The Spectacle of Online Life - (The Frankfurt School in New Times) by Danielle Antoinette Hidalgo & Christopher T Conner & Matthew N Hannah

About the Book

The Spectacle of Online Life explores digital paradoxes-connection and isolation, empowerment and control-through topics like influencer culture, AI moderation, and online conspiracies.

Book Synopsis

The Spectacle of Online Life offers a groundbreaking exploration of the digital age's most pressing paradoxes: connection and isolation, democratization and control, authenticity and performance.

Edited by Danielle Antoinette Hidalgo, Christopher T. Conner, and Matthew N. Hannah, this volume assembles a diverse array of scholars to critically examine how online technologies shape, reflect, and amplify the complexities of modern society.

Chapters in the text draw on insights from the Frankfurt School, Situationist International, and contemporary media studies. This collection delves into topics as varied as promotional livestreaming, climate change conspiracy theories, beauty influencer culture, and the role of artificial intelligence in content moderation. As the authors show, digital platforms are a double-edged sword both empowering grassroots movements and reinforcing systemic inequalities.

Review Quotes

"In this age of spectacle and excess - this moment of what Erich Fromm called "sadistic circuses" - how welcome it is to see critical scrutiny applied in such a bracing and sober way to the many dimensions of our society of digitized spectacle. The authors, experts all, offer a treasury of insights across the spectrum of online themes." --David N. Smith, University of Kansas

"In this age of spectacle and excess - this moment of what Erich Fromm called "sadistic circuses" - how welcome it is to see critical scrutiny applied in such a bracing and sober way to the many dimensions of our society of digitized spectacle. The authors, experts all, offer a treasury of insights across the spectrum of online themes."
David N. Smith, University of Kansas

About the Author

Danielle Antoinette Hidalgo is Associate Professor of Sociology at California State University, Chico and author of Dance Music Spaces: Clubs, Clubbers, and DJs Navigating Authenticity, Branding, and Commercialism.

Christopher T. Conner is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Missouri, Columbia.

Matthew N. Hannah is Associate Professor of Digital Humanities in the School of Information Studies at Purdue University.