The digital turn
Subtitle: how the internet transforms our existence
By: Wim Westera
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Bloomington, IN
Language: eng
Number of pages: 299
ISBN-13: 9781477250327; 9781477250334
Subjects: Digital media; Social aspects; Psychological aspects; Internet; Information society
Other titles: How the internet transforms our existence
Description: "This book is about digital media. Even more, the book is about us. It explains how the ever-growing flood of digital media affects our perceptions of the world, change our behaviors and eventually transform our very existence. In the era of Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Apple, being online is the standard. We spend many hours a day gazing at our screens, traversing the virtual realm, and posting our tweets, tags, and 'likes.' Billions of years of evolution have prepared us for life at the savannas. It took us less than two decades to radically transform our biotope. Being online is no less than a fundamentally different mode of being. It is likely to produce a fragmented, detached, and distorted view of the world. What will be our understanding of the world when all certainties that result from living in a material world become useless? What will be our role and position when computer intelligence surpasses human intelligence? How can we avoid losing grip of the significance of identity, friendship, social engagement, and eventually life at large? The book explains the mechanisms and consequences of engaging in online spaces. It offers an accessible means for attaining a better understanding of the ways digital media influence our lives. It is a compact guide to becoming media literate and to preparing us for the advanced digital services that are yet to come. This makes the book an indispensable aid for every twenty-first-century citizen"--Publisher's website.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 255-279) and index.
Table of contents: title: Chapter 1. The unique collection of cells we are; title: Chapter 2. How far we got; title: Chapter 3. Our precious mind; title: Chapter 4. Living with technologies; title: Chapter 5. Conveying meaning; title: Chapter 6. The mystery of true knowledge; title: Chapter 7. Getting wiser every minute; title: Chapter 8. Media as cognitive prostheses; title: Chapter 9. The educational battlefield; title: Chapter 10. The stories of media; title: Chapter 11. The gossip revolution; title: Chapter 12. The worldwide online game; title: Chapter 13. The struggle of media research; title: Chapter 14. Free copy economics; title: Chapter 15. The game of techinology; title: Chapter 16. The mental delusions of media; title: Chapter 17. Coping with new realities.