Incredibly thought provoking about the nature of the internet, social media and its future. Incredibly unnerving in many ways in how society is reflected. <br><br>Of course we have the internet companies themselves like Facebook (now Meta) and Google, striving to manipulate human behaviour for the pursuit of capital rather than to provide any form of adequate service. But we have the reluctance of Government branches from getting involved to help the situation, out of a fear of not understanding or by failing to address the failures of these companies. The idea that social media companies can abdicate responsibility on the basis they behave similar to a news stand rather than a newspaper is the absurdity, and the precedent this set for further abdication of responsibility emphasises what a dangerous stance this is to take.<br><br>We have highlighted to us how this new form of capitalism is invasive in many aspects. For instance, how it invades the mind by encouraging an addiction to our technology and by manipulating our interests and how it invades our geography by guiding us down certain routes and by occupying our physical safety space. Beyond a personal level it invades our politics and economy too.<br><br>It's definitely worth reading too as often the internet is examined within the confines of specific issues rather than as a analysis of its relationship with capitalism. There is a compelling argument in the idea that we are moving to a new stage of capitalism where 'the invisible hand of the market' no longer exists as people's desires can be manipulated and predicted. I could certainly see that is a reinforcement of existing literature that shows the link between Capitalism and Totalitarianism. However I do wonder if this book could go further into the capitalism aspect rather than the surveillance aspect. Capitalism requires scarcity in order to function, yet is there is little in the way of conversation about scarcity. Would Big Other result in a post-scarity society or would it manufacture it?<br><br>In terms of the sheer number of ideas presented, I haven't even scratched the surface in this review, so you would never be short of issues and details to read about. But it's worth noting at times it can be a difficult read as a consequence because of the sheer volume of information that's thrown at you along with some inaccessible terminology. I would also suggest too that while this is a call to arms to reverse the unaccountable power that social media companies have, the question is how would we go about this? What actions can we take?<br><br>As you can see the book itself has left me with many unanswered questions, but this is the sort of book that should. It's an excellent means of understanding the internet within the context we live in and does encourage you to think about what we can do to protect our privacy and personal liberty.
