The average person spends about seven hours per day online. This makes seventeen years of an adult’s life, or almost ¼ of the life of an 80-year-old.

Some of us now spend more time online than we do sleeping. And in many ways, being online feels like a kind of waking dream… like that (visionary!) scene in The Matrix, where humans are plunged into a hyper-stimulated, curated reality, oblivious to their bodies and the real world.

How we work, consume content, use social media, and, now increasingly, “experiment” with generative AI is reshaping our thinking and rewiring our brains in unparalleled ways.  

Are we becoming more stupid because of ChatGPT? Or more socially inept due to social media? Increasingly isolated despite all this technology built to connect us? Or are we simply reduced to being targets of marketing tricks and soulless algorithms, designed to keep us glued to the screens? 

Years ago, I conceptualised this website to collect state-of-the-art academic research to help both marketers and the general public make sense of the psychological effects of online platforms. Back then, I was working in the field of digital marketing myself, and like many practitioners, occasionally falling prey to the illusion that we were simply serving people with useful content, products, and experiences. 

My perspective was never entirely rose-tinted, of course. I was aware how my own social media habits, personal and professional, were affecting my daily functioning and relationships. But it wasn’t I changed jobs to become a data researcher and OSINT analyst, spending my hours navigating the darkest corners of the internet, that I fully grasped the pernicious effects of today’s digital world.

From echo chambers and filter bubbles to infodemics, propaganda, targeted ads and raw online violence, in just a few years brainwashing and emotional manipulation have reached a terrifying scale, with catastrophic real-world consequences. Enter AI. The infospace is now a maze for practitioners and regulators, let alone the general public.

Can we protect ourselves while still benefiting from technology? Or is it too late, and only a Morpheus can wake us up? A lot has changed since this website was launched, but the core issue remains: cultivating self-awareness is key to navigating digital spaces consciously and responsibly.

This is why I continue to collect psychological research at the intersection of humanity and technology. I hope this site offers a space for anyone seeking deeper understanding.