Customer Reviews

Psychology and the Internet, Second Edition: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Transpersonal Implications

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The book deserves a wider audience than to be relegated to psychologists. In fact, anyone who has wondered about how the rise of the Internet and the Web has affected people should take a peek here. Especially because nowadays we are considered to be in the so-called Web 2.0 era, distinguished by the rise of sundry social networking websites.

The text covers a variety of topics. Internet addiction, for one. Does this really exist? If so, how serious can it be for some users? Another major discussion is about the virtual societies that have emerged. Not necessarily about the literal virtual worlds that you might first think about these days. The virtual societies or communities covers cases like newsgroups and peer to peer networks that have arisen out of the net gestalt.

Needless to say, sex rears its head in the book. Investigating how some sexual relationships are mediated or initiated via internet contacts. Like dating websites or chat rooms. The book refers to quite a lot of existing literature about this issue.

I used this book as reference guide to understanding the political relationship between society and the internet, especially in reference to how political campaigns, rallies and funding are more recently focused online. It is detailed and informative text, presenting an insight to how the internet has influenced people. It is more than a psychological argument about the implications of the internet, but a broad discussion as to how the internet influences and conditions society. It presents a great introduction into various aspects of the internet and the effect on society. Loved the book.