Take a photo of a barcode or cover
rachelwalexander 's review for:
The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld
by Jamie Bartlett
The Dark Net is an accessible introduction to some less familiar parts of the Internet. It was strongest when interviewing members of various subcultures and forums and explaining firsthand how things worked. That said, I thought it had a number of frustrating weaknesses:
-In spite of being a book supposedly about the 'dark net," much of what's discussed in the book is readily accessible via standard browsers - pro-ana sites, camming, 4chan, etc.
-The chapter on camming and online sex work gets into some weird ideas about sex work and "who really has the power" that seem really old and unoriginal. He presents the fact that camming is (gasp) like actual work and not just about sex like it's some sort of surprising fact.
-The whole thing just feels very shallow. Half of the novelty seems to be "hey, you can do x online," which isn't really news to people who have been online for a while.
-In spite of being a book supposedly about the 'dark net," much of what's discussed in the book is readily accessible via standard browsers - pro-ana sites, camming, 4chan, etc.
-The chapter on camming and online sex work gets into some weird ideas about sex work and "who really has the power" that seem really old and unoriginal. He presents the fact that camming is (gasp) like actual work and not just about sex like it's some sort of surprising fact.
-The whole thing just feels very shallow. Half of the novelty seems to be "hey, you can do x online," which isn't really news to people who have been online for a while.