explainers

Let’s get the definition out first. Sexting is sending of sexually explicit messages or images via mobile devices. In case you’re wondering, yes, it is very common, especially among teens and young adults. But very rarely do people talk about it. So how do we know that it is quite common? …

It is amazing to see the kind of interest psychology generates. For many of us, at the first glance, psychology does seem like an interesting and simple subject to master. But very soon, we realize it is not so. And, the more we read about psychology, the more we will …

The influence of emerging technologies on the healthcare industry has increased drastically in the recent years. It has empowered patients, helping them take control of the situation better. They can search for information about their illness, the prescribed medicines, book appointments at a click of button and interact almost from anywhere and …

The idea of disruption is inherent to eastern philosophy. To understand the concept of Internet as a disruptive medium, we need to on the same page on many levels. The first step is understanding the meaning of a social institution.   What is a social institution? Social institutions are established …

We’ve all been at the receiving end of trolling. Thanks to the Internet, we have been able to uncover one more side to the human psyche. The medium has magnified, to a large extent, the capabilities of the human mind to manipulate others, in order to seek comfort. Understanding the human …

In one of the chapters, cyberpsychologist Mary Aiken quotes clinical psychologist Michael Seto. “We are living through the largest unregulated social experiment of all time — a generation of youth who have been exposed to extreme content online.” This quote is powerful, deep and makes us think of the kind of …

How many of us depend on Google for answers to our nagging health-related queries? And, how many times do we end up feeling anxious or miserable at the kind of uncanny similarities in symptoms we seem to have with  almost every scary thing that is written about most of the …

Google is slowly replacing books as our primary source of information. It’s quick, easy and most importantly, free. Answers to almost any questions can be obtained in a matter of few clicks. And, now, you can even use your voice to ask questions to Google. So all you need to …

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. To a trained eye, every selfie is worth a lot of information. The body posture, the clothing, the make up, the expressions. They all help in revealing personality-related cues. The specialty of a selfie is that is allows the user to manipulate …

Everyone uses WhatsApp.  It has a staggering number of users — over 1 billion worldwide as of February 2016, as per this report. From a psychologist’s point of view, the success of any medium is solely dependent on its ability to provide instant gratification on various levels. What is instant …