Superconnected: The Internet, Digital Media, and Techno-Social Life

by Mary Chayko

What does it mean to live in a superconnected society?

The Internet, Digital Media, and Techno-Social Life brings together insights about digital technology and society from the many literatures in which author Mary Chayko is sociology, communication, psychology, media and technology studies. The result is a groundbreaking analysis of contemporary social life as it is influenced by the internet, social media, and mobile devices. Individual chapters explore topics such as how digital technology helped to shape the modern information age; information sharing and surveillance; digital socialization and development of the self; digital inequalities; global impacts; and the impact of the internet and digital media across social institutions. The author’s clear non-technical discussions and interdisciplinary synthesis make Superconnected an essential text for courses in all departments that examine how social life is affected when information and communication technology enter the picture.

272 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2016

About the author

Dr. Mary Chayko is a sociologist, Teaching Professor of communication and information, and Director of Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Studies at the School of Communication and Information (SC&I) at Rutgers University. She is also an affiliate member of the graduate faculty of the Department of Sociology and an affiliate member of the faculty of the Department of Women's and Gender Studies at Rutgers. She received her B.A. in Communication and Psychology from Seton Hall University, Ed.M. in Counseling Psychology, and M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from Rutgers University.

Dr. Chayko's research is on the impact of the internet and digital technology on community, society, and self. She is the author of Superconnected: the Internet, Digital Media, and Techno-Social Life (2nd edition, 2018, SAGE Publications), and has created podcasts, lecture slides, and discussion questions for the book that are available on the book blog http://superconnectedblog.com.

She is also the author of the award-winning, Portable Communities: The Social Dynamics of Online and Mobile Connectedness (2008) and Connecting: How We Form Social Bonds and Communities in the Internet Age (2002), both with SUNY Press, as well as many published articles.

Dr. Chayko speaks nationally and internationally on the topic of digital technology and its societal impacts. She has been honored by Rutgers University with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching (2019) and as a Rutgers University Faculty of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Contributor to Undergraduate Education (1994).

In her spare time, she is a singer and flutist in a folky, social justice-oriented band with fellow sociologists Jim Pennell and Corey Dolgon, whose CD Songs of Peace and Justice can be heard on her website http://marychayko.com.Undergraduate Education. Her website contains excerpts from her published works, media appearances, and even some of her music. In her spare time, she is a singer and flutist in a folky, social justice–oriented band with fellow sociologists Jim Pennell and Corey Dolgon, whose CD Songs of Peace and Justice can be heard on the website.

Reviews

[John Carter McKnight · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent undergraduate book for a technology and society class or a social sciences survey class looking to break the textbook mold. Aside from its readability, my favorite thing about Superconnected is the seamless and comprehensive way it presents information as the product of contemporary scholarship. Too many undergraduate texts present knowledge as something that exists, rather than a thing that has been made, and is still being made. Chayko's bibliography is pricesless, an excellent starting-off point for more in-depth study.

The book covers a lot of ground, and is suitable for selecting particular chapters. From a history of digital technologies, it covers surveillance, globalization, formation of the self, relationships and family, and the workplace. I found the self and relationship chapters the best, the one on institutions (family, education, work, religion, and politics) a bit too brisk.

I'm eager to use it in the classroom, particularly to combat the pernicious anti-technology messages so many students seem to have taken to heart from grade school. It's also a work that begs for active discussion based on students' experiences.

[Darien Springer · Rating 1 out of 5]

The entire book feels like it was written by a robot who is trying to explain to other robots how human interaction works on a base level. Superconnected explores all of the various problems and benefits presented by the internet and social media but fails to raise any interesting questions. In every chapter, much of it is spent explaining aspects of reality that everyone is familiar with. Quotes like "Groups and social units can be differentiated from one another in many ways" or "As we go through life, we learn the ways of society and how to participate in it" or "Hangouts, both physical and digital, are important because they provide a space for people to spend unstructured time in the company of others". It is hard for me to understand why Chakyo wants to continually explain the obvious. After reading this book, I can't really say I've learned all that much. I already have experience being a human. I don't need a book to tell me what I already know about what is clearly and readily apparent in everyday reality.

[Christina McNeice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting book, looks at how technology is being adopted on a global scale, the social change from the diffusion of innovation. Good Read to learn about how technology and society are interacting

[Blaire Foote · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a textbook and was not terrible. It has a lot of information in it.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

Works as a decent text for introducing students to the ideas of technology and digital sociology. It is organized well and covers a lot of sociological topics. I think it does a good job of connecting core sociological theories and concepts with newer research on technology and the Internet. It also compiles a lot of recent research in these areas and provides many good references.

I assigned a couple of the chapters in my new media sociology undergraduate class. I especially liked chapter 6 on "Techno-Socialization and the Self". Each chapter is pretty short and easy for students to read. I actually wish it went a bit deeper on some of the topics, though. Also, I think the book would benefit a lot from adding some tables, figures, and images. The book I read was only straight text with not a single illustration.