Dark Social: Understanding the darker side of work, personality and social media, reviewed

We review the latest and timely book by Ian MacRae, looking at the challenges of social media and its wider impact on society. Available from Bloomsbury here.

Dark Social: Understanding the darker side of work, personality and social media, reviewed

This is an important and relevant book. We are big fans of MacRae’s work, and it makes sense that he has tackled this book. The saddening, and slightly depressing aspect is that a large amount of the case studies focuses on the behaviour of the 45th potus. Depressing because so much of Trump’s behaviour is a catalogue of all that is wrong with social media, its misuse and abuse. And yet, maddeningly perhaps, he was elected president. Thereby, in his mind, and his supporters, validating all those negative aspects that MacRae so accurately identifies.

In a time of wildly self interested, and populist  self serving leaders around the world, the UK, Brazil, India, Russia among others, it seems that social media has become the tool of misinformation, bigotry and hatred. This of course makes this book an important piece of work, however at the same time you do find yourself yearning for less negative and polarised times. As we edge towards climate disaster it seems insane that we still have to deal with climate change deniers, including, who often hold office in many large countries around the world. This is the world we have made it seems.

This book is well worth reading, it would just be a little less depressing if we weren’t in such a dire situation. Hopefully this book raises awareness and promotes more discussion about why we need to be more cognisant about these issues, and to build a sense of what is better, and what is, and is not appropriate. This all still feels deeply relevant until we are beyond this unfortunate time of no-nothing populism and negativity.

I so enjoyed this conversation with Jessica Carson on the bright and dark side of personality- self-awareness, how our bright and dark sides are inextricably linked and how to understand the implications of that in our work and careers. Pt 1:https://t.co/KlxCUvCIhJ @BloomsburyBiz

— Ian MacRae (@IanSMacRae) November 11, 2021

More about the book

From Donald Trump’s outrageous tweets to the impact of the GRU (Russia’s military intelligence agency) on foreign elections, through to echo chambers and amplification by bots and networks – the negative side of social media is becoming ever more apparent. Now far removed from a comfortable landscape of cat videos and family pictures, social media is now open to exploitation from a range of sources, from disgruntled employees to ‘fake news’.

? Dark Social – Ian MacRae

An approachable and widely applicable guide to the dangers of social media, and the steps that can be taken to avoid any negative consequences as a result of social media activity.

Read more: https://t.co/vDjBYctZAI pic.twitter.com/ykI0LyvvmR

— Bloomsbury UK (@BloomsburyBooks) November 11, 2021

The negative impact of social media upon the workplace can have damaging consequences for businesses. Reputations can be ruined overnight, employees can manipulate social media feeds to their own advantage, and the boundaries between professional and personal social media conduct can become dangerously blurred.

Dark Social is an approachable and widely applicable guide to the dangers of social media, and the steps that can be taken by businesses to avoid any negative consequences as a result of social media activity. Despite these risks, social media should not be neglected – it has become a fundamental part of business literacy and is now an essential element of any successful marketing & PR campaign. Drawing upon fascinating case studies and organizational psychology, Dark Social is a timely and fascinating insight into the darker side of social media.

More about the author

Ian MacRae is a work psychologist and psychometrician, and he works as a research consultant and speaker across Europe and North America. Ian has a BA (Hons.) in Psychology from the University of British Columbia and an MSc Research Methods in Psychology from University College London. He has written six books about workplace psychology including High Potential: How to Spot, Manage and Develop Talented People at Work, and his books have been translated into ten different languages.

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