Psychological syndrome phenomenons such as internet addiction or bullying through social media need to be observed to see the links between man and technology at present. On one side technology benefits man but on the other side it changes human values.
Dean of Faculty Psychology UGM, Prof. Dr. Faturochman, M.A., said technology advancement had indeed driven the Industry 4.0. which impacted human lives.
“One of those is how human interaction with technology has shaped modern life. Psychology that learns human mental and behaviour process needs to explore it,” he said in the Mind, Brain, & Behavior laboratory at Faculty of Psychology UGM on Friday (15/2), opening International Conference on Human-Technology Interactions (ICHTI) that run from 15-16 February 2019.
The conference was done in collaboration with doctorate study programme of the Faculty. It was joined by over 50 participants. Themed How The Human-Technology Interactions Shape Modern Life, ICHTI presented four international speakers: Prof. Elkhonon Goldberg, Ph. D (New York University), Prof. Byron Good, Ph. D (Harvard University), Prof. Joel Pearson, Ph. D (New South Wales University), and Prof. Jeffrey Sachs (Columbia University).
Galang Lufityanto, Ph.D, event chairman, said technology that led to humans no longer making interactions directly need to be anticipated. He said this caused negative impacts, hence, human life degradation.
“If we use technology optimally according to needs, it can really help our work. So, in this event we want to see those aspects where technology goes well and where it does not and how we anticipate it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Prof. Elkhonon Goldberg highlighted the effects of technology to age. He submitted a hypothesis if senior citizens were exposed to technology and willing to interact with technology, he will evade the risks of having dementia or brain disorders that are caused by old age.
In his opinion technology can help the senior citizens overcome psychological problems that naturally occur at old age. Research showed that when the rear side of the left brain is decreasing but he is in touch with technology, such brain capacity reduction can be minimised.