Infinite Distraction: Paying Attention to Social Media - Couverture rigide

Pettman, Dominic

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 1509502262 ISBN 13 : 9781509502264

Editeur : Polity Press, 2016

Synopsis

It is often argued that contemporary media homogenize our thoughts and actions, without us being fully aware of the restrictions they impose. But what if the problem is not that we are all synchronized to the same motions or moments, but rather dispersed into countless different emotional micro-experiences? What if the effect of so-called social media is to calibrate the interactive spectacle so that we never fully feel the same way as other potential allies at the same time? While one person is fuming about economic injustice or climate change denial, another is giggling at a cute cat video. And, two hours late, vice versa. The nebulous indignation which constitutes the very fuel of true social change can be redirected safely around the network, avoiding any dangerous surges of radical activity.

In this short and provocative book, Dominic Pettman examines the deliberate deployment of what he calls �hypermodulation,� as a key strategy encoded into the contemporary media environment. His account challenges the various narratives that portray social media as a sinister space of synchronized attention, in which we are busily �clicking ourselves to death.� This critical reflection on the unprecedented power of the Internet requires us to rethink the potential for infinite distraction that our latest technologies now allow.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

DOMINIC PETTMAN is Chair of Liberal Studies, New School for Social Research, and Professor of Culture and Media, Eugene Lang College. He has held previous positions at the University of Melbourne, the University of Geneva, and the University of Amsterdam. He is the author or co-author of a large number of publications on technology and society.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Polity Press
• Date d'édition: 2016
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1509502262
• ISBN 13: 9781509502264
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 140
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible