Digital Depersonalization
Feeling Unreal June 22, 2023 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780197622445.003.0014 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key findings | Argues that the COVID-19 lockdown's social isolation increased internet and smartphone use and brought greater attention to problematic internet use. Reports that new studies link increased online time to worsened mental health, especially in young people, and that virtual reality can temporarily trigger depersonalization/derealization in healthy individuals, with symptoms lasting weeks. Notes claims that chronic internet use shortens attention spans and changes the brain. |
Abstract
Abstract: The social isolation created by the COVID-19 lockdown prompted a dramatic increase in use of the internet, Zoom, and Skype. It also brought greater attention to the subject of internet addiction. New books and studies took a closer look at problematic internet use and issues related to increased time spent online, as well as increased dependence on smartphones for social interaction. This may exacerbate existing mental problems, primarily in young people dealing with identity and self-definition. New studies also show that virtual reality can actually trigger depersonalization/derealization disorder temporarily in healthy individuals, and the symptoms can remain for weeks. Chronic internet use has also shortened our attention spans and actually changed our brains, according to some. What does this bode for the future? This chapter examines the blurring of real and cyber worlds through the eyes of recognized authorities in the field of cyberculture and its short- and long-term effects.