This book is outdated, even though it isn’t that old (2011).

The book is a compilation of essays about technology and it’s effect on us, by various academics. Much of the “effect” was about our psychology and sociability, which is important, but I think leaves a lot out of the conversation - especially our PHYSICAL health, which there wasn’t one word about.

I think most of the authors are too disconnected from the regular world to have useful opinions. Much of it was very pretentious academic nonsense. Overall most essays were positive about technology, but I am so negative about it that I really just wanted to see some gripes about the cons involved, which I had to wait for the final essays for.

Even though I make my living on technology, I hate it more every day. I think the physical, social, and psychological cons FAR outweigh the pros. Having most of the authors praise the benefits of technology was quite strange to me. Maybe now, 12 years later, some of them would revise their opinions.

I also felt click-bated by putting Steven Johnson and Clay Shirky on the cover, when their sections were just reprints from their books, which I have already read. Same with Sherry Turkle, not mentioned on the cover. Their books were much better than this one and nothing original from them was here.

I most enjoyed the essay by Andrew Keen, but I’d rather just read his books (especially The Internet Is Not The Answer).

I think this book is still worth reading just because it’s SUCH an important topic, but overall I have to give it a thumbs down. I only paid $2 for it, and it was just barely worth it.