Digitized Lives

Culture, Power, and Social Change in the Internet Era

T.V. Reed

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781136690037
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Media Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

In a remarkably short period of time the Internet and associated digital communication technologies have deeply changed the way millions of people around the globe live their lives. But what is the nature of that impact? In chapters examining a broad range of issues—including sexuality, politics, education, race, gender relations, the environment, and social protest movements— Digitized Lives seeks answers to these central questions: What is truly new about so-called "new media, " and what is just hype? How have our lives been made better or worse by digital communication technologies? In what ways can these devices and practices contribute to a richer cultural landscape and a more sustainable society?

Cutting through the vast—and often contradictory—literature on these topics, Reed avoids both techno-hype and techno-pessimism, offering instead succinct, witty and insightful discussions of how digital communication is impacting our lives and reshaping the major social issues of our era. The book argues that making sense of digitized culture means looking past the glossy surface of techno gear to ask deeper questions about how we can utilize technology to create a more socially, politically, and economically just world.

Companion website available at: culturalpolitics.net/digital_cultures

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Preface: Why Buy this Book?
• Acknowledgments
• 1 How Do We Make Sense of Digitizing Cultures? Some Ways of Thinking through the Culture–Technology Matrix
• 2 How is the Digital World Made? The Dreamers/Workers/Users Production Cycle
• 3 Who Are We Online? Digital Masquerade, Privacy, Anonymity, Community and Cyborg Dis/Embodiment
• 4 Is Everybody Equal Online? Digitizing Gender, Ethnicity and Dis/Ability
• 5 Digitizing Desire? Sexploration and/or Sexploitation
• 6 Does the Internet Have a Political Bias? E-Democracy, Networked Authoritarianism and Online Activism
• 7 Are Digital Games Making Us Violent and Sex Crazed, or Will They Save the World? Virtual Play, Real Impact
• 8 Are Kids Getting Dumber as Their Phones Get Smarter? E-Learning, “Edutainment” and the Future of Knowledge Sharing
• 9 Who in the World is Online? Digital Inclusions and Exclusions
• 10 Conclusion: Hype, Hope and Possible Digitized Futures
• Bibliography
• Glossary
• Index