The subject of loneliness in the modern world is very common, but this book takes a very unique view about it.

I read this when it came out, about ten years ago, and it was very poignant back then, when everyone was first starting to live with their heads down in their phones.

Now, I found it much more interesting.

Many people, including myself, talk about this book in the same sentence as Bowling Alone, by Putnam. But they are VERY different books. If you enjoyed Putnam, you’d enjoy this too, but for different reasons.

Plenty of books try to go deep about our relationship with technology, but I don’t think any author has done better than Turkle. She brings a necessary humanity to the subject, which I feel has failed in other (mostly male authored) books, but she also wasn’t too emotional or dramatic in tone, which was a delicate balance given the content.

Few subjects are as important as this these days, and unlike most technology books, this one has become more important with age.

This book is longer and denser than the paperback appears. Its detail is satisfying and it is very worth your time and money.

Turkle’s lectures are also quite good and many are on YouTube.