Showing results for "dangerous" in History & Culture

Nobody meant for this to happen. Facebook didn't mean to facilitate a genocide. Twitter didn't want to be used to harass women. YouTube never planned to radicalise young men. But with billions of users, these platforms need only tweak their algorithms to generate more 'engagement'. In so doing, they bring unrest to previously settled communities and erode our relationships. Social warming has happened gradually - as a by-product of our preposterously convenient digital existence.

WikiLeaks, a platform for disclosing information, has managed to produce more scoops in the last three years than the Washington Post has in the last 30: the gruesome video of Iraqi civilians and journalists being murdered by members of the US military; the true circumstances surrounding the bombing of two hijacked petrol-tankers in Kunduz, Afghanistan; the plundering of the Icelandic bank Kaupthing; the planning documents for the Duisburg Love Parade, and many more.

A penetrating examination of the insidious effects of the Internet on our personalities - online and off. Whether sharing photos or following financial markets, many of us spend a shocking amount of time online. While the Internet can enhance well-being, Elias Aboujaoude has spent years treating patients whose lives have been profoundly disturbed by it.