A review by jonimnewman
Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language by Gretchen McCulloch

4.0

Read this one for book club. I have a hard copy and listened to the audio as well, which was a great combination. McCulloch is an enthusiastic and personable narrator. The book itself is fascinating, and holds up, I think, surprisingly well given the insanity that has become social media since the text was originally published. Actually, I think large portions of this book helped me contextualize a bit more why different people in my life interact the way they do online, especially between generations. Given that all of this was written and published prior to the era of Trump and all the fallout that’s come from that, lots of what was written helps explain where and how wires of communication may be crossed, and why certain styles of communication impact different generations the way they do. A great book for any lover of language, but I’d also recommend it for anyone with a desire to start contextualizing how we got where we did, and to consider what may come next as we navigate how communication online shapes us.