The best 21 The Internet books

1
Attention Span

Attention Span

Gloria Mark
A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity
4.5 (688 ratings)

What's Attention Span about?

Attention Span (2023) examines the connection between the digital age and our capacity for attention. As digital devices have become inextricable from our lives, our attention spans have shortened and our stress levels have risen. Drawing on scientific research, it debunks modern myths about attention and explains how we can reclaim it for better well-being. 

Who should read Attention Span?

  • Anyone worried about their decreasing attention span
  • Those who have trouble disconnecting from their phone
  • People who feel stressed, exhausted, and burned out

2
Stolen Focus

Stolen Focus

Johann Hari
Why You Can't Pay Attention – and How to Think Deeply Again
4.5 (1,540 ratings)

What's Stolen Focus about?

Stolen Focus (2022) begins with author Johann Hari experiencing a common problem: his attention span is diminishing. He can’t seem to focus on much outside of Twitter and online news. Over three years, Hari tries to identify the root causes of this problem. He uncovers a collective attention crisis that’s affecting the entire globe. From social media to the culture of productivity, Hari identifies the culprits behind our stolen focus – and wonders if, and how, we can claim it back.

Who should read Stolen Focus?

  • Anyone who feels like they just can’t concentrate the way they used to
  • Multitaskers with brimming to-do lists who still feel like they don’t get much done
  • Anyone scrolling through social media while they’re reading this!

3
The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is

The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is

Justin E.H. Smith
A History, A Philosophy, A Warning
3.9 (118 ratings)

What's The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is about?

The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is (2022) offers startlingly new ways of understanding the world wide web, and strongly challenges us to examine our long-held beliefs about the supremacy of human cognition. It confronts our most closely-held (and least examined) ideas about the internet and social media, and weaves together observations from centuries of philosophy, mathematics, science and history.

Who should read The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is?

  • Those feeling overwhelmed by the pace of life in the information age 
  • Anyone worried about the addictive side of social media 
  • The Zoom-fatigued looking for better ways to connect.

4
Your Brain on Porn

Your Brain on Porn

Gary Wilson
Internet Pornography and the Emerging Science of Addiction
4.2 (169 ratings)

What's Your Brain on Porn about?

Your Brain on Porn (2014) examines the explosion of internet pornography addiction. In the age of high-speed internet, porn is more widespread than ever. And although excessive porn consumption can negatively affect mental health and sexual function, the damage can be reversed. 

Who should read Your Brain on Porn?

  • Anyone who thinks they might be suffering from porn addiction
  • Students of psychology or medicine
  • Internet connoisseurs seeking to understand the effects of excessive porn consumption

5
The Data Detective

The Data Detective

Tim Harford
Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics
4.5 (212 ratings)

What's The Data Detective about?

The Data Detective (2021) is a smart, practical guide to understanding the ways in which statistics –⁠ and our reactions to them –⁠ distort and obscure reality. Using psychological research and illuminating examples, it reveals some of the ways our brains influence how we see data and statistics and how we draw incorrect conclusions as a result. By picking apart our cognitive biases and misconceptions, we gain the ability to see data, and in turn, the world, for what it really is.

Who should read The Data Detective?

  • News and social media addicts
  • Avid consumers of scientific articles and research
  • Anyone who regularly comes into contact with data or statistics

6
SuperFreakonomics

SuperFreakonomics

Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
4.2 (71 ratings)

What's SuperFreakonomics about?

SuperFreakonomics (2009) explains why thinking like an economist can help us understand our modern world. These blinks illustrate key economic principles and the importance of collecting data with colorful stories from human history, and offers surprising solutions for the global problems that we face today.

Who should read SuperFreakonomics?

  • Anyone interested in entertaining, statistical facts about human behavior
  • Math buffs who believe in the power of statistics
  • Anyone curious about a very cheap way to stop global warming

7
Everybody Lies

Everybody Lies

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
Big Data, New Data and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are
4.1 (107 ratings)

What's Everybody Lies about?

Everybody Lies (2017) is about the data collected in vast quantities by computers and over the internet. This data can help reveal fascinating information about the human psyche, behavior and quirks, because, as it turns out, people aren’t always so willing to communicate their true hopes and desires to others.

Who should read Everybody Lies?

  • Anyone interested in the complex nature of human behavior
  • Media studies experts and social scientists
  • Anyone concerned about the power of the internet and online privacy

8
Blockchain Chicken Farm

Blockchain Chicken Farm

Xiaowei Wang
And Other Stories of Tech in China's Countryside
3.8 (74 ratings)

What's Blockchain Chicken Farm about?

Blockchain Chicken Farm (2020) is an examination of the way technology is entangled with everyday life. This sweeping survey of life in rural China unpacks the social, political, and economic changes we can expect in the twenty-first century.

Who should read Blockchain Chicken Farm?

  • Luddites skeptical about the impact of new technologies
  • Techno-utopians eager for more critical insights
  • Anyone interested in forecasting the future

9
This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends

This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends

Nicole Perlroth
The Cyberweapons Arms Race
4.6 (167 ratings)

What's This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends about?

This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends (2021) takes a deep dive into the ongoing global cyberweapons arms race. It explains how the unregulated market for destructive weapons began, how nations are buying and using these weapons, and why they represent a threat to our immediate future.

Who should read This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends?

  • Anyone who uses a computer or smartphone
  • Security- and privacy-minded people
  • Taxpayers curious about how their money is spent

10
The Future of the Professions

The Future of the Professions

Richard Susskind and Daniel Susskind
How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts
3.7 (74 ratings)

What's The Future of the Professions about?

The Future of the Professions (2015) examines how modern technology and the internet have revolutionized our society. These blinks in particular address how technology has changed the way society views the work of experts, the so-called professionals. The role of such experts is evolving quickly; here you’ll discover just what the future of professions will look like.

Who should read The Future of the Professions?

  • Entrepreneurs and managers in the tech business
  • Coaches who work with C-level executives
  • Anyone interested in how technology is changing how we work

11
Privacy Is Power

Privacy Is Power

Carissa Véliz
Why and How You Should Take Back Control of Your Data
4.6 (194 ratings)

What's Privacy Is Power about?

Privacy is Power (2020) is a shocking exposé of the inner workings of surveillance capitalism. It reveals how, every day, hundreds of interested parties are violating your privacy and capitalizing on your personal data. Corporations, governments, and criminals alike are all busy collecting and exploiting your data in an effort to influence the way you think and behave. In these blinks, you’ll learn why your privacy is so important and what you can do to protect it.

Who should read Privacy Is Power?

  • Those perturbed by governments and corporations snooping on our private lives
  • People untroubled by digital surveillance because they believe they have nothing to hide
  • Anyone looking for actionable ways to protect their privacy now

12
The Dark Net

The Dark Net

Jamie Bartlett
Inside the Digital Underworld
3.1 (56 ratings)

What's The Dark Net about?

The Dark Net (2014) is a window into the internet’s nefarious underbelly. These blinks detail a trove of hidden online activity, from drug deals to illegal pornography to troubling discussions among suicidal teenagers.

Who should read The Dark Net?

  • Adventurous people who want to uncover everything the internet has to offer
  • Anyone concerned about all the terrible things happening online
  • Aspiring porn stars and anyone who wants to buy marijuana from their couch

13
Deepfakes and the Infocalypse

Deepfakes and the Infocalypse

Nina Schick
What You Urgently Need To Know
3.8 (108 ratings)

What's Deepfakes and the Infocalypse about?

Deepfakes and the Infocalypse (2020) is an urgent warning about the dangers posed by fake – but extremely realistic – audiovisual material called deepfakes. They are powered by artificial intelligence, and scammers and hackers are already using them to defraud businesses and harass individuals. Governments are joining in, as well; the use of deepfakes for propaganda is growing. We need to actively prepare for a time when deepfakes become commonplace. If we don’t, we’ll barrel headfirst into an information apocalypse.

Who should read Deepfakes and the Infocalypse?

  • Anyone who hasn’t heard of deepfakes
  • Citizens concerned about political polarization and the breakdown of trust in society
  • Tech-savvy individuals who feel they can’t be fooled by fake content

14
Because Internet

Because Internet

Gretchen McCulloch
Understanding the New Rules of Language
4.1 (130 ratings)

What's Because Internet about?

It’s common knowledge that the internet has profoundly changed society, and Because Internet (2019) looks at one specific and significant change: how online culture has transformed the English language. These blinks show how the web has created new linguistic rules, remixed old ones and democratized writing itself. Along with these shifts, prepare to explore the memes, emoji and demographic makeup of the internet.  

Who should read Because Internet?

  • Language nerds fascinated by recent changes in English
  • Inflexible grammarians clinging on to past practices
  • Parents consistently baffled by their children’s text messages

15
The Seventh Sense

The Seventh Sense

Joshua Cooper Ramo
Power, Fortune, and Survival in the Age of Networks
3.9 (23 ratings)

What's The Seventh Sense about?

The Seventh Sense (2016) unpacks the positive and negative aspects of today’s interconnected world. Terrorism is on the rise and the global economy is in a questionable state. The Seventh Sense explains how these issues are interrelated, and how society can still prosper in this network-dominated age.

Who should read The Seventh Sense?

  • Anyone addicted to social media
  • Managers of a business or corporation
  • Anyone curious about the impacts of technology on today’s society

16
Google Leaks

Google Leaks

Zach Vorhies
A Whistleblower's Exposé of Big Tech Censorship
3.4 (337 ratings)

What's Google Leaks about?

Google Leaks (2021) is the no-holds-barred story of one former Google employee, who claims that the search giant has been corrupted by political bias and is pursuing a course of deliberate online censorship. It details the author’s journey after Donald Trump’s election from satisfied employee to unflinching corporate whistleblower .

Who should read Google Leaks?

  • Tech lovers concerned by the the growth of online megacorporations 
  • Political aficionados interested in the years of Trump’s presidency
  • Free-speech advocates concerned by the erosion of civil liberties

17
Free Speech

Free Speech

Jacob Mchangama
A History from Socrates to Social Media
4.5 (126 ratings)

What's Free Speech about?

Free Speech (2022) traces the history of this world-defining idea. It provides a soapbox for some of free speech’s greatest proponents and highlights key events that pushed the idea forward from ancient times to the present. Offering an evenhanded treatment of the costs and benefits of free speech throughout history, it’s a powerful retort to all those forces that threaten to erode free speech today.

Who should read Free Speech?

  • Passionate defenders of free speech who could use more argumentative ammunition 
  • Students preparing for campus debates on whether free speech should be limited
  • Anyone on the left or right seeking insight into modern-day debates on free speech

18
An Ugly Truth

An Ugly Truth

Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang
Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination
4.1 (253 ratings)

What's An Ugly Truth about?

An Ugly Truth (2021) is a critical look behind the scenes of Facebook. This in-depth investigation reveals the politics and personalities animating the rise and subsequent missteps of this controversial social media behemoth.

Who should read An Ugly Truth?

  • Internet addicts looking to understand cyberspace
  • Political junkies addicted to their News Feed
  • Anyone who has ever logged on to social media

19
Broad Band

Broad Band

Claire L. Evans
The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet
4.1 (130 ratings)

What's Broad Band about?

Broad Band (2018) tells the story of the women who played significant roles in the evolution of computers and the internet. It examines how these women became trailblazers in fields of work that were initially considered boring – but later proved to be of great importance.

Who should read Broad Band ?

  • Young women interested in pursuing a career in computer science
  • Computer scientists and engineers
  • People interested in how women have shaped our world

20
Reading the Comments

Reading the Comments

Joseph M. Reagle Jr.
Likers, Haters and Manipulators at the Bottom of the Web
3.1 (19 ratings)

What's Reading the Comments about?

Reading the Comments (2015) delves into the social phenomenon of online commentary. These blinks explore how online commenting became the force it is and examine commenting’s positive and negative influence on communication at large. Importantly, these blinks encourage you to think about the implications of online comments for the modern internet user.

Who should read Reading the Comments?

  • Readers fascinated by online commentary
  • People keen to learn about new modes of communication
  • Students majoring in communication studies

21
Dragnet Nation

Dragnet Nation

Julia Angwin
A Quest for Privacy, Security and Freedom in a World of Relentless Surveillance
4.4 (22 ratings)

What's Dragnet Nation about?

Dragnet Nation details the ways in which governments and corporations can gather vast amounts of your personal data and how this affects you. The book explains how easily such sensitive data can be abused, and that ultimately, such practices lead to a loss of freedom for all of us.

Who should read Dragnet Nation?

  • Anyone who wants to protect their privacy online
  • Anyone who does not think that data mining and privacy are a big deal
  • Anyone interested in how personal data is collected by governments and corporations

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