Throughout this book, we have considered the nature of human development, both within the individual and across the evolution of our species, as a progression towards greater domestication. This I define as the related skills of coordination, cooperation and cohabitation with others, based on what is considered acceptable behaviour. Other animals have some of these attributes of coexistence as well, but no other animal has taken domestication to the extent that we have. Rudiments of coordination, cooperation and cohabitation must have existed in our species from the very beginning, when hominids became socially dependent on one another hundreds of thousands of years ago. Each of these social skills required a brain capable of perceiving others in terms of who they are, what they want, what they are thinking and, in particular, what are they thinking about me? Coordination enabled many to work together for more than could be achieved by the individual working alone. Cooperation was a spur to help each other on the understanding that there would be reciprocal benefits down the road. Cohabitation provided safety and security in numbers as well as the change in our species from a nomadic to a sedentary domesticated life.
So what does the future hold for this domesticated life? We are currently living through one of the most transformative periods in human history. Every so often a new technology comes along that changes the way we behave. The raft was a significant invention as it enabled groups of early humans to migrate across oceans to new territories. The plough played a critical role in the birth of agriculture that spurred the transition from a nomadic lifestyle to a sedentary existence that is the basis for modern domestic living. Gunpowder and steel changed the way certain groups conquered and subjugated other peoples.2 Printing enabled humans to spread knowledge and create our education systems.
The invention of the Internet will go down as another significant milestone in the evolution of human civilization. It is an unprecedented system for exchanging information and conducting business, but it is the social revolution the Internet has created that is probably the most unforeseen consequence of this technology. Not so long ago, we may have spent most of our time actually in the presence of others, but that was before the Internet infiltrated almost every household in the West. With around 1.73 billion subscribers, nearly one in four people on the planet currently uses social networking sites (SNS), with a forecast of 2.55 billion users by 2017.3 It seems inevitable that eventually the majority of the human race will be online, engaging in social exchanges. For the first time in the history of our species, each one of us has the potential capability to interact with anyone else on the planet in real time but within a virtual environment. We have come a long way from the small band of early hominids living in small numbers on the African savannah, exchanging gossip within our group. The social skills that we evolved for interacting with each other are now brought to bear in situations where we communicate with not just a handful but hundreds and sometimes thousands of others over vast distances in any time zone from the comfort of our homes.
Still, for many people, the Internet is something to be feared. As with any new technologies, from the printing press to the radio, there is always anxiety that change is not good because outcomes are unpredictable. Technopanic is a term that captures the fears about the way the Internet is changing the way humans behave.4 The British neuroscientist Susan Greenfield warns that the Internet is wreaking ir-revocable damage on our children’s developing brains because they are not using the communication skills that were honed over evolution.5 Philip Zimbardo, the psychologist famous for his Stanford Prison study, tells us that the widespread availability of online pornography is leading to the ‘demise of guys’, who are now unable to inhibit their sexual compulsions and failing to learn how to interact appropriately with women.6 In the UK in 2013, the Coalition government looked into regulating Internet searches for sexual content despite the lack of any clear evidence that it is a problem.7 We read of extreme cases of online addiction to virtual communities or gaming where individuals play for days on end, sometimes leading to the deaths of themselves and even their own children that they have neglected.8
All of these sensationalist headlines seem to be hysterical technopanic based on scant evidence or simply anecdotal reports. There has not been enough time to conduct the proper analysis to fully test the claims in this fast-changing world of information technology. However, one only has to consider world poverty or climate change to realize that Internet addiction is one of the least of our worries. But all of us, especially those who remember the pre-Internet days, cannot fail to be astounded by the blistering pace of change and the uncertain future it will create. It is easy to appreciate why those fearful of change consider the Internet as a force for evil.
As a parent of two teenage girls, I am less concerned by the threats that the Internet seems to pose for the future of our children. I do not believe that the Internet will doom them to compassionless relationships. Rather, as I watch them use the Internet for social networking, it is clear that they are enjoying much greater freedom and an exposure to a greater diversity of ideas than was previously possible. No wonder that oppressive regimes try to suppress and control the Internet to prevent their own citizens getting the ‘wrong’ ideas.
For all its benefits, however, it would be foolhardy not to consider how the Internet will change the way we interact and the potential problems this may entail. Humans bring a legacy of our evolutionary past to this brave new world where social interactions in the future are likely to be very different. Our species was not adapted to this digital environment, and how we behave will probably change as a result of this complex interaction between our biology, psychology and technology in ways that we are still trying to unravel.
To begin, rather than seeking approval from a few select friends in person, it is clear that we will increasingly be influenced by the group. For example, SNS can generate appreciation and validation from large numbers on the Internet. This is especially true of Twitter, which is effectively open texting to the world. Twitter provides the opportunity to monitor, and be monitored by, anyone almost completely anonymously. Even though these interactions are virtual, studies show that acceptance and rejection can be just as emotionally charged on the Internet as such encounters in real life.9
So what are we doing on these SNS? The short answer is talking about ourselves. During normal conversation, we spend about 30–40 per cent of the time talking about ourselves, which according to brain-imaging studies makes us feel good.10 The brain regions associated with rewards and pleasures are activated when describing our experiences. On the Internet we take this self-obsession to the extreme. Over 80 per cent of the posts on SNS are about the poster. Already, we seem to be hooked. A study of over 1,000 Swedish Facebook subscribers found that the average user logs on to the site six times per day, spending an average seventy-five minutes – women more than men.11 One in four report that they feel uneasy when they cannot access SNS. We love to talk about ourselves, which is why SNS are such an enticing opportunity. Here we seem oblivious to the social barriers or restraints about how much you can go on and on about yourself.
When SNS first appeared they offered the opportunity to enable people to connect and keep in touch – something that was increasingly compromised in a society where people were living busy lives that often forced them to move on to new pastures. SNS offer a chance for those who are isolated to make new friends or keep in contact with others that have moved on. However, true friends are few and making acquaintances on SNS hardly offers the same experience. Moreover, there are drawbacks to exposing yourself to a vast audience with whom there is no direct face-to-face interaction and the strength of friendship is weak.