from manipulation and not fall for the bait of fake news, Mikhail Kasatkin agrees.
The manual will provide IT specialists, digital product developers, and marketers with an understanding of the psychological patterns of user behavior, which will allow them to create more effective, ethical, and secure digital services that take into account the cognitive and emotional characteristics of the audience, Miller notes.
At the same time, cyberpsychology helps to prevent cybercrimes, protect personal data and user privacy, which will make the textbook useful for security and law specialists, he draws attention.
Psychology is an essential component in the development of protective equipment — its effectiveness depends on how convenient it is to use such a tool, confirms Alexey Lukatsky.
"Developers do not always take into account psychological, and sometimes even physiological aspects, which leads to the fact that security tools are bypassed by intruders and do not perform their function," the expert points out.
A textbook on cyber psychology, if it takes these aspects into account, will be very useful and important for any cybersecurity specialist, the Izvestia interlocutor is sure.
The manual may also be suitable for a wide audience, Miller does not exclude. Any modern person who actively uses the Internet and digital technologies will find useful information in the textbook about their own behavior, the risks and opportunities of the digital world, ways to increase psychological stability and digital literacy.
— The appearance of such a textbook is a step towards making us all feel more confident and safer in the digital world. After all, the Internet is not only technology, but also people, with all their emotions, fears and joys," Kasatkin sums up.
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