The Digital Divide: Writings for and Against Facebook, Youtube, Texting, and the Age of Social Networking

This definitive work on the perils and promise of the social- media revolution collects writings by today's best thinkers and cultural commentators, with an all-new introduction by Bauerlein.Twitter, Facebook, e-publishing, blogs, distance-learning and other social media raise some of the most divisive cultural questions of our time. Some see the technological breakthroughs we live with as hopeful and democratic new steps in education, information gathering, and human progress. But others are deeply concerned by the eroding of civility online, declining reading habits, withering attention spans, and the treacherous effects of 24/7 peer pressure on our young.With The Dumbest Generation, Mark Bauerlein emerged as the foremost voice against the development of an overwhelming digital social culture. But The Digital Divide doesn't take sides. Framing the discussion so that leading voices from across the spectrum, supporters and detractors alike, have the opportunity to weigh in on the profound issues raised by the new media-from questions of reading skills and attention span, to cyber-bullying and the digital playground- Bauerlein's new book takes the debate to a higher ground.The book includes essays by Steven Johnson, Nicholas Carr, Don Tapscott, Douglas Rushkoff, Maggie Jackson, Clay Shirky, Todd Gitlin, and many more. Though these pieces have been previously published, the organization of The Digital Divide gives them freshness and new relevancy, making them part of a single document readers can use to truly get a handle on online privacy, the perils of a plugged-in childhood, and other technology-related hot topics.Rather than dividing the book into "pro" and "con" sections, the essays are arranged by subject-"The Brain, the Senses," "Learning in and out of the Classroom," "Social and Personal Life," "The Millennials," "The Fate of Culture," and "The Human (and Political) Impact." Bauerlein incorporates a short headnote and a capsule bio about each contributor, as well as relevant contextual information about the source of the selection.Bauerlein also provides a new introduction that traces the development of the debate, from the initial Digital Age zeal, to a wave of skepticism, and to a third stage of reflection that wavers between criticism and endorsement.Enthusiasms for the Digital Age has cooled with the passage of time and the piling up of real-life examples that prove the risks of an online-focused culture. However, there is still much debate, comprising thousands of commentaries and hundreds of books, about how these technologies are rewriting our futures. Now, with this timely and definitive volume, readers can finally cut through the clamor, read the the very best writings from each side of The Digital Divide, and make more informed decisions about the presence and place of technology in their lives. This definitive work on the perils and promise of the social-media revolution collects writings by today's best thinkers and cultural commentators, with an all-new introduction by Bauerlein. Twitter, Facebook, e-publishing, blogs, distance-learning and other social media raise some of the most divisive cultural questions of our time. Some see the technological breakthroughs we live with as hopeful and democratic new steps in education, information gathering, and human progress. But others are deeply concerned by the eroding of civility online, declining reading habits, withering attention spans, and the treacherous effects of 24/7 peer pressure on our young. With The Dumbest Generation , Mark Bauerlein emerged as the foremost voice against the development of an overwhelming digital social culture. But The Digital Divide doesn't take sides. Framing the discussion so that leading voices from across the spectrum, supporters and detractors alike, have the opportunity to weigh in on the profound issues raised by the new media - from questions of reading skills and attention span, to cyber-bullying and the digital playground - Bauerlein's new book takes the debate to a higher ground. The book includes essays by Steven Johnson, Nicholas Carr, Don Tapscott, Douglas Rushkoff, Maggie Jackson, Clay Shirky, Todd Gitlin, and many more. Though these pieces have been previously published, the organization of The Digital Divide gives them freshness and new relevancy, making them part of a single document readers can use to truly get a handle on online privacy, the perils of a plugged-in childhood, and other technology-related hot topics. Rather than dividing the book into "pro" and "con" sections, the essays are arranged by subject - "The Brain, the Senses," "Learning in and out of the Classroom," "Social and Personal Life," "The Millennials," "The Fate of Culture," and "The Human (and Political) Impact." Bauerlein incorporates a short headnote and a capsule bio about each contributor, as well as relevant contextual information about the source of the selection. Bauerlein also provides a new introduction that traces the development of the debate, from the initial Digital Age zeal, to a wave of skepticism, and to a third stage of reflection that wavers between criticism and endorsement. Enthusiasm for the Digital Age has cooled with the passage of time and the piling up of real-life examples that prove the risks of an online-focused culture. However, there is still much debate, comprising thousands of commentaries and hundreds of books, about how these technologies are rewriting our futures. Now, with this timely and definitive volume, readers can finally cut through the clamor, read the the very best writings from each side of The Digital Divide , and make more informed decisions about the presence and place of technology in their lives. Cover Page 1 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 6 Introduction, Mark Bauerlein 8 Section One: the brain, the senses 16 Chapter One: “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants,” Marc Prensky 17 Chapter Two: “Do They Really Think Differently?” Marc Prensky 26 Chapter Three: “The Internet,” Steven Johnson 40 Chapter Four: “Learning to Think in a Digital World,” Maryanne Wolf 48 Chapter Five: “Learning Theory, Video Games, and Popular Culture,” James Gee 52 Chapter Six: “Usability of Websites for Teenagers,” Jakob Nielsen 58 Chapter Seven: “User Skills Improving, But Only Slightly,” Jakob Nielsen 66 Chapter Eight: “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr 77 Chapter Nine: “Your Brain Is Evolving Right Now,” Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan 90 Section Two: social life, personal life, school 111 Chapter Ten: “Identity Crisis,” Sherry Turkle 112 Chapter Eleven: “They Call Me Cyberboy,” Douglas Rushkoff 125 Chapter Twelve: “The People’s Net,” Douglas Rushkoff 129 Chapter Thirteen: “Social Currency,” Douglas Rushkoff 140 Chapter Fourteen: “The Eight Net Gen Norms,” Don Tapscott 143 Chapter Fifteen: “Love Online,” Henry Jenkins 173 Chapter Sixteen: “We Can’t Ignore the Influence of Digital Technologies,” Cathy Davidson 179 Chapter Seventeen: “Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism,” Christine Rosen 185 Chapter Eighteen: “Activists,” John Palfrey and Urs Gasser 202 Section Three: the fate of culture 218 Chapter Nineteen: “Nomadicity,” Todd Gitlin 219 Chapter Twenty: “What Is Web 2.0,” Tim O’Reilly 227 Chapter Twenty-one: “Web Squared,” Tim O’Reilly and John Battelle 242 Chapter Twent-two: “Web 2.0,” Andrew Keen 254 Chapter Twenty-three: “Wikipedia and Beyond,” Katherine Mangu-Ward 262 Chapter Twenty-four: “Judgment,” Maggie Jackson 283 Chapter Twenty-five: “A Dream Come True,” Lee Siegel 307 Chapter Twenty-six: “The End of Solitude,” William Deresiewicz 319 Chapter Twenty-seven: “Means,” Clay Shirky 330 Credits 347 Index 351 Introduction by Mark Bauerlein The brain, the senses Digital natives, digital immigrants / Marc Prensky The internet / Steven Johnson Learning to think in a digital world / Maryanne Wolf Learning theory, video games, and popular culture / James Gee Usability of websites for teenagers / Jakob Nielsen Is google making us stupid? / Nicholas Carr Your brain is evolving right now / Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan Social life, personal life, school Identity crisis / Sherry Turkle They call me cyberboy / Douglas Rushkoff The eight net gen norms / Don Tapscott Love online / Henry Jenkins We can't ignore the influence of digital technologies / Cathy Davidson Virtual friendship and the new narcissism / Christine Rosen Activists / John Palfrey and Urs Gasser The fate of culture Nomadicity / Todd Gitlin What is web 2.0? / Tim O'Reilly Web squared : web 2.0 five years on / Tim O'Reilly and John Battelle Web 2.0 / Andrew Keen Wikipedia and beyond / Katherine Mangu-Ward Judgment : of Molly's gaze and Taylor's watch : why more is less in a split-screen World / Maggie Jackson A dream come true / Lee Siegel The end of solitude / William Deresiewicz Means / Clay Shirky. Collects Writings By Leading Thinkers And Cultural Commentators On The Pros And Cons Of The Social Media Revolution, Covering Topics Ranging From Reading Skills And Attention Spans To Cyberbullying And The Digital Playground.