The Digital Divide: Writings For and Against Facebook, Youtube, Texting, and the Age of Social Networking
Written by Mark Bauerlein
Narrated by Xe Sands and Peter Berkrot
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
With The Dumbest Generation, Mark Bauerlein emerged as the foremost voice against the development of an overwhelming digital social culture. But The Digital Divide doesn't take sides. Framing the discussion so that leading voices from across the spectrum, supporters and detractors alike, have the opportunity to weigh in on the profound issues raised by the new media-from questions of reading skills and attention span, to cyber-bullying and the digital playground-Bauerlein's new book takes the debate to a higher ground.
The book includes essays by Steven Johnson, Nicholas Carr, Don Tapscott, Douglas Rushkoff, Maggie Jackson, Clay Shirky, Todd Gitlin, and many more. Though these pieces have been previously published, the organization of The Digital Divide gives them freshness and new relevancy, making them part of a single document listeners can use to truly get a handle on online privacy, the perils of a plugged-in childhood, and other technology-related hot topics.
Rather than dividing the book into "pro" and "con" sections, the essays are arranged by subject-"The Brain, the Senses," "Learning in and out of the Classroom," "Social and Personal Life," "The Millennials," "The Fate of Culture," and "The Human (and Political) Impact." Bauerlein incorporates a short headnote and a capsule bio about each contributor, as well as relevant contextual information about the source of the selection.
Bauerlein also provides a new introduction that traces the development of the debate, from the initial Digital Age zeal, to a wave of skepticism, and to a third stage of reflection that wavers between criticism and endorsement.
Enthusiasm for the Digital Age has cooled with the passage of time and the piling up of real-life examples that prove the risks of an online-focused culture. However, there is still much debate, comprising thousands of commentaries and hundreds of books, about how these technologies are rewriting our futures. Now, with this timely and definitive volume, listeners can finally cut through the clamor, read the very best writings from each side of The Digital Divide, and make more informed decisions about the presence and place of technology in their lives.
Mark Bauerlein
Mark Bauerlein is a professor emeritus of English at Emory University and an editor at First Things, where he hosts a podcast twice a week. He is the author of five books, including The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don’t Trust Anyone under 30). His commentaries and reviews have appeared in publications including the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.
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Reviews for The Digital Divide
3 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It's hard for me to review this book because I came at it expecting something different than what I got. I should know better than to judge based on title, but I was expecting a book dealing with economic disparity and our media culture. Instead, I got a fairly basic (to me as someone with a masters in this subject) collection of older literature focused on the different effects of media on the brain and culture. It is not uninteresting and those without much knowledge of the subject may get a lot out of it, but it wasn't for me. Also I think a great deal of it must be taken as historical context at this point. It's sad to consider things written in 2006 outdated, but that's how things are on a field like this.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Mostly hit or miss, though the essays that hit did so because they offered heretofore unthought of new perspectives.