w w w . onlinet h era p y instit u te . com
Convenience frequently outweighs caution. It’s a shared tendency that does not discriminate between age, gender or socio-economic status. The “it won’t happen to me” and “I’ll cross that bridge
email password recovery question, right after posting it on Facebook. It’s why we take unnecessary chances resulting in unnecessary risk. Due to the rapid habituation of internet technology, we’ve
Joseph LaBrie PhD, explains this phenomenon as ‘learned helplessness’. “Learned helplessness happens when people don’t know enough about a problem or don’t know how to resolve it. It’s like getting ripped off at a garage – if you don’t know enough about cars, you don’t argue with the mechanic. People just accept situations, even if it feels bad.” (Norton Cybercrime Report, 2011) It is probable that the majority of internet users don’t have a concept of how dangerous decisions influenced by convenience are. It’s the difference between drinking and driving and taking a cab: when we don’t take precautions we take a chance that could either have no consequence, or could shatter our lives. With taking chances there’s rarely a middle ground.
when I get there” syndromes. It’s why we leave late and speed to get somewhere on time, drink coffee in the morning rather than get adequate sleep at night, eat MacDonald’s rather than pack a lunch, or take medication rather than vitamins. It’s why we use our first pet’s name as our secret
failed to develop an awareness of virtual hazards and the importance of caution. We’ve become complacent, accepting cyber crime and the unsecured flow of data as side effects of the internet, damaging but unavoidable. Associate Professor of Psychology at Loyola Marymount University,
“Perhaps you notice how the denial is so often the preface to the justification.” —Christopher Hitchens
Recently my company conducted market research
T I L T M A G A Z I N E Jan u ar y 2 0 1 2
45