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Quarterly Essay #72
Net Loss: The Inner Life in the Digital Age
What is the inner life? And is it vanishing in the digital age?
Throughout history, artists and philosophers have cultivated the deep self, and seen value in solitude and reflection. But today, through social media, wall-to-wall marketing, reality television and the agitation of modern life, everything feels illuminated, made transparent. We feel bereft without our phones and their cameras and the feeling of instant connectivity. It gets hard to pick up a book, harder still to stay with it.
In this eloquent and profound essay, renowned critic Sebastian Smee brings to the surface the idea of inner life – the awareness one may feel in front of a great painting or while listening to extraordinary music by a window at dusk or in a forest at night. No nostalgic lament, this essay evokes what is valuable and worth cultivating – a connection to our true selves, and a feeling of agency in the mystery of our own lives. At the same time, such contemplation puts us in an intensely charged relationship with things, people or works of art that are outside us.
If we lose this power, Smee asks, what do we lose of ourselves?
Throughout history, artists and philosophers have cultivated the deep self, and seen value in solitude and reflection. But today, through social media, wall-to-wall marketing, reality television and the agitation of modern life, everything feels illuminated, made transparent. We feel bereft without our phones and their cameras and the feeling of instant connectivity. It gets hard to pick up a book, harder still to stay with it.
In this eloquent and profound essay, renowned critic Sebastian Smee brings to the surface the idea of inner life – the awareness one may feel in front of a great painting or while listening to extraordinary music by a window at dusk or in a forest at night. No nostalgic lament, this essay evokes what is valuable and worth cultivating – a connection to our true selves, and a feeling of agency in the mystery of our own lives. At the same time, such contemplation puts us in an intensely charged relationship with things, people or works of art that are outside us.
If we lose this power, Smee asks, what do we lose of ourselves?
160 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 26, 2018
16 people are currently reading
159 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
April 13, 2023
'Today, being human means being distracted. It is our new default setting. We are almost all living in a state of constant distraction. In the meantime, our deepest feelings are being flushed out, forced to the surface, dissolved in the endless chatter of our heavily mediated environment, trampled underfoot in the rush to be heard, and seen.'
Thoughts:
- The author had some interesting things to say, some points I agreed with and some points I very much did not. Personal views aside, I felt that some key concepts were defined quite vagely and the overall structure was a bit disjointed, making the flow of ideas difficult to follow. It's more like a collection of short reflections rather than an essay.
- A key takeaway (besides social media bad) is that amidst all the noise and constant bombardment of information, it's easier than ever to settle for less-than-genuine connections with ourselves and each other. Our personalities and experiences can't ever be condensed into neat little categories... but then again you can probably figure that out without having to read this book.
Thoughts:
- The author had some interesting things to say, some points I agreed with and some points I very much did not. Personal views aside, I felt that some key concepts were defined quite vagely and the overall structure was a bit disjointed, making the flow of ideas difficult to follow. It's more like a collection of short reflections rather than an essay.
- A key takeaway (besides social media bad) is that amidst all the noise and constant bombardment of information, it's easier than ever to settle for less-than-genuine connections with ourselves and each other. Our personalities and experiences can't ever be condensed into neat little categories... but then again you can probably figure that out without having to read this book.
November 29, 2018
This Quarterly Essay feels as if it’s written just for me. Net Loss, the Inner Life in the Digital Age by art critic for the Washington post Sebastian Smee explores the doubts we are beginning to have about social media.
Not long ago I had a conversation about my remarkable luck at the Louvre, when it just so happened that The Spouse and I were the only two people in the gallery that houses the Mona Lisa. ‘Did you take a photo?’ I was asked. There was mutual puzzlement. Hers was about why I didn’t, so that I could remember it and prove it happened, and mine because it was an unforgettable magical experience and my friends don’t need me to ‘prove’ my story. This conversation still bothers me because it represents a gulf between the kind of memories I have (and like to share) and those of people who are more connected to their phones than I am. I think it says something about a wariness of ‘fake news’ too.
This is the blurb for Net Loss, from Fishpond:
To explain what he means by ‘inner life’, Smee quotes Chekhov describing Gurov, a character from his story The Lady with the Dog. ‘He had two lives’ writes Chekhov,
Smee sets out to explore this idea that we all have an inner life with its own history of metamorphosis — rich, complex and often obscure, even to ourselves, but essential to who we are. He thinks this elusive inner self is under threat as companies shape our new reality with their powerful tools.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2018/11/29/n...
Not long ago I had a conversation about my remarkable luck at the Louvre, when it just so happened that The Spouse and I were the only two people in the gallery that houses the Mona Lisa. ‘Did you take a photo?’ I was asked. There was mutual puzzlement. Hers was about why I didn’t, so that I could remember it and prove it happened, and mine because it was an unforgettable magical experience and my friends don’t need me to ‘prove’ my story. This conversation still bothers me because it represents a gulf between the kind of memories I have (and like to share) and those of people who are more connected to their phones than I am. I think it says something about a wariness of ‘fake news’ too.
This is the blurb for Net Loss, from Fishpond:
What is the inner life? And is it vanishing in the digital age?
Throughout history, artists and philosophers have cultivated the deep self, and seen value in solitude and reflection. But today, through social media, wall-to-wall marketing, reality television and the agitation of modern life, everything feels illuminated, made transparent. We feel bereft without our phones and their cameras and the feeling of instant connectivity. It gets hard to pick up a book, harder still to stay with it.
In this eloquent and profound essay, renowned critic Sebastian Smee brings to the surface the idea of inner life – the awareness one may feel in front of a great painting or while listening to extraordinary music by a window at dusk or in a forest at night. No nostalgic lament, this essay evokes what is valuable and worth cultivating – a connection to our true selves, and a feeling of agency in the mystery of our own lives. At the same time, such contemplation puts us in an intensely charged relationship with things, people or works of art that are outside us.
If we lose this power, Smee asks, what do we lose of ourselves?
To explain what he means by ‘inner life’, Smee quotes Chekhov describing Gurov, a character from his story The Lady with the Dog. ‘He had two lives’ writes Chekhov,
one open, seen and known by all who cared to know, full of relative truth and of relative falsehood, exactly like the lives of his friends and acquaintances; and another life running its course in secret. And through some strange, perhaps accidental conjunction of circumstances, everything that was essential, of interest and of value to him, everything that made the kernel of his life, was hidden from other people; and all that was false in him, the sheath in which he hid himself to conceal the truth — such, for instance, as his work in the bank, his discussions at the club … his presence with his wife at anniversary festivities — all that was open. And he judged of others by himself, not believing in what he saw, and always believing that every man had his real, most interesting life under the cover of secrecy and under the cover of night. (p.3)
Smee sets out to explore this idea that we all have an inner life with its own history of metamorphosis — rich, complex and often obscure, even to ourselves, but essential to who we are. He thinks this elusive inner self is under threat as companies shape our new reality with their powerful tools.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2018/11/29/n...
March 1, 2019
Loved it! Smee is such a fantastic writer, and this topic resonates with some of my anxieties.
April 2, 2019
Essential reading for anyone who has ever thought about how they use social media and what its more personal effect on us all is. Also recommend to anyone who just likes dope art criticism.
December 14, 2019
Reflections on the inner life in the distracted world we live in. The author also shows a love for Chekhov!
February 7, 2023
valid points but I had no idea what you were talking about
March 11, 2019
A personal take on the topic, drawing on examples in literature and art. Not knowing Smee is an art critic confused me at the start and once I knew this I enjoyed the piece more.
For a short essay it was a little repetitive and interesting ideas arose that weren’t explored. The reductionist and superficial aspects of Facebook are pretty apparent. How this differs from lives and technologies in the past and impacts the balance of inner and outer self isn’t satisfactorily discussed. A brief description of the ubiquity of devices, and how quiet moments are interrupted with thoughts of capturing and sharing them online, are given as evidence of the malaise.
He spoke of recently feeling disillusioned with his profession, he didn’t want to share responses to art but keep them for his “inner self”.
How did he overcome this?
Being art critic is an interesting perspective to view this change in inner/outer balance. Art taps into “inner self” feelings of wonder, disquiet, melancholy and violence and an art critic transforms them into a published work. Facebook has made us critics of our own(and everyone’s) lives. What this process is like and how he overcame his recent crisis of faith could have tied together the excerpts from literature and art.
For a short essay it was a little repetitive and interesting ideas arose that weren’t explored. The reductionist and superficial aspects of Facebook are pretty apparent. How this differs from lives and technologies in the past and impacts the balance of inner and outer self isn’t satisfactorily discussed. A brief description of the ubiquity of devices, and how quiet moments are interrupted with thoughts of capturing and sharing them online, are given as evidence of the malaise.
He spoke of recently feeling disillusioned with his profession, he didn’t want to share responses to art but keep them for his “inner self”.
How did he overcome this?
Being art critic is an interesting perspective to view this change in inner/outer balance. Art taps into “inner self” feelings of wonder, disquiet, melancholy and violence and an art critic transforms them into a published work. Facebook has made us critics of our own(and everyone’s) lives. What this process is like and how he overcame his recent crisis of faith could have tied together the excerpts from literature and art.
May 9, 2019
Terrible. This reads like the collection of notes put together before writing an essay, rather than a coherent piece of work. Smee constantly name checks other artists and instances where they have engaged with selfhood, but these excursions are rarely tied back to the broader argument in a satisfying way. Worse, you don't get the sense that Smee knows what online selfhood is really like in practice. For someone so interested in the phenomenology of selfhood, there is little discussion of what it feels like to inhabit an online self in practice, and how we might critically engage with that. What should we keep, what should we be critical of? You wouldn't have much of an answer to those questions after reading this essay on the topic.
February 11, 2019
Very underwhelmed. It's frustratingly unclear what Smee is trying to say. He refers to a bevy of artists, philosophers, and writers, which is all very nice, but without really adding anything or attempting to synthesise the assembly of diverse into something even approaching a cogent argument.
March 16, 2023
Are we all not algorithms at this point? Sophisticated yet dumb in alluded ways, we justify understanding personas as an illusion of trying to understand and express ourselves. Net loss is an essay that will make you think about lacking alternatives in any other explanation.
Smee explores the concept of the inner life and its potential disappearance in our modern, digitally-driven world; his essay is a powerful reminder of the importance of cultivating our inner lives and the possible loss if we allow our digital lives to overshadow us through constant connectivity and distraction.
Favourite quote:
“We are told we are social creatures, and god knows it’s true. But we don’t have to be introverts to grasp how disorienting and exhausting – and ultimately deforming of who we feel ourselves to be – all this continuous relating to other people can be.”
Smee explores the concept of the inner life and its potential disappearance in our modern, digitally-driven world; his essay is a powerful reminder of the importance of cultivating our inner lives and the possible loss if we allow our digital lives to overshadow us through constant connectivity and distraction.
Favourite quote:
“We are told we are social creatures, and god knows it’s true. But we don’t have to be introverts to grasp how disorienting and exhausting – and ultimately deforming of who we feel ourselves to be – all this continuous relating to other people can be.”
May 20, 2019
I didn't really grasp this essay. The author is exploring what is the inner self and uses literary passages and artistic endeavours from the past(mainly) and talks about how the current digital age is changing our understanding of ourselves and our efforts to understand our inner selves. There is a commentary on the rise of anonymous users/multiple online personas and the need to express oneself (in vile fashions mainly) while representing ourselves as some other self. Also about how online interactions underrepresent the reality and how the happiness of others makes many feel sad in comparison.
While I did find the presentation intriguing as it's presented in a complety unique way, unfortunately I wasn't able to quite hold on to the ideas presented.
While I did find the presentation intriguing as it's presented in a complety unique way, unfortunately I wasn't able to quite hold on to the ideas presented.
June 13, 2020
There were moments of this I enjoyed, but mostly it was a slog and I came away from it without a sense of what the point of it was supposed to be. I was hoping for more actual connection between social media/technology and the inner life... instead it seemed like a social media was mentioned to try and make "current" a collection of definitions of inner life taken from art and literature. Some of these I enjoyed but I think as an essay it lacks focus and the title doesn't really reflect the essay content.
February 15, 2020
This is my first quartely essay and I think for my next one I will approach it differently.... On a weekend with a few hours free to devour in one sitting.
The writing was crisp, clever and clear. Smee does not succumb to any type of technological determinism or look solely to scientific empiricism to understand this phenomenon.. Instead he turns to literature and the arts... the result is subtle and moving. It's the type of commentary about our digital lives that needs a widespread hearing.
The writing was crisp, clever and clear. Smee does not succumb to any type of technological determinism or look solely to scientific empiricism to understand this phenomenon.. Instead he turns to literature and the arts... the result is subtle and moving. It's the type of commentary about our digital lives that needs a widespread hearing.
February 1, 2021
This was an interesting essay, and I liked it's overall message. That being said I think it got lost to some degree in the exploration of the self and didn't explore so much of how that changes in the digital age. The conclusion did a good job of drawing these themes together, but I would've like to have read more about the complexity in the relationship between these two ideas.
December 28, 2018
Brilliant discussion about identity, our inner life and the social media. Distraction, art and literature used to explain this tension. I feel inspired to not record my opinions in the hope of persuading someone! Oh, wait a minute
January 7, 2019
Interesting and thoughtful essay exploring how one’s inner life co-exists with one’s online self in our distracted, social media age. I never read a quarterly essay before (or maybe this is just Facebook Mark’s bragging) 🤓
did-not-finish
June 20, 2019So boring that I couldn't get more than a quarter through. As far as I can tell this book has no argument and no evidence! He just kept talking about what his random friends thought about life. Not what I expected from a Quarterly Essay, sadly.
January 15, 2024
The Smee article is worth a read.. the second half - ‘follow the leader’ section is all politics.. and if there is one thing I hate more than politics it’s reading conflicting, self-inflated opinions about politics.. doesn’t interest me.
April 9, 2019
Beautifully written, with moments I put the book down to think about what I had just read.
July 11, 2019
Wonderful.
August 28, 2019
3.5 stars
March 1, 2020
Thoughtful great read about our inner lives and how social media is affecting this.
April 14, 2022
Some interesting points, but overall fairly dull and a little dated
June 24, 2022
More of a Quarterly Musing than a Quarterly Essay, although interesting enough.
October 16, 2022
A very uninspiring instalment of QE that seems to lack a central argument. I’m not sure if Smee fails to make one or if I am not smart enough to decipher it.
Read
March 7, 2024I couldn't really engage with a lot of this, probably because I'm not an arty type.
March 30, 2025
So I guess ive never truly had an original thought in my life.
March 15, 2019
Interesting premise in this essay. Doesn’t really count as a book in my reading challenge.
July 18, 2021
This is beautifully written and it’s an enjoyable read, replete with quotes from Rachel Cusk ❤️
I was disappointed in the end, though. I wanted more of a critique of social media platforms and more evidence (which is emerging constantly) of their devastating effect on our satisfaction with life, our health, our ability to focus, our relationships, our domestic politics. Social media is producing a polarised society full of depressed and angry people who can’t even agree on what is fact and what is not.
When Smee does start to explore these issues early in the essay, he is spot on. But I was hoping for much more analysis and reflection on what Tristan Harris calls their dehumanising influence.
The essay in the end is more of a lyrical exploration of what the inner self is.
I was disappointed in the end, though. I wanted more of a critique of social media platforms and more evidence (which is emerging constantly) of their devastating effect on our satisfaction with life, our health, our ability to focus, our relationships, our domestic politics. Social media is producing a polarised society full of depressed and angry people who can’t even agree on what is fact and what is not.
When Smee does start to explore these issues early in the essay, he is spot on. But I was hoping for much more analysis and reflection on what Tristan Harris calls their dehumanising influence.
The essay in the end is more of a lyrical exploration of what the inner self is.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews