Media connect things that would otherwise remain separate. At the same time, they can also be used in various ways to disconnect things that are already linked. Their effects are at once both positive and negative. As electronic communications technologies reshape the world, they inevitably "create chaos, cacophony, vexation, and destruction" along with the various so-called improvements they bring (p. xv). Emami examines how current online media platforms unavoidably create an environment of conflict and misinformation, leading to what she calls "cyberpunishment." Drawing from social-psychological theories including Terror Management Theory and Quest for Significance Theory, Emami analyzes the process through which users online engage in activities that far exceed the parameters of acceptability in ordinary life. As the many real-life examples in the book demonstrate, these incidents, though often caused by exclusively virtual or digital personas, events, and situations, often result in tragedy.

Sensitive to the diverse contexts around cyber misbehavior, the book offers a useful guide for not only plumbing the depth of a problem but also finding a solution to it. Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty, professionals, and general readers. , often result in tragedy. Sensitive to the diverse contexts around cyber misbehavior, the book offers a useful guide for not only plumbing the depth of a problem but also finding a solution to it. Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty, professionals, and general readers., often result in tragedy.

Sensitive to the diverse contexts around cyber misbehavior, the book offers a useful guide for not only plumbing the depth of a problem but also finding a solution to it. Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty, professionals, and general readers., often result in tragedy. Sensitive to the diverse contexts around cyber misbehavior, the book offers a useful guide for not only plumbing the depth of a problem but also finding a solution to it. Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty, professionals, and general readers.