Psychological harm: what is it and how does it apply to consumer products with internet connectivity?

Abstract

Consumer products with internet connectivity (hereafter CPIC) introduce a range of efficiencies into our day-to-day household activities. In combination, the network of CPIC form ‘smart homes’ where we can monitor and control them remotely via our mobile phone. As with any technological innovation, with new benefits come concerns of new harms. Psychological harm is one such type that is gaining interest in associated with CPIC. However, to date there is no systematic analysis of the concept which this review aims to address in three ways. Psychological research (clinical, social, forensic) is most familiar with the concept, and this is where the review begins. By exploring how it is characterised and measured there, the groundwork is then laid for examining how the same concept could apply to CPIC. The second section looks in depth at CPIC hazards (e.g. security breaches) and typical harms (e.g. privacy, financial, physical, property), along with psychological harm. Thus far the findings suggest that psychological harms are not foremost in the mind of users, instead outcomes of criminal activities and invasion of privacy are the most prominent. The final section integrates the insights from the earlier sections to outline the inherent issues that need to be surmounted when applying psychological harm to risk analysis in the domain of CPIC.

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