Psych Educ, Document ID: 2022PEMJ0, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.

7112177, ISSN 2822-4353

Research Article

Cyberpsychology and Mental-health: Trends and Practice

Jigo Rafael C. Catamio*, John Mark Distor

For affiliations and correspondence, see the last page.

Abstract

Since online interaction and the prominence of various digital platforms have been established, it is now
important to highlight the changes and development of cyberpsychology as a science and its relevance
to the life of people around the world. This paper aims to serve as an overview on the trends and topics
that researchers have done in the field and practice of cyberpsychology, by gathering materials from
various resources, mainly online articles and journal researches. The paper was able to identify several
areas that highlighted not only recurring concerns but also provided understanding on the status of
technology use in the lives of individuals, as well as, the usefulness of such technology to the
development of more accessible means of helping people in need. The themes that was highlighted in
the paper were “The internet and Daily Life”, Regulation in the New Generation of Internet Users”, and
“Cyberpsychology on Health and direction on the practice of psychology”. Lastly, recommendation for
future research that prioritizes the safety and well-being of the users to further improve the practice
of helping in the fields of cyberpsychology.

Keywords: Cyberpsychology, Online Behavior, Cyber Bullying, Privacy, Mental Health, Online
Interaction, Digital Psychology, Internet, Technology

Introduction

Cyberpsychology or sometimes known as Digital This paper aims to look into the trends surrounding the
Psychology is an area of psychology that tries to field of cyberpsychology from the last 5 years, as well
understand how human being interact and be as its influence to the practice of psychology and mental
influenced by technology and the internet, which health. The researcher utilized an inductive thematic
resulted to the highlighting of online delivery of form of review in order to identify the areas with which
services in the field of psychology like monitoring and the subject matter revolves around currently, and
studying online behavior and personality and well as, possibly from the data and information gathered, the
“telepsychology” among others (Ancis, 2020). researcher will be able to find more opportunities to
highlight in order to help advance the topic and be
Since COVID-19 pandemic happened, the change able to recommend for future investigation new
towards the conversion of the interaction of people from and innovative ways to increase our knowledge
the usual face to face to an online one has been regarding the topic at hand.
emphasized and jumpstarted especially in the world of
work (Kaushik & Gauleria, 2020). The situation
presented no alternatives in order to prevent the worst Methodology
case scenario where not only people’s physical health
and wealth are compromised but more so, the worlds
The researchers gathered various literature about
mental health are also at greater risk, thus the
cyberpsychology dated from the last 5 years in order to
emergence of the “New Normal” which leaned
address the goal of finding out the most recent trends
towards online processes as alternative(Hew et al.,
that cyberpsychology. Finding literature online through
2020). Processes such as work from home setup, the
various websites of journal publishers, (Sage pub,
raised importance of video conferencing platforms for
Sp rin g er, Scien ce D irec t, Elsev ier,
meetings, distance learning for student education and
Cyberpsychology etc.) the researcher then looked into
professional development are some examples. In the
the common themes that surfaced from the information
field of Psychology, from the researches, training, up
gathered from the different researches and present them
to the process of helping through counseling and
in order to accomplish the goals of the paper.
psychotherapy, it is now evident that being online, at
this moment, provides the needed help for both the
clients and the professionals (Chandler, 2020).

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Research Article

al. (2020) where they measured how fighting a certain

Results and Discussion kind of mob in games and using a certain type of

After gathering relevant literature and analysis of its character contributes to an individual’s willingness to
help. They found out that people who fought monsters or
contents, the researcher came up with the themes that negative mobs tended to be more proactive in helping and
present the most relevance to the achievement of the showing a more pro-social behavior as compared to those
goals of the paper. These themes are “The internet and who fought positive, hero, or human-like mobs. It was
Daily Life”, Regulation in the New Generation of attributed to the idea that fighting monsters are more of a
Internet Users”, and “Cyberpsychology on Health and form of helping and saving others.
direction on the practice of psychology”.
Another possible issue that we can look at is
The Internet and Daily Life cyberbullying and the effects of internet use to our
ability to interact with others. While it may be
It can be said that in today’s generation, devices and different from the concept of usua face-to-face
internet use has been present in every household, if bullying, the research of Tian et al. (2018) explained the
not, in every person. To the point that the internet is effects of cyberbullying and victimization to the mental
not anymore solely being done through personal health of those people involved, and presented some
computers. This development is brought about by the circumstances that involves the processes that occurs
advancement of mobile devices such as laptops, tablets, along with cyberbullying. In the research, after
and most notably the great improvements of investigating adolescents for 3 years, it was found that
“smartphones” with which can be said that the former involvement in cyberbullying can be associated with
primary use of call and text messaging has been lesser satisfaction in life, which may also lead to
replaced by social media and online browsing and maladjustment and other psychological problems. A
communication. unique circumstance was discussed as well that is
observed for those who were victims of cyber bullying
In order to have a better understanding of the effects of
where the identification of who their bullies because of
the internet, having a clear grasp on how the internet is
the probable number of bullies and anonymity online,
being used and their implications is also important. For
might be unclear which may lead to more stress and
example, in the research of Elhai et al. (2017) where
negative implications to their mental health. Although
they investigated the adverse effect on behavior of the
that is the case there are still ways that we can prevent
different types of smartphone use and how integrated
them from happening, if not, improve the situation
internet use to the lives of people. They emphasized that
where bullying is lessened or completely gone
in our current situation, being online and using devices,
(Aizenkot & Kashy-Rosenbaum, 2020).
smartphones to be exact, is something that can be
considered as part of the routines we have in one’s daily Lastly are concerns about negative emotions that
life. internet use can elicit and its effect to one’s behavior.
As highlighted in the study of Elhai et al. (2017), there
So while considering the established integration of the
is a significant association on how a person use
digital world in our daily lives, looking into more detail
technology (smartphones) to possible problematic
various effects and influences it has is also important.
behavior, more specifically, finding gratification on
Concerns regarding excessive use of Internet leading to
posts and purchases made online, finding satisfaction on
Addiction (Young, 1998; McNicol, 2017), where not
various forms of news could lead to problematic usage
only the adolescents who are known to be the more
by using them as means to escape negative feelings or
prominent users, adults now are also involved in the use
circumstances which could lead to more complex
of internet as much as the others.
problems (Keen & Gainsbury, 2021; Elhai et. al, 2017).
Even gender can also be found to have no necessary
Regulation in the new Generation of Internet Users
difference in terms of amount of use but more so on
the nature, whether girls are more for social media,
The value of the internet lies on its utility that vastly
and while boys are into gaming are some of the
encompasses almost everything - being able to connect
assumptions that have been established (Keen &
with others, find things that we like and be able to be
Gainsbury, 2021; Elhai et al., 2017). It has been a
updated with trends and or access information are some
concern whether internet really had an negative effect to
of its advantages. But along with the perceived
the person using them in cyberpsychology concerns not
advantages, risks and trade-offs might also exist. This
only in addiction but also in areas such as, whether
part of the paper will highlight such situations and
games elicit aggressive behavior or pro-social
behavior. This was addressed in the study of Guegan et

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Research Article

provide insights on the effects of such in other aspects considered various internet usage rates (active or
of people’s lives. passive usage) of men and women and its association
to their relationship health. The results say that women
It can be said that people now begin to interact with who have a moderate to high passive internet usage are
technology at an early stage of life, from learning how the ones who have lower relationship satisfaction, and
to use devices such as computers, cellphones and tablet those who spend less hours of their day in social media
to navigating through various apps (Miller et al., 2017). tends to be more committed in their relationship as
It has been established that skills with regards to compared to those with longer inter time of use.
internet use are already prominent. With more use
comes concern with the information being shared and In relation to this, what we see and how we interact with
their relevance to the well being and protection of the people online can affect one’s behavior. In relation to
users. “Privacy”, a recurring concern which is said to be relationships, it was reported that in order to prevent
faced by everyone who uses the internet no matter jealousy and conflict in the partners’ relationship
which age they are from though varying in gravity certain mindful steps are taken by individuals (Van
(Kezer et al., 2016: Stejin et al., 2016). It can be said Ouystel et al., 2019). Example of which, is by avoiding
that younger people who uses the internet for social to post pictures with other people (specially with
interaction (Kezer et al., 2016) are also motivated and opposite sex), liking posts of the opposite sex, and
concerned with their fear of missing out (FOMO). For posting of revealing picture (mostly women). Another
example, in the study of Classen et al. (2020), they way of monitoring done by couples are to monitor each
investigated the how the fear of missing out mediates other’s accounts and checking on them, which might
the psychological needs satisfaction of the respondents be effective in showing commitment for some, but
to their social media engagement. The results of their can also provide risk concerning privacy once the
research found significant results where it was couple have broken up or be subjected to
established that lower psychological needs satisfaction misinterpretation of whatever content was seen online.
of the respondents is, the higher the tendency for the
Lastly, since social media provides variety of
person to engage more in social media.
information to its users, it is important to understand the
As much as this could contribute to the amount of effects it could have to people’s behavior. It was
information that a person shares online, age could also established that there is an active change in how people
be another factor why users post too much and post and interact online once a change in their actual
possibly compromise their privacy. Kezer et al., (2016) circumstance occur (Van Ouystel et al., 2019) especially
and Steijn et al., (2016) says that the younger the user in relationships, but it can also be subjected to abuse, in
is the more they disclose information and share online, the research of Caridade and Braga (2020) on their
but because of this they are also the ones who use literature review regarding cyber dating abuse
more measure to ensure privacy than older internet , it was found that Offline violence and victimization are
users. Another issue of privacy is on the feeling that associated with online abuse, peers approving and drug
we can still control what happens in our online life, use are also associated to cyber dating abuse rather than
and as such as shown in the research of Zarouali et al. family and race. Another aspect that relates to peers
(2018) the more one perceives that their privacy is influence online and one’s behavior is drinking, in the
“salient” the more sense of control a person has, this study of Scott and Barber (2020), they emphasized that
could be associated with an increase to one’s self- there is a significant association on an individual’s
efficacy. alcohol use the amount of exposure they have to peer
alcohol use online. They said that aside from
The risks as discussed in the previous section of the “excitement seeking” which is a significant influence to
research can also be factors and motivations that people alcohol usage it can also be a mediating variable to
had in considering the effects of how they use the higher online exposure of drinking online which will
internet to their lives of course there are other aspects translate to more consumption of alcoholfor a person.
that we can consider. For example, internet as used for
Cyberpsychology on Health and direction on the
purpose of finding relationship or anything else related
(ex. Sex, sexting) as mentioned in the study of Makgale Practice of Psychology
and Plattner (2017). Another possible area with which
we can associate to internet use is on the measure of Since the effects and importance of internet to people
satisfaction in one’s relationship scenario can be and their live have been more clarified from the earlier
explained by the research of Quiroz and Mickelson
(2021) where they

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Research Article

parts of the paper, it is important to then understand It should be noted that to address the problems and or
what are the co n tr ib u tio n of the study of to deliver better services relating to internet or
technology based concerns, training and acquisition of
cyberpsychology to the advocacy of mental health and
skills are important for the professionals (Keen &
practice of psychology in the field of medicine and
Gainsbury, 2021).not only because of its relevance to
helping people.
the current situation but to also prepare for the latter
An example of such is on the study of Smahelova et al. changes that technological advancements bring to
peoples’ well-being. The reason for this is becausethere
(2020) where they have recognized that the presence
are evidences that though online counseling,
of media in the household have emerged, and that
psychotherapy and support giving can still be useful
children who use those technology and interacts with
for both the clients and professionals (Keen &
the media should be guided. As such, their findings
Gainsbury, 2021; Okut & Nimrod, 2020; Baptie et al.,
showed that majority of the respondent families does
2021; Inozu et al., 2021). Several advantages can be
not have strict rules for internet use a parent often
derived from researches, one, is on the convenience
underestimate the possible risks of online use saying
brought about by online interaction specially those who
that they are more concerned on problems that might
are physically compromised, can be a learning
happen in the future and on the contact that their opportunity and a rewarding experience for
children have online. These results might be due to the counselors, and serve as first aid for cases in need of
fact that younger children tend to still be dependent on immediate response (Mackenzie et al. 2020; Okut &
their parents and that the parents can still somehow nimrod, 2021).
manage along with their child the use of technology on
specific time and conditions (ex. During the weekends Lastly, innovation and new perspective are another
or as reward for achieving something). things technology and digital innovations can offer to
the practice of psychology. Innovations such as using
Another is on the research of Mackenzie et al. (2020) virtual reality to address trauma, which was found to
where they studied the extent of digital support seeking be effective in giving a more immersive and effective
adolescent girls do online. Although girls seek digital trauma analogue (Baptie et al., 2021).
support for both emotional as academic basedon the
investigation, they are still apprehensive and concerned
with regards to privacy and confidentiality even among Conclusion
friends that they have confided with. Inhibition on the
effectiveness and inclination towards face to face The effects of technology and social media in the
support is still there, as well as, reports on reduced various aspects of the life of people could both be
emotional regulation on the part of the sharer that could positive and negative. The integration and
be considered as both positive (provides opportunity seamlessness of internet and use of technology is
for sharing more information) and negative (ex. evidence of that. With those in mind, there should be a
Tendency for over sharing). recognition that the risks and need for more active
actions towards having clearer guidelines and rules for
Next is on the effect of too much online interaction of internet use should be highlighted, providing direction
individuals that may lead to decrease of needed social and guidance to younger and new users, as well as,
interactions. In the study of Nuñez et al. (2020) they emphasizing the need for privacy measures to
focused on the effects of “Phubbing” also known as everyone no matter the age and level of activity is
“Phone Snubbing” which is a form of exclusion related similarly important as well.
to social media and technology use to people who
observes them. It was found that people who sees Another, by accepting the idea that the online world can
phubbing happening experience an increase of stress influence an individual greatly, from motivations,
and negative effect to their well-being. Anotherconcern actions, behavior and opinions we should also be aware
is on the possibility that people may use the internet as and recognize that these things can also be subjected to
a form of loafing, in the study of Lowe- Calverly and abuse and instead of making the lives of people easier,
Grieve (2017) where they addressed the concern on the it would rather become a threat to their safety and well-
subject of “Cyberloafing” of employees which can be being. So in order to prevent that from happening, it is
considered detrimental or as a type of recommended to highlight researches or initiatives that
“counterproductive workplace behavior” and found will promote into finding new ways and processes on
that as long as individuals know that they cannot be how to monitor and keep the internet safe for everyone,
caught they will continue their loafing behavior. to establish systems and better ways

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Cyberspace, 10(1), Article 2.

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Research on Cyberspace, 11(2), Article 5.
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boundaries of the online or digital world. support seeking in adolescent girls: A qualitative study of affordances
and limitations. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research
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Affiliations and Corresponding Information
Kaushik, M., & Guleria, N. (2020). The Impact of Pandemic
COVID-19 in Workplace. European Journal of Business and
Management, 12(15), 1-10.
Jigo Rafael Catamio, MAED, RGC
Polytechnic National University – Fairview, Philippines
Keen, B., & Gainsbury, S. (2021). Perceptions of young adults’ Dr. John Mark Distor, RPm
problematic technology use among Australian youth professionals.
Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace,
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
15(1), Article 8.

Kezer, M., Sevi, B., Cemalcilar, Z., & Baruh, L. (2016). Age
differences in privacy attitudes, literacy and privacy management on

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