Review by Booklist Review
Most of us would be up in arms if a company or the government revealed about us as much information as we reveal about ourselves through social media. Heavy users are constantly sharing, updating, branding, and seeking viral fame, relinquishing an enormous amount of personal information to friends, family, advertisers, market researchers, and law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Silverman examines the allure of social media platforms offered by Facebook, Google, Twitter, and others and the cost it has exacted in loss of personal privacy and even identity. Drawing on sociology, politics, and technology, Silverman ponders the legal and social contract social media users have made with service providers without a thought of the surveillance that comes with hyperconnected technology. Warning about the long-term implications of turning over so much of our lives and privacy, Silverman advocates resistance, pointing to communities of Internet and social media rebels using software and techniques to obscure user identity. He also advocates for stronger privacy laws in this absorbing look at the conflict between privacy and social media.--Bush, Vanessa Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
As social media platforms and other technologies diffuse into our everyday lives, Silverman acts as a much-needed digital skeptic, drawing out the resulting ideological shifts and questioning what these changes mean for society. The book presents a state of affairs that simultaneously provokes outrage, incredulity, and despair: notions of authenticity and selfhood as affected by Facebook, the economic and social effects of the so-called "sharing economy," digital serfdom, and what Silverman terms "the informational appetite" for raw dataSilverman is an optimist, though, and he provides numerous policy changes for readers to advocate, such as a digital bill of rights, a universal basic income, and regulation of data brokers. But the book also makes clear that with continued citizen inaction and apathy, tech companies led by cyber-libertarians and techno-utopians will continue to build a world with interests that don't match our own. Silverman proves himself an astute cultural critic as he addresses the complexity of the current moment in technology. Agent: Lauren Smythe, Inkwell Management. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Library Journal Review
Silverman, a journalist and literary critic, delivers an in-depth review of the social media companies that not only rule our technologies but are revolutionizing social dynamics, culture, and the very way the world is run. The author explains jargon including "frictionless sharing" and "sentiment analysis" without condescending to those not in the know. Silverman describes the principles and products of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter as well as sites that organize many different aspects of our lives such as Uber, Taskrabbit, and Airbnb. He comments on the social and psychological consequences of spending so much time plugged in, yet also illustrates how our habits serve the industry that fosters them. -VERDICT Though there are myriad other books on this topic, Silverman astutely points out that this is a conversation that needs to be had more than once. This is a serious consideration of the issues for people on both sides of the argument and an essential read for anyone wishing to better understand the changing dynamics of our world.-Catherine Lantz, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago Lib. © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Freelancer Silverman, a celebrated Jeopardy! champion and contributor to Slate, the Atlantic and other publications, debuts with a deep and disquieting plunge into digital culture.The author focuses on the online world of "I share, therefore I am"Facebook, Twitter and other social mediawhere technology companies, under the guise of improving our lives, engage in relentless "exploitation, manipulation, and erosion of privacy" in the pursuit of user data and advertising revenue. Trading on our internalized informational appetitei.e., need for voyeurism and self-displayand fear of disconnection, they push users toward standardized and mindless behaviors ("Don't think, just share"). As a result, writes Silverman, we are "surrounded by the incessant chorus of likes, favorites, and a thousand bits of banal-but-cheerfully-good news." At the cost of our privacy and personal data, social media allow us to indulge our need to know now, to see and be seen, and to browse randomly for news from elsewhere, writes the author, who conveys an unusually vivid sense of what it's like to be fully engaged in this new culture, where sharing is sincerity, and reserve and introspection seem insincere. Rather than simply enjoy a performance and not take photographs, many now make photographing (and sharing) a major part of any event. Silverman examines the perils of Internet celebrity, reputational management, viral marketing, big data, the demeaning aspects of online labor markets, the meaning of privacy, the constant struggle of users to appear authentic and the ways in which some are rebelling. Relentlessly skeptical, he captures beautifully the surreal aspects of the social media experience and details the all-too-real bottom-line priorities of Silicon Valley executives who insist they know what is best for us. Intelligent, provocative and illuminating in the author's argument that social media companies must examine their ethics and find business models that don't depend on perpetual surveillance of customers. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
