John Waterworth is a consultant, writer and reviewer, focusing on psychological, ethical and experiential aspects of ICT application design and use in a wide variety of applications and settings. A central concern is the actual and potential impact of information technology on quality of life. He has a PhD in Experimental Psychology and is a Chartered Psychologist of the British Psychological Society and Professor Emeritus at the Department of Informatics, Umeå University, Sweden. During his extensive research career, he has carried out research on topics such as speech-based interaction, information exploration and hypermedia, interactive tools to support creativity and learning, sense of presence, place and embodiment in computer-mediated environments, and ambient tools to support wellbeing over the lifespan.
Professor Waterworth has over 200 publications to his name, including 8 books. He has published in a wide range of academic journals including: Perception, Interacting with Computers, Presence, Journal of Consciousness Studies, Leonardo, Frontiers in Computer Science, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, New Ideas in Psychology, Gerontechnology, Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, and Behaviour & Information Technology. Amongst numerous book chapters, he co-authored topic reference chapters for the Handbook of Virtuality (Oxford), the Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics (Wiley) and the Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction (Elsevier). His latest book – The Displaced Self: Impacts of digital disembodiment on quality of life – was published in October 2025. Other recent book titles include The Psychosocial Reality of Digital Travel (co-authored with Ingvar Tjostheim), Human-experiential design of presence in everyday blended reality (co-authored with Kei Hoshi), and Feeling present in the physical world and in computer-mediated environments (co-authored with Giuseppe Riva).
John’s teaching experience includes a variety of university courses, mostly at Master’s level, on topics such as: Designing for User Experience, Trends in Human-Computer Interaction, Advanced Design Studio, and Presence in Computer-Mediated Environments. He has also organised and led popular courses for industry on the Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction, and has supervised nine successful PhD candidates to date.
In addition to providing consultancy to a wide range of governmental and commercial organisations, John has attracted substantial research funding and participated in many international research projects over the course of his career in the UK, Singapore, Norway and Sweden. He has served as a keynote speaker on numerous occasions, on topics such as speech-based interaction with computers, supporting psychological and physical wellbeing with interactive technology, human-computer confluence, sense of presence in VR, digital travel, and tools for everyday creativity.
“I am interested in new ways in which information technologies can be designed and applied to enhance health and life quality for a wide range of individuals: in everyday life, in clinical settings and in other specific circumstances.”
Contact John here.
Recent books are shown below. Most publications are listed here. See also Q-Life Facebook page.
