Virtually You: The Dangerous Powers Of The E-Personality (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
Ugh. Interested in compulsivity and the internet. Thought this book might give me some insight. Unfortunately it's more a stream of consciousness editorial on the internet as the root of all evil. When the author talks about things I'm fairly knowledgeable about (like the root causes of the dot com bubble) he's wrong, which gives me very little confidence in his assessments elsewhere.Luckily, this book reminded me that I should ditch stuff like this and read more Postman. So I'm reading Amusing Ourselves to Death right now instead, and much happier. Of Facebook: "We let everyone know we were fans of Starbucks, 'Battlestar Gallactica,' and pants." (In unrelated news, why is the word "pants" so funny?)Ah, the chapter about how we read on the internet (apparently we don't) was disheartening. We "scan" or--what's worse?--"power scan." (That latter connotes a very unlovely protein shake). Aboujaoude is a reductive sort of shrink (and sometimes a reductive sort of thinker!), throwing around invocations to the id and ego in a way that seemed a bit pat and wikipedia-ish, but I like the general architecture, and his thesis, born out of his clinical practice, is compelling: we are all regressed grandiose impulsive power-scanning narcissists now! I-yee! Often I resisted that "we." I still read whole novels, Herr Doktor! and many people I know do; none of us have killed anyone we've met through Craigslist; I don't while away the hours downloading porn; I don't play World of Warcraft. But, yes, I've googled myself, and I wasn't raised to indulge such vanity, so maybe it's all true. A good, quickish read. Like all the books being written about the "digital revolution," one doesn't turn to this for the felicity of its prose (alas), but for its necessary provocation.
What do You think about Virtually You: The Dangerous Powers Of The E-Personality (2011)?
I'm stepping back to take a look at my online personality. This book scared me , a little.
—anna
The best book I have read yet about the addictive influence of the internet.
—anu
This explains a rather curious, yet frightening, modern phenomena!
—mindy
This should be on reading lists in schools around the world.
—sassy
