With 4.57 billion internet users1 and 2 billion people on social networks2 worldwide, digital technology and media have changed our daily lives in countless ways. But how is this increasingly digital world changing the human mind?
It’s a fascinating question, and if you want to help answer it, you should think about studying digital psychology.
Digital psychology—sometimes known as cyberpsychology or web psychology—is a specialized area of psychology that examines the impact of digital technology and digital media on the psychological aspects of human life, such as behaviors, actions, attitudes, motivation, and learning.
Some colleges and universities offer good master’s programs in psychology that can be tailored to your interests and career goals in digital psychology. One option is the MS in Psychology online degree program at Walden University. This psychology master’s program offers a specialization in Digital Psychology, and you can earn the degree entirely online.
Here are four more reasons earning an MS in Psychology with a specialization in Digital Psychology could be a good choice for you:
1. Be at the Forefront of an Emerging Field.
In today’s tech-savvy world, it might be easy to forget that digital technology and media haven’t really been around that long. The Digital Revolution began to pick up steam with the introduction of the personal computer in the 1970s, and our digital life has evolved rapidly in the years since.
With this rapid digital transformation came important new questions like: What effect does screen time have on brain development? How does social media impact self-worth? Why do some people become addicted to video games? Does digital media make people feel more connected to each other or lonelier?
Digital psychology emerged in an attempt to answer these questions by understanding how digital technology and media affect people’s lives and psychological well-being. By studying digital psychology in a higher education setting, you could be at the forefront of a relatively new, intriguing area of psychology that will continue to grow as our world becomes even more digital.
2. Gain Sought-After Skills That Give You a Career Edge.
A psychology degree will help you develop fundamental career skills and job-ready competencies that are important to today’s employers—such as written communication, inquiry, and analysis. Adding a specialization in Digital Psychology to your master’s degree can help you stand out even more.
“Psychology students who can also have digital data analysis skills are not easily found by employers,” said Dr. Sreeroopa Sarkar, a faculty member in Walden’s School of Psychology. “A combination of knowledge of psychology and data analytics—and an understanding of business and company needs based on digital data—will provide students with unique skills to compete in the job market.”
Digital psychology courses explore the positive and negative impacts of digital technology and media on human psychology. You’ll gain an understanding of how digital technology influences human development and our personal and social lives. Online classes also provide basic skills in digital data analytics.
These skills can position you for a wide variety of careers inside and outside of psychology, such as:
- Digital media consultant
- Social media analyst
- Digital data analyst
- Digital media blogger/vlogger
- Data analyst at marketing and public relations firms
Career options may require additional experience, training, or other factors beyond the successful completion of this degree program.
3. Combat Dangerous Online Behaviors
The positive impact of digital media is tempered with some negative aspects. Internet-based crime is one of the fastest-growing security threats in the U.S.3 From cybercrimes, sex trafficking, and bullying to fake news and data breaches, the dangers of digital technology and media are a big issue that professionals in digital psychology can help tackle.
“It is more important than ever to have a higher level of digital media literacy to counter the risks and challenges and to learn how to behave responsibly in the digital world,” said Walden’s Dr. Sarkar.
When you earn an MS in Psychology with a specialization in Digital Psychology, you explore these pressing problems and learn skills that can prepare you to advocate for digital data safety, promote ethical internet use, and inform public policy.
If you want to use your college education to make the world a better place, a master’s degree program focused on digital psychology can help you create positive social change.
4. Shape Improved Digital Tools and Better Business
The field of digital psychology not only looks at how digital technology and media affect humans, it also explores how human psychology influences and shapes the digital world.
By earning a master’s degree that emphasizes digital psychology, you can gain the knowledge and skills to collect, analyze, and interpret complex data around how people interact with and respond to digital technology and media. These valuable insights help companies design digital tools that are more intuitive, are safer, and provide a better user experience. Digital data is also used to develop more effective marketing and business strategy.
“To explore the psychology of consumers, understanding digital data is extremely important for the businesses to perform well and grow,” Dr. Sarkar said. “Digital analytics are used extensively by businesses to understand consumer behaviors, attitudes, and satisfactions that help with their growth. The Digital Psychology specialization offers you basic skills of digital data analytics.”
Walden University is an accredited institution offering an MS in Psychology degree program online with a specialization in Digital Psychology. Expand your career options and earn your degree in a convenient, flexible format that fits your busy life.
1Source: www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/http://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/
2Source: www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/
3Source: www.statista.com/topics/2588/us-consumers-and-cyber-crime/
Note on licensure: The MS in Psychology is not a licensure program and does not prepare an individual to become a licensed psychology or counseling professional.
Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.