Hyperconnectivity and Its Discontents

Digital hyperconnectivity is a defining fact of our time. The Silicon Valley dream of universal connection – the dream of connecting everyone and everything to everyone and everything else, everywhere and all the time – is rapidly becoming a reality. In this wide-ranging and sharply argued book, Rogers Brubaker develops an original interpretive account of the pervasive and unsettling changes brought about by hyperconnectivity. He traces transformations of the self, social relations, culture, economics, and politics, giving special attention to underexplored themes of abundance, miniaturization, convenience, quantification, and discipline. He shows how hyperconnectivity prepared us for the pandemic and how the pandemic, in turn, has prepared us for an even more fully digitally mediated future. Throughout, Brubaker underscores the ambivalence of digital hyperconnectivity, which opens up many new and exciting possibilities, yet at the same time threatens human freedom and flourishing. Hyperconnectivity and Its Discontents will be essential reading for everyone interested in the constellation of socio-technical forces that are profoundly remaking our world. Cover Title page Copyright Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Selves Exploring the self Emancipating the self Objectifying the self Quantifying the self Producing the self Regulating the self Conclusion: Governing the self 2 Interactions The reorganization of space and time The proliferation of micro-sociality The regime of visibility Programmed sociality Coda: Losing touch 3 Culture When culture becomes “content”: The ambivalence of abundance Decommodification or recommodification? Democratization: Participation, creativity, power 4 Economics Platforms Infrastructural power Labor Coda: Blockchain utopianism 5 Politics Regimes of knowing Regimes of feeling Regimes of governing Coda: Between populism and technocracy Conclusion Notes Preface Introduction Chapter 1: Selves Chapter 2: Interactions Chapter 3: Culture Chapter 4: Economics Chapter 5: Politics Conclusion References Index EULA