Books in brief

In this incisive tour of sociotechnology and its discontents, forensic cyberpsychologist Mary Aiken has much to say about children and the digital world. Parents addicted to mobile phones, for instance, fail to give babies the 'face time' they need to develop non-verbal communication skills; and the UK Association of Teachers and Lecturers has linked toddlers' tablet use with delays in speaking. With “compulsion loops” built into online games, and cybercommunities focused on extreme behaviours luring people in through online disinhibition, it's time for industrial accountability, she argues.