Terms of Service: Social Media and the Price of Constant Connection - Jacob Silverman

Date Published: March 17, 2015

Format: Print

Source: Library

Date Read: February 17-22, 2019

 

Blurb

Social networking has grown into a staple of modern society, but its continued evolution is becoming increasingly detrimental to our lives. Shifts in communication and privacy are affecting us more than we realize or understand. Terms of Service crystalizes this current moment in technology and contemplates its implications: the identity-validating pleasures and perils of online visibility; our newly adopted view of daily life through the lens of what is share-worthy; and the surveillance state operated by social media platforms—Facebook, Google, Twitter, and others—to mine our personal data for advertising revenue, an invasion of our lives that is as pervasive as government spying.

Jacob Silverman calls for social media users to take back ownership of their digital selves from the Silicon Valley corporations who claim to know what's best for them. Integrating politics, sociology, national security, pop culture, and technology, he reveals the surprising conformity at the heart of Internet culture—explaining how social media companies engineer their products to encourage shallow engagement and discourage dissent. Reflecting on the collapsed barriers between our private and public lives, Silverman brings into focus the inner conflict we feel when deciding what to share and what to "like," and explains how we can take the steps we need to free ourselves from its grip.

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Review

An important book written before the shit show that became the EU Ref/Brexit and the rise of Trump, due in part to social media and the big tech companies that trade in people's private information. At times it does feel dated (all those references to Google Glass), but for the most part this book felt timely and urgent. Silverman does give concrete examples and pointers for those that want to limit their social media and more so their private information from getting out. I have already began shrinking my social media presence (deleting my Tumblr account and Blogger blog) and I am making use of my phone's screen time monitor, working on lowering my score a little each week. Highly recommend.