Menu
Aeon
DonateNewsletter
SIGN IN

Psychology

Essays and videos offering insights into the self, relationships, cognition and neuroscience
Save

essay

Technology and the self

Tomorrow people

For the entire 20th century, it had felt like telepathy was just around the corner. Why is that especially true now?

Roger Luckhurst

Save

video

Technology and the self

In the town once named Asbestos, locals ponder the voids industry left in its wake

16 minutes

Save

video

Sex and sexuality

After a sextortion scam, Eugene conducts an unblushing survey of masturbation

14 minutes

Save

video

Technology and the self

A deepfake porn victim confronts the pain of having her likeness stolen and vandalised

19 minutes

Save

essay

Consciousness and altered states

A reader’s guide to microdosing

How to use small doses of psychedelics to lift your mood, enhance your focus, and fire your creativity

Tunde Aideyan

Save

video

Work

Does capitalism make ‘non-playable characters’ of us all? An uncanny exploration

21 minutes

Save

video

Technology and the self

A ‘virtual outing’ on Google Maps reveals a treasured image from Diego’s past

6 minutes

Save

video

Technology and the self

An artist swaps her head with everyday objects in a musing on consumerism

4 minutes

Save

essay

Subcultures

Of memes and magick

Bending a mysterious world to your will was the goal of esoteric practices. Now it’s the unashamed aim of the tech titans

Tara Isabella Burton

Save

video

Computing and artificial intelligence

Struggling to learn how to do a backflip, Nikita takes on an unusual training regimen

12 minutes

Save

essay

Film and visual culture

The truth of photographs

It’s often said that a successful picture ‘captures the essence’ of a subject. But a great photograph does so much more

Daniel Star

Save

video

Technology and the self

Why we should worry less about ‘sentient’ AIs and more about what we’re teaching them

16 minutes

Save

video

Technology and the self

Greetings from Green Bank – the small town where modern technology is banned

10 minutes

Save

video

History of technology

The long-awaited arrival of TV to Shetland sparks debate in this vintage clip

9 minutes

Save

video

Politics and government

‘Without a poster, you don’t exist!’ – on the curious political banners of Mumbai

20 minutes

Save

essay

History of technology

We’ve always been distracted

Worried that technology is ‘breaking your brain’? Fears about attention spans and focus are as old as writing itself

Joe Stadolnik

Save

video

The future

What’s the healthiest way to handle a creeping feeling that the world is ending?

15 minutes

Save

video

Social psychology

Social contagions can cause genuine illness, and TikTok may be a superspreader

10 minutes

Save

video

Technology and the self

One woman prepares for the risky solitude of Georgia O’Keeffe’s American West

8 minutes

Save

video

Work

Catch those idle moments of connection between coworkers on a smoke break

10 minutes

Save

video

Technology and the self

Adaptive technologies have helped Stephen Hawking, and many more, find their voice

5 minutes

Save

video

Values and beliefs

How a God-fearing Jewish woman found atheism – and bacon – in her later years

9 minutes

Save

essay

Technology and the self

Help! Brain overload

As tasks mount up, our brain’s ability to juggle goes down. Neuroergonomic tactics can relieve the cognitive burden

Emily Willingham

Save

video

Gender and identity

How the spy-cam epidemic in South Korea affects the women who are its victims

35 minutes