In 2020, I am going to try my absolute best to read up on what you wonderful souls deem worth the time in trying to read up on the topic of our current technological landscape with regards to the internet. I have learned that the internet can truly be such a wonderful thing, and yet can be an entirely dark-sided ad-driven wastepool as well.
With that being said: what will you be reading this 2020? Let’s further educate each other on the topic of using our technology in a more enhancing way, rather than an extractive way. It is critical we read books from credible sources, learn interesting new ideas and engage with one another on how to make the internet/our technologies a better place to coexist with.
Books I have read recently that I highly recommend:
“The Filter Bubble” by Eli Pariser.-what the internet is hiding from you.
“The Master Switch” by Tim Wu. - the rise and fall of information empires.
“Hello World” by Hannah Fry. -being human in the age of algorithms.
With that being said: what will you be reading this 2020?
One book that has resonated in my community has been 12 Ways your Phone Is Changing You by Tony Reinke. While the book does approache things from an overtly Christian perspective even if you don’t have a faith tradition this book is eye-opening. It’s a game changer! HIGHLY recommend
Surveillance Capitalism - Shoshana Zuboff
Ten Arguments for Deleting Social Media Accounts Right Now - Jaron Lanier
You are Not a Gadget - Jaron Lanier
How to Do Nothing - Jenny O’Dell
Stand Out of Our Light - James Williams
World without Mind - Franklin Foer
Trick Mirror - Jia Tolentino
Want to echo the recommendations of How to Do Nothing and Trick Mirror as must reads for putting into really clear, powerful language the deleterious cultural and individual impact of the ubiquitous integration of digital devices, social media, etc. in our lives.
Niceee… These suggestions are incredible! This is basically the curriculum, but it’s missing the magnum opus: The Shallows, by Nicholas Carr. Published in 2010, it’s as amazing (and relevant) as ever.
Woot! I love this thread so much! Thanks @everyone for sharing!!
Overall, I think I’ve read about half of the books mentioned in this thread. (Here’s where I keep track.)
This is a bit random, but I’d also like to add the ultimate humane tech longread: Walden, by Henry David Thoreau. I’ve been reading and re-reading that constantly for the last few years. It’s beyond prescient. More than anything else I’ve ever read in my life, it gets right to the heart of why distractions are so bad and why simplicity is so good. It’s a classic amongst classics for a reason.
I’m curious to see what Deep Work contains, it seems to be a classic in the topic of focus & distraction.
Probably I’m also going to read many more relevant long form magazine/journal articles, now that @loundy launched the perfect platform for that (thanks)
Deep work is, indeed, great. I actually met Cal Newport once, at a book launch event in NYC for Digital Minimalism. During the Q&A, I asked a question that used the word dystopia and the crowd laughed, but then I didn’t laugh, and then there was an epically long and awkward silence which I thought ruled. Good times.
I’ve recently read The Psychology of Social Media by Ciaran Mc Mahon and in the midst of Psychology of the Digital Age by John R. Suler.
After that, I have Shoshana Zuboff’s The Age of Digital Capitalism. Have recently purchased Targeted by Brittany Kaiser, and Mindf*ck by Christopher Wylie. Also on my to buy list is BJ Fogg’s new book Tiny Habits.
A vegan friend, Michael Greger, MD recently sent me his latest book, How Not To Diet - it’s even bigger than Shoshana’s book!
Let’s see how many of these I can get through before Honours starts in February!
For parents and educators… Screen Schooled by Clement and Miles. I could recommend others but this is the BEST. Short easy read. Authors are currently teachers.
Stand out of our light is a brilliant read. My ever expanding reading list for 2020 is:
Understanding Media - The extensions of man by Marshall McLuhan
Reader come home - Reading brain in a digital world by Maryanne Wolf
The shallows - What the internet is doing to our brains by Nicholas Carr
Digital minimalism - Cal Newport
Indistractables - Nir Eyal
I can’t second “Team Human” enough. Rushkoff captures the idealism of the early internet with suggestions for how we get back on course. His podcasts are delightful too!
I would recommend Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari as well - has a good summation of humanism and where he predicts we are going after humanism stops being the predominant social order.
(thanks)