Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now

Description

'A blisteringly good, urgent, essential read' ZADIE SMITH Jaron Lanier, the world-famous Silicon Valley scientist-pioneer and 'high-tech genius' (Sunday Times) who first alerted us to the dangers of social media, explains why its toxic effects are at the heart of its design, and explains in ten simple arguments why liberating yourself from its hold will transform your life and the world for the better. Social media is making us sadder, angrier, less empathetic, more fearful, more isolated and more tribal. In recent months it has become horribly clear that social media is not bringing us together - it is tearing us apart. In Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now Jaron Lanier draws on his insider's expertise to explain precisely how social media works - by deploying constant surveillance and subconscious manipulation of its users - and why its cruel and dangerous effects are at the heart of its current business model and design. As well as offering ten simple arguments for liberating yourself from its addictive hold, his witty and urgent manifesto outlines a vision for an alternative that provides all the benefits of social media without the harm. So, if you want a happier life, a more just and peaceful world, or merely the chance to think for yourself without being monitored and influenced by the richest corporations in history, then the best thing you can do, for now, is delete your social media accounts - right now. You will almost certainly become a calmer and possibly a nicer person in the process.

Jaron Lanier is one of the most celebrated pioneers of digital innovation in the world, and also one of the earliest and most prescient critics of its current trajectory. His previous books include the international bestsellers Who Owns the Future? and You Are Not a Gadget, both chosen as best books of the year by the New York Times, and most recently Dawn of the New Everything- A Journey Through Virtual Reality, chosen as a best book of the year by the Wall Street Journal, The Economist and Vox. He was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time, one of the 100 top public intellectuals by Foreign Policy, and one of the top 50 World Thinkers by Prospect.

One of the most optimistic books about the Internet I've ever read because it dares to hope for better ... A blisteringly good, urgent, essential read -- Zadie Smith In every chapter there is a principle so elegant, so neat, sometimes even so beautiful, that what is billed as straight polemic becomes something much more profound -- Zoe Williams * Guardian * Indispensable. Everyone who wants to understand the digital world, its pitfalls and possibilities should read this book - now -- Matthew d'Ancona, author of Post-Truth A witty and fiercely intelligent attack on the ethics and business model of big tech and a romping read to boot. Lanier is a modern day Luther, calling for a digital reformation and nailing his theses to the door -- Tom Hodgkinson, The Idler An eloquence that is hard to argue against ... Every time you log on, you are adding to a fire that is burning your house down -- Danny Fortson * Sunday Times * Everything is here, from status anxiety, to wage degradation, to the death of context ... This is Lanier at his best, taking the language of the internet and turning it back on itself -- Hugo Rifkind * The Times * A short, snappy, impassioned takedown of the surveillance capitalism operated by the giant Silicon Valley corporations * Financial Times * Informed, heartfelt and often entertaining ... a timely reminder that even if we can't bring ourselves to leave social media altogether, we should always think critically about how it works -- Ian Critchley * Sunday Times * This book is very good -- James Rebanks Powerful ... Lanier's ten arguments are strong and convincing, and become more so as they accumulate * Daily Mail * A rollicking call to arms * Emerald Street * Ten Arguments is more compelling than the many similar treatises on social media published since 2016 because of Lanier's intimate knowledge of the private sector * New Scientist * Written in Lanier's engaging conversational style... [Ten Arguments] hits all ten nails bang on the head * Engineering & Technology * [Lanier's] argument...is a profound one... I heeded his plea and deleted my account * Scotsman * Incredibly accessible. The conversational tone makes for light reading, yet it's also a hard-hitting and well-constructed polemic * Spectator *