AS SEEN IN THE NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY THE SOCIAL DILEMMA A WIRED ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOK A
FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK THE CONSCIENCE OF SILICON VALLEY- GQ Profound . . . Lanier shows the
tactical value of appealing to the conscience of the individual. In the face of his earnest
argument I felt a piercing shame about my own presence on Facebook. I heeded his plea and
deleted my account. - Franklin Foer The New York Times Book Review Mixes prophetic wisdom with
a simple practicality . . . Essential reading. - The New York Times (Summer Reading Preview)
You might have trouble imagining life without your social media accounts but virtual reality
pioneer Jaron Lanier insists that we're better off without them. In Ten Arguments for Deleting
Your Social Media Accounts Right Now Lanier who participates in no social media offers
powerful and personal reasons for all of us to leave these dangerous online platforms. Lanier's
reasons for freeing ourselves from social media's poisonous grip include its tendency to bring
out the worst in us to make politics terrifying to trick us with illusions of popularity and
success to twist our relationship with the truth to disconnect us from other people even as
we are more connected than ever to rob us of our free will with relentless targeted ads. How
can we remain autonomous in a world where we are under continual surveillance and are
constantly being prodded by algorithms run by some of the richest corporations in history that
have no way of making money other than being paid to manipulate our behavior? How could the
benefits of social media possibly outweigh the catastrophic losses to our personal dignity
happiness and freedom? Lanier remains a tech optimist so while demonstrating the evil that
rules social media business models today he also envisions a humanistic setting for social
networking that can direct us toward a richer and fuller way of living and connecting with our
world.
