Technopanic

How justified are our fears about digital media?

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Alberto Acerbi

Digital media have sent many into panic, blaming them for just about any negative development. In this refreshing book, Alberto Acerbi takes a hard look at whether such ‘technopanics’ are warranted, and concludes that they are not. This isn’t blind techno-optimism, but a nuanced and historically informed perspective. Hugo Mercier, author of Not Born Yesterday and The Enigma of Reason

Smartphones are destroying childhood. Social media are poisoning democracy. Algorithms are radicalising us all. Every week seems to bring a new warning about the damage digital media are causing to our lives. How justified are these warnings? In Technopanic, Alberto Acerbi takes aim at the scare machine. Throughout history, new communication technologies have been seen as threats to reason and public order, but in the end, people have adapted. With wit and a sceptical eye, he shows that many of the claims we hear about misinformation, conspiracy theories, polarisation, and online manipulation outrun the evidence. The book presents a surprising and readable challenge to some of the most powerful assumptions of the digital age.

Alberto Acerbi is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Research at the University of Trento.

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