false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176053291m/587006.jpg 587006 7 Sherry Turkle is rapidly becoming the sociologist of the Internet, and that's beginning to seem like a good thing. While her first outing, <i>The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit</i>, 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, <i>Life on the Screen</i> is a balanced and nuanced look at some of the ways that cyberculture helps us comment upon real life (what the cybercrowd sometimes calls RL). Instead of giving in to any one theory on construction of identity, Turkle looks at the way various netizens have used the Internet, and especially MUDs (Multi-User Dimensions), to learn more about the possibilities available in apprehending the world. One of the most interesting sections deals with gender, a topic prone to rash and partisan pronouncements. Taking as her motto William James's maxim "Philosophy is the art of imagining alternatives," Turkle shows how playing with gender in cyberspace can shape a person's real-life understanding of gender. Especially telling are the examples of the man who finds it easier to be assertive when playing a woman, because he believes male assertiveness is now frowned upon while female assertiveness is considered hip, and the woman who has the opposite response, believing that it is easier to be aggressive when she plays a male, because as a woman she would be considered "bitchy." Without taking sides, Turkle points out how both have expanded their emotional range. Other topics, such as artificial life, receive an equally calm and sage response, and the first-person accounts from many Internet users provide compelling reading and good source material for readers to draw their own conclusions. 573839 1995 Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet total:83|5:15|4:35|3:29|2:4|1:0| 83 310 139 11 3 0 false false Sun Jul 08 03:28:07 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 08 03:37:53 -0700 2007 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Apr 20 12:45:21 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 12:45:21 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Apr 16 21:24:58 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 16 21:24:58 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Thu May 21 10:25:35 -0700 2009 Thu May 21 10:26:02 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Thu May 28 18:05:35 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 18:06:37 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Dec 03 09:26:59 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 03 10:13:28 -0800 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Oct 12 05:21:43 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 12 05:28:02 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jan 07 12:39:37 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 07 12:39:37 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Sun Nov 18 10:14:03 -0800 2007 Sun Nov 18 10:15:31 -0800 2007 4 0 false false Mon Feb 18 21:47:44 -0800 2008 Mon Sep 22 08:19:10 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Sun Jun 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 29 21:05:43 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 29 21:10:25 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sun Nov 15 10:50:37 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 10:50:37 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Nov 03 22:58:05 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 03 22:58:05 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Oct 28 12:33:48 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 28 12:33:51 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Oct 07 18:23:22 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 07 18:23:22 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Oct 06 05:45:07 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 06 05:45:07 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Oct 05 11:21:34 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 05 11:21:34 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Sep 22 01:05:28 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 22 01:05:28 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Oct 17 13:52:23 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 18 12:13:52 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 17 13:52:23 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Aug 24 19:16:29 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 19:16:35 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=587006