The Internet Is Not the Answer by Keen Andrew
The Internet, created during the Cold War, has now ushered in one
of the greatest shifts in society since the Industrial Revolution. There
are many positive ways in which the Internet has contributed to the
world, but as a society we are less aware of the Internet’s deeply
negative effects on our psychology, economy, and culture. In The Internet Is Not the Answer,
Andrew Keen, a twenty-year veteran of the tech industry, traces the
technological and economic history of the internet from its founding in
the 1960s through the rise of the big data companies to the increasing
attempts to monetize almost every human activity, and investigates how
the internet is reconfiguring our worldoften at great cost. In this
sharp, witty narrative, informed by the work of other writers,
academics, and reporters, as well as his own wide-ranging research and
interviews, Keen shows us the tech world, warts and all, and
investigates what we can do to make sure the choices we make about the
reconfiguring of our society do not lead to unpleasant unforeseen
aftershocks.