Seeing Ourselves Through Technology: How We Use Selfies, Blogs and Wearable Devices to See and Shape Ourselves

by Jill Walker Rettberg

Selfies, blogs and lifelogging devices have become important ways in which we understand ourselves. Jill Walker Rettberg analyses these and related genres as three intertwined modes of self-representation: visual, written and quantitative. Rettberg explores topics like the meaning of Instagram filters, smartphone apps that write your diary for you, and the ways in which governments and commercial entities create their own representations of us from the digital traces we leave behind as we go through our lives.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sociology, Technology, Social Media, Psychology, 21st Century, Academia

120 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 8, 2014

About the author

Jill Walker Rettberg is Professor of Digital Culture at the University of Bergen. She is the author of Seeing Ourselves Through Technology (2014), Blogging (2nd Ed. 2014) and co-editor of a scholarly anthology on World of Warcraft (2008), and has been blogging at jilltxt.net since 2000.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually pretty good as an introduction to many of the present issues in researching or thinking about social network sites and informational communication technologies. It is written in an accessible tone and I would definitely recommend this as an entry point for anyone interested in thinking about these technologies.

[Lindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a solid, straightforward introduction to thinking about digital lives. I appreciate the author's choice to make the ebook available at no cost.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author raised questions about our assumptions about selfies and data, in relation to the self. It could easily be used in an undergrad digital media studies class. Rettberg's writing is clear and accessible but brings intellectual rigor to the discussions. Her incorporation of other theorists could give students s jumping off point for arguments on which they want to follow up.

[Diana180]

#kindle #curriculum #digitaltextuality Readable monograph on the rise of the selfie, touching on other aspects of digital culture. The takeaway: We've all heard the charges of narcissism but selfies give people unprecedented control over how they look in photographs. And that's a good thing.

[deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent and well-researched book about modern digital technology and how we use it to craft ourselves and our images, how we see other people, and how this technology influences us. As someone who uses these digital technologies almost daily, I feel like this was an important read: it opened new windows for me about how my use is not just passive but an active way of communication and representation. I will definitely be returning to these chapters for future reference!

[Tiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cogent, but outdated

This was a good book with some insightful observations, and a broad survey of past and current literature on the subject. But in 2019 it’s quite outdated, with all the revelations and events of the past few years. The Quantified Self movement has also evolved quite a bit, as has the state of consumer technology. I think new writing and scholarship is needed that takes these recent events into account.

[Frankie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on how we utilize social media technology to tell our stories online.

[Jorun Bork · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty interesting and relevant introduction to modern technology. Would recommend.

[Viola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm very glad I found this book and thankful to the author for making it open-access. The book is therefore available and accessible to the wider public; it's an interesting and easy read. I knew about her Blogging book, which I had read in parts, but read through this book in two days (well, it's a short book).
What I enjoyed most about this book is the clever combination of insights from various disciplines as well as from news articles and blogs. It draws interesting comparisons between historical practices and new technologies. Well worth the time! (Go grab your free copy from Palgrave or the Kindle store... no harm!)

[K B · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite reading for New Media Theory thus far.

[arthur a dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful

Although somewhat dated - I could not find many of the apps mentioned - this book explains a great deal about the appeal of social media, the quantified self and their attendant dangers

[Dirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book that begins with a discussion of diaries and portrait that is nicely linked to the current Selfie frenzy before moving on to related developments like the quantification of activities through health apps and fitness apps. Throughout the analysis uses interesting examples that are interwoven with sociological and philosophical debates. I highly recommend this book.

I have written a longer review here:
https://vomlehn.wordpress.com/2015/06...

[Christina Stetler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heavy on the data

I had hoped for a fun book, but I believe this is someone's thesis or dissertation. It's very heavy on research and a bit dry. Not totally a bad thing just know is not a light hearted read.

[Gabriel Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, accessible introduction to recent critical and theoretical thinking about digital self representation.