The Dark Side of Media and Technology: Book Review

What is it about?

The twenty-first century can be described as a challenging time to become a media and technologically literate. Insufficient information has the effect of ruining lives, and we all have a responsibility to fight it where we see it. Research has mostly concentrated on the “bright side” of media and technology, aiming to understand and support in leveraging the multiple possibilities afforded of its usage. As the main channel of communication for a world is an inseparable duo of media and technology, it also has its dark side. The current worldwide misinformation and surrounding “information glut” (Postman, 1995), and waves of cyberbullying, addictive use, trolling, online witch hunts, fake news, and privacy abuse demonstrated the need for a new approach to this problem. In The Dark Side of Media and Technology: A 21st Century Guide To Media and Technological Literacy, editor Edward Downs bring together contributors to explore the dark side that exists in media and technology and sheds some light on the dimmer matters of human interaction with media and technology. The forty-six authors develop an understanding of four primary outcomes of the human relationship to media and technology in 25 interesting, highly readable chapters. Each chapter introduces the reader with a meticulously developed theoretical background and latest research findings, presented by a remarkable group of multi-disciplinary experts and researchers. Their work is the proof of the correctness of sentence, that “media and technology can do both great and horrible things for people” (p. 2).

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Photo by Danilo Rios on Unsplash

Photo by Danilo Rios on Unsplash

Why is it important?

A good book review may allow you decide, if you REALLY want to read that book. When I was preparing this review, I was thinking not only about academic readers, but also about educators and people interested in literature about negative impact of social media usage.

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