The dark side of our digital world : and what you can do about it

Weiss, Andrew, 1971- (author.).

Summary:

"This book will help readers identify strategies to understand, avoid and handle fake news, misinformation, disinformation, information overload, surveillance and privacy loss, cyberbullying, hacking and other security flaws, and online and IT behavioral conditioning"-- Provided by publisher.

It all started out so well: the online world began as an effective tool for communication that carried with it a great promise to level the playing field and eliminate borders. But it's morphed into something totally unintended. We've all had to endure the troll that derails a generally benign conversation; or received that scam email from a wealthy Nigerian prince; or felt the strange feeling of being watched and tracked by advertising companies as we navigate the web. Welcome to the modern internet. These are but a few of the topics that The Dark Side of Our Digital World: And What You Can Do about It examines to get at the root causes of our current problems with information technology, social media, and problematic online behavior. The book explores the issues raised by the negative side of information technology, including surveillance and spying, declining privacy, information overload, surveillance capitalism and big data analytics, conspiracy theories and fake news, misinformation and disinformation, trolling and phishing. What's ultimately at stake is how we are able to cope with increasingly invasive anti-social behaviors, the overall decline of privacy in the face of total surveillance technologies, and the lack of a quality online experience that doesn't devolve into flame wars and insults. The future of the internet as well as our societies depends upon our ability to discern truth from lies and reality from propaganda. The book will therefore also examine the possible directions we could take to improve the situation, looking at solutions in the areas of psychology and behavioral conditioning, social engineering through nudging techniques, the development of e-democracy movements, and the implementation of public policy. -- Provided by publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9781538119051
ISBN: 1538119056
Physical Description: xiii, 267 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Publisher: Lanham, Maryland : Rowman & Littlefield, [2020]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Preface: the dark side of our digital world -- Part I. Information and the weapons of mass-distraction -- Into the 'upside-down': identifying our problem -- Online behavioral conditioning -- 'Nudged': why your decisions may not be your own -- Surveillance capitalism and the 'new economy' -- Part II. Drinking directly from a firehose: the impact of information glut, conspiracy theories, and internet Balkanization -- Information overload and how to combat it -- Conspiracy, belief, and the compromising of research -- "Whose culture is it, anyway?" Ownership of culture in a digitized world in danger of fragmenting -- Part III. Information and power -- The online surveillance state -- Disinformation, misinformation, and "reality" -- The anti-social network: dealing with online social media misbehaviors and pathologies -- Part IV. Draining the fever swamp -- Combating the trolls and 'bots -- How to keep your privacy and still live in the real world -- Wide awake: the future of democracy, digital commons and digital rights advocacy.