Technology and addictions
Rapidly changing digital environments are reshaping addictive behaviors and substance use in contemporary society. This Emerging Technologies Lab research stream examines how emerging technologies, online platforms, and digital communities transform the conditions of addiction.
The projects within this research stream produce ground-breaking research on how digital technologies shape addictive behaviors, risks, and recovery. The stream examines technology-mediated phenomena such as excessive gambling, digital gaming, compulsive internet use, online trading, substance use, and the role of online communities in addictive behaviors. It also explores how substance use and addictive behaviors may function as technologies of the self. By combining interdisciplinary perspectives from social psychology, sociology, public health, and technology studies, the research stream produces knowledge on how emerging technologies influence individuals, communities, and markets, and how these insights can support prevention, intervention, and policy development.
