Behaviour & Information Technology

In contemporary societies, technological advances have reshaped the landscape of social interactions.

The revolution in communication technology, including the advent of social media, video calls, and instant messaging, has transcended geographical barriers, fostering global connections.

In the realm of social research, technological development has propelled the field towards remarkable achievements.

The second-person approach, asserting that the study of human social cognition necessitates real-time interactions rather than passive observation, has faced methodological challenges. However, recent technological advances have opened new avenues for understanding and facilitating genuine social interaction.

Notably, communication technology extends beyond human-human interactions, with artificial intelligence (AI) exhibiting anthropomorphic features and outperforming human capabilities. AI plays diverse roles in robotics and applied research, presenting both opportunities and challenges. Despite the advantages, the societal impact of technological development is not without drawbacks.

Increasing addictive behaviors towards smartphones, the internet, and digital gaming, coupled with a pervasive sense of Fear of Missing Out -FOMO- and cyberloafing, pose challenges to individual and collective mental health. Societal repercussions include heightened feelings of loneliness, techno-cultural stress, digital inequality in communities lacking tech resources, and a global risk of privacy violation.

This multidisciplinary proposal investigates these phenomena across the lifespan, focusing on:

• Technologically-mediated research practices within the social and psychological fields, encompassing neurodiverse populations (with an emphasis on second-person approaches) and wellbeing.

• Real-life smart technology, AI, and robotics, exploring new opportunities in pedagogy, rehabilitation, entertainment, and motivation.
• Digital connection and interpersonal behavior, examining consequences and risks for mental health

The Research Theme encompasses a broad spectrum of work, shedding light on how technologically- mediated interactions influence life in modern societies, spanning neuroscientific and psychological research practices, robotics, and interpersonal behavior. Three sessions are dedicated to presenting promising tech applications and methodologies, exploring robotics and smart technology in various fields, and digging into the impact of the progressive inhibition of embodied interactions leading to loneliness, techno-cultural stress, addictive behaviors, FOMO, and cyberloafing.

During submission select the short title: Social Interactions in the Era of Technology from the drop down menu. Authors are encouraged to submit their papers by the 24th of September 2024, with flexibility for a one-month delay for justified reasons.

Instructions for AuthorsSubmit an Article