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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
A brief, decent book about an obvious thing that many people can't bring themselves to do: stop supporting social media.
Social media has been likened to the tobacco industry. It's a pervasive problem. We have a bunch of research about how bad it is. The incentive structures are a nightmare. It ruined the 2016 election. It undermines democracy, empathy, actual human connections. It's false and full of lies. It's addictive. It perpetuates our worst instincts; it turns us, as Lanier says, into assholes. And so on.
Anyway, billions of people use Facebook. What a nightmare! I have no tolerance for the "concern troll" argument that disadvantaged groups are somehow unable to leave Facebook; I lived in Tanzania for two years and India for one year. In those places, Facebook is now bundled with people's mobile phone plans and offered as a "free" service. I've seen an argument (on Twitter): "this is the only access to the internet these people have!" Oh yes, Facebook offering such succor to the poor and benighted. Give me a break. MPESA gives succor. Facebook sure as hell does not.
Anyway. I love Jaron Lanier. I saw him speak years ago. Appalled when no one in the audience knew of E.M. Forster's The Machine Stops, he strongly recommended it and I read it shortly afterwards. And it changed my life. So thanks, Mr. Lanier! I also think his tech skepticism is informed and healthy. And, of course, I'm inspired by his weird and quirky interests: his writing is smart, confident, kind-hearted, and wacky. Which is always a balm.
I wonder how many people have actually deleted their FB accounts...
Social media has been likened to the tobacco industry. It's a pervasive problem. We have a bunch of research about how bad it is. The incentive structures are a nightmare. It ruined the 2016 election. It undermines democracy, empathy, actual human connections. It's false and full of lies. It's addictive. It perpetuates our worst instincts; it turns us, as Lanier says, into assholes. And so on.
Anyway, billions of people use Facebook. What a nightmare! I have no tolerance for the "concern troll" argument that disadvantaged groups are somehow unable to leave Facebook; I lived in Tanzania for two years and India for one year. In those places, Facebook is now bundled with people's mobile phone plans and offered as a "free" service. I've seen an argument (on Twitter): "this is the only access to the internet these people have!" Oh yes, Facebook offering such succor to the poor and benighted. Give me a break. MPESA gives succor. Facebook sure as hell does not.
Anyway. I love Jaron Lanier. I saw him speak years ago. Appalled when no one in the audience knew of E.M. Forster's The Machine Stops, he strongly recommended it and I read it shortly afterwards. And it changed my life. So thanks, Mr. Lanier! I also think his tech skepticism is informed and healthy. And, of course, I'm inspired by his weird and quirky interests: his writing is smart, confident, kind-hearted, and wacky. Which is always a balm.
I wonder how many people have actually deleted their FB accounts...
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I didn’t really like it because of how provocative it is and lacking strong evidential examples. The book is too short to prove something. Many author’s thoughts described, but somehow it does not encourage to listen to it and act accordingly, because it triggers you in some way to do the opposite. Though a good amount of reasonable statements were made here.
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
I'm not sure if this short book was compelling on its own or just along with my other reading/experiences, but it definitely struck a chord for me. A Silicon Valley insider, Lanier makes a distinction between social media that uses what he terms BUMMER algorithms to target and manipulate users and other, less insidious types of online interaction. I don't like his Solitary/Pack terminology, but aside from that, it's a very convincing read.
If you have social media accounts you should read this book.
informative
medium-paced
Lanier's timely book brings together a number of familiar reasons for why social media accounts — namely Facebook, in this case — is making people's lives worse. As a person who largely agrees with this hypothesis, I expected to love Lanier's book. Instead, I found it enormously frustrating. Lanier insists on using the acronym BUMMER to define services like Facebook and Google which profit from selling user data to advertisers, even though "Bummer" doesn't stand for anything. By the middle of the book, I found his constant use of the term to be a distraction, as I had long ago forgotten what he meant.
Relatedly, "Ten Arguments" is just badly written. Lanier is a smart guy and, as a longtime Silicon Valley personality, a compelling figure to take on this subject. But I wish he had collaborated with a professional writer or, at least, had an editor take a more forceful role in reshaping his arguments. In spite of its short length and intriguing subject matter, Lanier's book was a slog to get through. (I almost gave up).
I suspect, fortunately, that this won't be the last of these types of books — and that's a good thing. It's a subject that needs more scrutiny. But I just wish Lanier's ideas had been the source of another author's work.
Relatedly, "Ten Arguments" is just badly written. Lanier is a smart guy and, as a longtime Silicon Valley personality, a compelling figure to take on this subject. But I wish he had collaborated with a professional writer or, at least, had an editor take a more forceful role in reshaping his arguments. In spite of its short length and intriguing subject matter, Lanier's book was a slog to get through. (I almost gave up).
I suspect, fortunately, that this won't be the last of these types of books — and that's a good thing. It's a subject that needs more scrutiny. But I just wish Lanier's ideas had been the source of another author's work.