A short piece I was asked to write for 21stcentury.co.uk starts:
Dr Bex Lewis investigates digital fear, presenting a balanced view of the risks against the benefits: Fears about ‘the digital’ are widespread, particularly around questions of privacy, addiction, bullying, loss of social skills, peer pressure, and the loss of time with ‘real people’. With every new technological advance, including the printing press, the telephone, and the television, fears have been raised. These are known as ‘moral panics’. Frank Furedi, a sociologist, suggests that these occur when society feels unable to adapt to dramatic changes and fears a loss of control. This is not helped by the fact that the media tend to generalize from single instances of harm, implying that we are all ‘at risk’.
Read the full article and author profile.
