When the evolved social mind goes online: How digital ecologies recalibrate mentalizing and social bonding
Ana Maria Fernandez, Pamela Barone · 2026
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Description
Ana Maria Fernandez and Pamela Barone argue that online life recalibrates the evolved social mind rather than replacing it. Humans evolved for face-to-face groups with rich social signals. Friendships and romance now often grow through screens and messages instead.
The pair review how digital settings change mentalizing, the skill of reading minds. They also cover attachment and the growth of closeness online. Missing body cues and constant contact shift each process. The authors call for one unified evolutionary account of these shifts. Past work grew fast but stayed fragmented across topics. Their frame links old social machinery to new digital habits. It sets an agenda for research on online bonding.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Ana Maria Fernandez, Pamela Barone |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 19 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |