Reset : reclaiming the internet for civil society /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:Deibert, Ronald, author.
Imprint:[Toronto, ON] : Anansi, 2020.
©2020
Description:419 pages ; 21 cm.
Language:English
Series:The Massey lectures series
Massey lectures series.
Subject:
Format: Print Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/12572977
Hidden Bibliographic Details
Varying Form of Title:Reclaiming the internet for civil society
ISBN:9781487008055
1487008058
9781487008086
1487008082
Notes:Includes bibliographical references and index.
Issued also in electronic format.
Summary:"Once, it was conventional wisdom to assume that digital technologies would enable greater access to information, facilitate collective organizing, and empower civil society. Rather than facilitating unity and the emergence of a common ideology based on science, the internet and social media have proven to be vehicles used to spread falsehoods, pollute the public sphere, and subject populations to wholesale surveillance. People are also spending an unhealthy amount of time staring at their devices, "socializing" while in fact living in isolation and detached from nature. As a consequence, there are pushes to regulate social media and to encourage tech giants to be better stewards of their platforms, respect privacy, and acknowledge the role of human rights. A prerequisite of any such regulation, however, is a complete understanding of the precise nature and depth of the problems. Technology and security expert Ronald J. Deibert examines the scope and scale of the personal, social, political, economic, and ecological implications of social media. Drawing from the cutting-edge research of the Citizen Lab (which he directs), Deibert analyzes consumer compulsion and the information economy; the disturbing rise of authoritarian practices, cyberwarfare services, and social engineering campaigns; and the negative environmental impact of digital devices, data farms, and electronic waste. Ultimately, Deibert exposes social media's disproportionate influence in every aspect of life to the detriment of society and of our humanity--so much so that we are now in urgent need of a wholesale shift in our lifestyles, a fundamental revision of culture, work, and politics. And not just in one country, but around the world."--
Other form:Online version: Deibert, Ronald. Reset. Toronto : House of Anansi Press, 2020 1487008066 9781487008062

CHAPTER OUTLINE: Chapter One: Social Media Is Surveillance Capitalism. The economic model of social media is organized around personal data surveillance. Chapter Two: Social Media Are Addiction Machines. The science of targeted advertising and the "engineering of consent" at the heart of social media. Chapter Three: Social Media Propels Authoritarian Practices. The rise and spread of authoritarian practices worldwide. Chapter Four: Social Media Is Environmentally Destructive. The negative environmental impacts associated with social media, from electronic mining to energy consumption to cloud computing's contributions to CO2 emissions (which now exceeds that of the airline industry) to the growing problem of electronic waste. Chapter Five: What Is to Be Done? A comprehensive strategy of long-term reform is required, extending from the personal to the political, from the local to the global. We need to imagine a better world and start making it happen before it is too late. Excerpted from Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society by Ronald Deibert All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.