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28th out of 28 books
—
9 voters
Life on the Screen
Sherry Turkle is rapidly becoming the sociologist of the Internet, and that's beginning to seem like a good thing. While her first outing, The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit, made groundless assertions and seemed to be carried along more by her affection for certain theories than by a careful look at our current situation, Life on the Screen is a balanced and...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
September 4th 1997
by Simon & Schuster
(first published November 30th 1995)
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Turkle's Alone Together, published last year, is good, but not nearly as engaged with the more fundamental ideas that lie beneath our psychology and technology's effect on it. The first couple sections of Life on the Screen address a continuing dichotomy between top-down design and learn through use. Or, as Turkle puts it, between modernists and postmodernists.
And maybe that's what I appreciate more about Life on the Screen Turkle is more invested in relating the world of technology to the worl...more
And maybe that's what I appreciate more about Life on the Screen Turkle is more invested in relating the world of technology to the worl...more
Aleks Krotoski, broadcaster, journalist, and academic specialising in technology and interactivity, has chosen to discuss Sherry Turkle’s Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet on FiveBooks as one of the top five on her subject - Virtual Living, saying that:
"... Turkle is a brilliant observer of the online world, and what makes the Net incredibly interesting is that it was never intended to be a social medium. They created this kind of pipeline for trading hard data between scie...more
"... Turkle is a brilliant observer of the online world, and what makes the Net incredibly interesting is that it was never intended to be a social medium. They created this kind of pipeline for trading hard data between scie...more
The part that held my attention was her really nice discussion on information processing Artificial Intelligence, emergent AI, and Lacanian psychoanalysis (in which Turkle is trained). I take issue with different variations of postmodernism (fragmentation, decentralization, illusory subjects, all that) for many complex reasons (mainly ethical and political) but I never thought about it in the context of technology. It lent a kind of concreteness to postmodernism, and that was cool. Most of the w...more
Interesting to get such a detailed perspective on MUDers and early users of the internet. I think the book has still remained fairly relevant for a relatively small subculture, but I question it's relevance in really understanding internet users of today. Given that there has been such a shift away from anonymous, role-playing types of interactions into more personal types of connections, can these same principles apply?
My favorite part of the book was the part that discussed formal software dev...more
My favorite part of the book was the part that discussed formal software dev...more
Oh my goodness, this book is absolutely *amazing.* What a truly insightful cultural study on computers and psychology, Internet culture, and contemporary life. Sherry Turkle writes in an easy-to-read manner, and references a variety of research studies and human experiences to tell the captivating story of "life on the screen."
Some quotable quotes:
1) "But in the daily practice of many computer users, windows have become a powerful metaphor for thinking about the self as a multiple, distributed s...more
Some quotable quotes:
1) "But in the daily practice of many computer users, windows have become a powerful metaphor for thinking about the self as a multiple, distributed s...more
Presents the challenges to the solitary self with multiple selves in open windows, mirrors of different aspects of self. The power given to us by Internet and other network infrastructure by their carrying diverse applications lets us explore our personal complexities. I don't buy that this is inevitable, nor that such things as gender can change - just that change and evolution is possible.
I read chaptes 0, 1, 9 and 10 and skimmed chapters 2,3,4,5,6 and 8 as they aren't relevant to my paper and subject. Turkle brings up some issues that are still point on today, but she also spends way too much of her energy on MUDs. There are other ways to create an identiy online and I was disappointed she didn't explore any of them.
I read this back in 2002 after reading an article by Turkle in a mass comm class. I should really come back to it and see how things have changed in ten years, and how Turkle's arguments have played out.
Interesting book that was published at the beginning of the cyber craze. Turkel investigates how people experiment with their notions of self and gender while online, challenging our concept of self.
Many interesting points, and a lot of angles covered, the only real flaw with this book is the abundance of separate directions that it takes the reader in, with similar conclusions. There is a tonne of good information here, and this is a perfect grounding book for how real and simulated (through digital media) life interact with one another. Also, loads of interesting case studies and stories.
Apr 16, 2009
Emily
marked it as to-read
Maybe this will help me figure out the meaning of Facebook, among other things.
I can't help it I just think she gets so many things wrong.
A little outdated at this point.
This book was groundbreaking at the time, now it's very dated, which can make it difficult at times. Again, I have some reservations about the methodologies that I just can't ignore. If you're interested in identity and the Internet though, you need to read it - it is referenced EVERYWHERE and you just need to be familiar with some of the early work that really got the ball rolling for identity politics and the Internet.
Este libro creo que salió antes de la película "The Matrix". Es un importante estudio que nos ayuda a reflexionar sobre la dependencia de la que podemos ser víctimas con los dispositivos con pantalla. (computadoras, celulares, video juegos, tv, relojes, etc) ideal para releer y no olvidar la advertencia.
Tell me something I don't know? I know RL is supposedly more involving, but she at least admits that most of the sexual attraction is in the mind.
GREAT book, very salient and explains a great deal about isolation and identity resulting from technological advancement/innovation.
This is a good sociological and psychological look at online worlds and people's lives online.
Totally hot book! It's dated, for sure, but still worth a read, for sure.
Dated, but significant.
May 17, 2013
Dave Werlinger
marked it as to-read
May 17, 2013
Abdel
added it
May 09, 2013
Christian Bowe
marked it as to-read
May 02, 2013
Nader Farhani
marked it as to-read
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Goodreads Librari...: Summary is a review | 6 | 30 | Jan 21, 2013 05:28am |
Sherry Turkle is Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at MIT and the founder (2001) and current director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self. Professor Turkle received a joint doctorate in sociology and personality psychology from Harvard University and is a licensed clinical psychologist.
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Jun 19, 2009 12:32am