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Towards Homo Digitalis: Important Research Issues for Psychology and the Neurosciences at the Dawn of the Internet of Things and the Digital Society

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  • Christian Montag

    (Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany
    Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation/Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China)

  • Sarah Diefenbach

    (Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany)

Abstract

The present article gives an overview on central challenges humans face at the dawn of complex digital societies and the Internet of Things (IoT), i.e., a world completely connected to the Internet. Among the many challenges to be handled in digital societies is a growing fragmented life style leading to loss of productivity as well as moments for self-reflection. In all this, it is of tremendous importance to understand the impact of digital worlds on our brains and psyches and to reveal possible unintended side-effects of technology use. Does human nature change due to constant interactions with virtual realities? In this context, we also face the challenge to design digital worlds according to our mammalian-emotional heritage deeply anchored in subcortical areas of the human brain. Here, we refer to emotional needs as carved out by Panksepp’s Affective Neuroscience Theory and how they can or cannot be fulfilled in digital worlds. Aside from a review of several key studies dealing with the raised challenges, some first solutions to successfully meet the mentioned problems are provided to achieve sustainable and healthy digital worlds, with whom humans can interact carefree on a daily basis.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Montag & Sarah Diefenbach, 2018. "Towards Homo Digitalis: Important Research Issues for Psychology and the Neurosciences at the Dawn of the Internet of Things and the Digital Society," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-21, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:2:p:415-:d:130444
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    Cited by:

    1. Gabriela Viale Pereira & Elsa Estevez & Diego Cardona & Carlos Chesñevar & Pablo Collazzo-Yelpo & Maria Alexandra Cunha & Eduardo Henrique Diniz & Alex Antonio Ferraresi & Frida Marina Fischer & Flúvi, 2020. "South American Expert Roundtable: Increasing Adaptive Governance Capacity for Coping with Unintended Side Effects of Digital Transformation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-47, January.
    2. Christian Montag & Harald Baumeister & Christopher Kannen & Rayna Sariyska & Eva-Maria Meßner & Matthias Brand, 2019. "Concept, Possibilities and Pilot-Testing of a New Smartphone Application for the Social and Life Sciences to Study Human Behavior Including Validation Data from Personality Psychology," J, MDPI, vol. 2(2), pages 1-14, March.
    3. Bogdan NADOLU & Delia NADOLU, 2020. "Homo Interneticus—The Sociological Reality of Mobile Online Being," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-12, February.
    4. Simon Kloker, 0. "Non-addictive Information Systems," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-14.
    5. Lobschat, Lara & Mueller, Benjamin & Eggers, Felix & Brandimarte, Laura & Diefenbach, Sarah & Kroschke, Mirja & Wirtz, Jochen, 2021. "Corporate digital responsibility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 875-888.
    6. Roland W. Scholz & Eric J. Bartelsman & Sarah Diefenbach & Lude Franke & Arnim Grunwald & Dirk Helbing & Richard Hill & Lorenz Hilty & Mattias Höjer & Stefan Klauser & Christian Montag & Peter Parycek, 2018. "Unintended Side Effects of the Digital Transition: European Scientists’ Messages from a Proposition-Based Expert Round Table," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-48, June.
    7. Christian Montag & Bernd Lachmann & Marc Herrlich & Katharina Zweig, 2019. "Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-16, July.
    8. Simon Kloker, 2020. "Non-addictive Information Systems," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 549-562, June.

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