The Extinction of Experience: Reclaiming Our Humanity in a Digital World

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A philosophical defence of what makes us human - and a powerful argument for reclaiming ourselves in a digital world Drawing on decades of research, The Extinction of Experience is a philosophical defence of what makes us human - and a powerful, urgent call to reclaim ourselves in a digital world. Human experiences are disappearing. Social media, gaming and dating apps have usurped in-person interaction; handwriting is no longer prioritised in schools; and emotion is sooner expressed through likes and emojis than face-to-face conversations. With headphones in and eyes trained on our phones, even boredom has been obliterated. But, as Christine Rosen expertly shows, when we embrace this mediated life and conform to the demands of the machine, we risk becoming disconnected and machine-like ourselves. There is another way. For too long, under the influence of corporate giants and tech enthusiasts, we've accepted the idea that change always means better. But rapidly developing technology isn't neutral - it's ambivalent, and capable of enormous harm. To improve our well-being, help future generations flourish and recover our shared humanity, we must become more critical, mindful users of technology, and more discerning of how it uses us. From TikTok challenges and algorithms to surveillance devices and conspiracy culture, The Extinction of Experience reveals the human crisis of our digital age - and urges us to return to the real world, while we still can.

Reviews

Important ... an urgent interrogation of our increasing reliance on digitally mediated experience * Lit Hub *Most anticipated books of 2024* *
Engaging and impeccably researched, this book serves as an important reminder that survival during this time of accelerated global change will depend on humanitys willingness to impose intelligent, self-preserving limitations. Timely, well-informed reading * Kirkus *
A timely and insightful call to reclaim our humanity -- Evan Selinger, Professor of Philosophy, Rochester Institute of Technology
Wonderful ... Not merely a warning against algorithmic control of our lives, but, more essentially, an encouraging guidebook to the recovery of personal experience in all its manifold forms. The Extinction of Experience reconnects us with our own lives in marvellous ways -- Alan Jacobs, author of Breaking Bread with the Dead

Author Bio

Christine Rosen is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a columnist for Commentary magazine, senior editor at the New Atlantis and fellow at the University of Virginia's Institute for Advance Studies in Culture. She is the author of six books, including My Fundamentalist Education, which was chosen as a Washington Post Nonfiction Book of the Year. Her writing has been published in the New York Times, Slate, Los Angeles Times, Politico and more. She lives in Washington, DC.