What do you think?
Rate this book
Bored, Lonely, Angry, Stupid: Changing Feelings about Technology, from the Telegraph to Twitter
"Technologies have been shaping [our] emotional culture for more than a century, argue computer scientist Luke Fernandez and historian Susan Matt in this original study. Marshalling archival sources and interviews, they trace how norms (say, around loneliness) have shifted with technological change."
--Nature
"A powerful story of how new forms of technology are continually integrated into the human experience...Anyone interested in seeing the digital age through a new perspective should be pleased with this rich account."
--Publishers Weekly
Facebook makes us lonely. Selfies breed narcissism. On Twitter, hostility reigns. Pundits and psychologists warn that digital technologies substantially alter our emotional states, but in this lively look at our evolving feelings about technology since the advent of the telegraph, we learn that the gadgets we use don't just affect how we feel--they can profoundly change our sense of self. When we say we're bored, we don't mean the same thing as a Victorian dandy. Could it be that political punditry has helped shape a new kind of anger? Luke Fernandez and Susan J. Matt take us back in time to consider how our feelings of loneliness, vanity, and anger have evolved in tandem with new technologies.
--Nature
"A powerful story of how new forms of technology are continually integrated into the human experience...Anyone interested in seeing the digital age through a new perspective should be pleased with this rich account."
--Publishers Weekly
Facebook makes us lonely. Selfies breed narcissism. On Twitter, hostility reigns. Pundits and psychologists warn that digital technologies substantially alter our emotional states, but in this lively look at our evolving feelings about technology since the advent of the telegraph, we learn that the gadgets we use don't just affect how we feel--they can profoundly change our sense of self. When we say we're bored, we don't mean the same thing as a Victorian dandy. Could it be that political punditry has helped shape a new kind of anger? Luke Fernandez and Susan J. Matt take us back in time to consider how our feelings of loneliness, vanity, and anger have evolved in tandem with new technologies.
472 pages, Paperback
Published July 7, 2020
27 people are currently reading
528 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 8, 2019
Important ideas, but too long, repetitive, and not engagingly written.
March 11, 2020
This book has some interesting information in it, but overall it was not a lot of fun to read. The background on how our culture affects our emotions was eye-opening to me, and the parts about how Americans viewed boredom, loneliness, vanity, etc. in the 19th century and early to mid-20th century were very engaging. The information on contemporary viewpoints seemed a bit plodding and unfocused by comparison. Still, it was worth reading, and the notes are very thorough so I can find more information on the topics that most interest me.
June 25, 2019
Parts of it were longer than necessary and I thought the chapter on Awe was kind of lame but overall I thought this was an extremely interesting read.
March 31, 2022
When I saw the review of this book, I thought, this one's for me. Bored, Lonely, Angry, Stupid.
Yes, STUPID! American politics in 2022?
The books analyses American history to show that what we're all doing now on social media has been going on for 200 years. We were bored and lonely on the farm. Bored and lonely in the city.
The authors use letters and newspaper articles to show what people were thinking so many years ago. It's a very interesting angle.
Here's a quick review...
- originally religion kept vanity, anger under wraps
- early letters began to allow vanity, what else could you write about but yourself?
- mirrors were the first time people could see themselves, vanity was a little OK
- photographs showed people NOT how they really were, but dressed up to look properous
- telegraph was a wonder, higher power, God, but didn't affect everyday folks because of the cost
- after a while the inventions (electricity, telephone, radio, etc) were not from a 'higher power/God' but were due to man's harnessing his own power. god takes a back seat.
When radio came out people used to write letters to the stations, defending or attacking what they heard. In 1931 CBS received 12.6 million letters from listeners. Us population in 1931 was 124 million, so one in ten people wrote a letter. And the depression was into its 3rd year.
The original vanity was really how one thought about oneself. It was internal. But now with Facebook, etc. people post stuff (Look at me!) and hope they get likes and affirmation. So the reward is now based on what others say.
People were angry at work but they had to (still do) control their probably understandable anger at their bosses, so they would vent in their cars (road rage) or at home. Politics was always angry, there used to be fights on the Senate floor. And now with the internet, the lids are off and people can say anything they want, though the authors say that, from their interviews, people are worried about showing anger or being mean on social media. I'm not sure that's true. The book was published in 2019 so it's a few years back. I'd like to see an update.
There's a chapter on
vanity
loneliness
boredom
attention
awe
anger
However, disappointingly, there is no chapter on STUPID! Quite an oversight!
Some interesting points/ideas/facts...
- In the late 1970s talk radio began to be popular. Think of Rush Limbaugh, Howard Stern. Around a handful of stations in the 70s, then 850 by 1994. In 2014 around 2,000. This was probably fueled in 1987 when FCC policy changed, got away from the "Fairness Doctrine" where you had to show both sides of a story/argument. And who was president during this deregulation? Ronald Reagan. Somehow it all goes back to him.
- A lot of talk radio is angry. So was it's rise due to growing conservative elctorate that was frustrated that their opinions were not being voiced by 'lamestream media.' Or was the rise due to deregulation and the 'fact' that music on the radio was being eroded (and less money for all parties) by internet streaming services like Pandora (started in 2000).
- There was more frustration for Americans, particularily Black Americans, because when African Americans watched TV in the 60s, 70s, and 80s there were no Black shows or actors. (Crosby show started in 1984.) One critic said in 1974, "the civil right revolution of the past fifteen years was triggered by TV."
- In 1977 90% of TV programming was on ABC, CBS, or NBC. In other words, we had a common viewpoint. By 2003, only 29%. Cable TV providers were fracturing the viewing public intentionally for ratings and money. Yes, you know who!
- As Americans watched more and more TV they participated less in civic and social engaagement. (This is from Robert Putnam's, Bowling Alone.) I remember when TV was supposedly on for 6 hours a day. And back then there was a lot of bad TV. I remember Brad's line, "The only good thing about TV is that it's bad." An engaging critic even then!
- To quote from the book. "With their TVs, their talk radio, their cars, their internet, Americans sat alone."
- Now anger is everywhere. Again, from the book. "As a nation we can't seem to quit. We're primed to be mad about something every morning." Here in blue NJ, I see thundering pickups with flags flying to Impeach Biden, or even worse--Fuck Biden. Ouch.
The book is a bit of a slog because it's repetitive in that they give a lot of examples of the point they're making. But they have some new angles on things.
VERY INTERESTING.
Yes, STUPID! American politics in 2022?
The books analyses American history to show that what we're all doing now on social media has been going on for 200 years. We were bored and lonely on the farm. Bored and lonely in the city.
The authors use letters and newspaper articles to show what people were thinking so many years ago. It's a very interesting angle.
Here's a quick review...
- originally religion kept vanity, anger under wraps
- early letters began to allow vanity, what else could you write about but yourself?
- mirrors were the first time people could see themselves, vanity was a little OK
- photographs showed people NOT how they really were, but dressed up to look properous
- telegraph was a wonder, higher power, God, but didn't affect everyday folks because of the cost
- after a while the inventions (electricity, telephone, radio, etc) were not from a 'higher power/God' but were due to man's harnessing his own power. god takes a back seat.
When radio came out people used to write letters to the stations, defending or attacking what they heard. In 1931 CBS received 12.6 million letters from listeners. Us population in 1931 was 124 million, so one in ten people wrote a letter. And the depression was into its 3rd year.
The original vanity was really how one thought about oneself. It was internal. But now with Facebook, etc. people post stuff (Look at me!) and hope they get likes and affirmation. So the reward is now based on what others say.
People were angry at work but they had to (still do) control their probably understandable anger at their bosses, so they would vent in their cars (road rage) or at home. Politics was always angry, there used to be fights on the Senate floor. And now with the internet, the lids are off and people can say anything they want, though the authors say that, from their interviews, people are worried about showing anger or being mean on social media. I'm not sure that's true. The book was published in 2019 so it's a few years back. I'd like to see an update.
There's a chapter on
vanity
loneliness
boredom
attention
awe
anger
However, disappointingly, there is no chapter on STUPID! Quite an oversight!
Some interesting points/ideas/facts...
- In the late 1970s talk radio began to be popular. Think of Rush Limbaugh, Howard Stern. Around a handful of stations in the 70s, then 850 by 1994. In 2014 around 2,000. This was probably fueled in 1987 when FCC policy changed, got away from the "Fairness Doctrine" where you had to show both sides of a story/argument. And who was president during this deregulation? Ronald Reagan. Somehow it all goes back to him.
- A lot of talk radio is angry. So was it's rise due to growing conservative elctorate that was frustrated that their opinions were not being voiced by 'lamestream media.' Or was the rise due to deregulation and the 'fact' that music on the radio was being eroded (and less money for all parties) by internet streaming services like Pandora (started in 2000).
- There was more frustration for Americans, particularily Black Americans, because when African Americans watched TV in the 60s, 70s, and 80s there were no Black shows or actors. (Crosby show started in 1984.) One critic said in 1974, "the civil right revolution of the past fifteen years was triggered by TV."
- In 1977 90% of TV programming was on ABC, CBS, or NBC. In other words, we had a common viewpoint. By 2003, only 29%. Cable TV providers were fracturing the viewing public intentionally for ratings and money. Yes, you know who!
- As Americans watched more and more TV they participated less in civic and social engaagement. (This is from Robert Putnam's, Bowling Alone.) I remember when TV was supposedly on for 6 hours a day. And back then there was a lot of bad TV. I remember Brad's line, "The only good thing about TV is that it's bad." An engaging critic even then!
- To quote from the book. "With their TVs, their talk radio, their cars, their internet, Americans sat alone."
- Now anger is everywhere. Again, from the book. "As a nation we can't seem to quit. We're primed to be mad about something every morning." Here in blue NJ, I see thundering pickups with flags flying to Impeach Biden, or even worse--Fuck Biden. Ouch.
The book is a bit of a slog because it's repetitive in that they give a lot of examples of the point they're making. But they have some new angles on things.
VERY INTERESTING.
July 23, 2023
This book takes an interesting approach to framing the current social moment in America...and this book does focus exclusively on America. Authors Fernandez and Matt attempt to place cultural changes wrought by social media in the broader context of American history by showing how social norms have changed in response to both the passage of time and the introduction of new communications technologies from the telegraph, to the phone, radio, television, and ultimately, the internet. They examine how American attitudes have varied over time with respect to the emotions of vanity, loneliness, boredom, awe, and anger.
Anyone who's ever been an active participant in social media will be implicitly aware of most of the major points, particularly how anonymity unleashes our worst impulses. But the more interesting parts of the book deal with how American responses to things like anger have changed over time...what acceptable levels of public anger used to be vs. what they are now and how different technologies (like the automobile) have enabled people to anonymously vent their personal frustrations. (For example, the phenomenon of Road Rage took off in the 90s and can, in some ways, be seen as a direct precursor to internet rage.)
One of the more interesting theories for me was a discussion of how the corporatization of American life in the 20th century placed people of different backgrounds together in the same office environment where public displays of intense disagreement or anger were socially unacceptable (except for the boss). This stifling of emotion can be seen as somewhat historically unique and the authors suppose that this suppression led to outbursts elsewhere--on the road, behind the wheel, or in the home where family members had to deal with it. They posit that the internet merely provided a more immediate outlet for the expressions of discontent.
Anyone who's ever been an active participant in social media will be implicitly aware of most of the major points, particularly how anonymity unleashes our worst impulses. But the more interesting parts of the book deal with how American responses to things like anger have changed over time...what acceptable levels of public anger used to be vs. what they are now and how different technologies (like the automobile) have enabled people to anonymously vent their personal frustrations. (For example, the phenomenon of Road Rage took off in the 90s and can, in some ways, be seen as a direct precursor to internet rage.)
One of the more interesting theories for me was a discussion of how the corporatization of American life in the 20th century placed people of different backgrounds together in the same office environment where public displays of intense disagreement or anger were socially unacceptable (except for the boss). This stifling of emotion can be seen as somewhat historically unique and the authors suppose that this suppression led to outbursts elsewhere--on the road, behind the wheel, or in the home where family members had to deal with it. They posit that the internet merely provided a more immediate outlet for the expressions of discontent.
July 20, 2022
The data wasn’t particularly interesting as anyone talking about technology likely has heard similar things. The historical tracking of ideas and emotions in relation to tech advancement was an interesting approach though.
November 22, 2022
Loved it! Such intriguing research on how society and its language color our emotions. I always believed feelings were highly individualistic, but this shows that how we value an emotion changes with history and technology.
September 22, 2019
A fascinating, important book in the tech/culture discussion. One of those books that helps us understand the water in which we are swimming.
January 5, 2020
This was a good follow up to Sapiens - the concepts of how we change our outlook on life as the years go on and the impact on us.
July 20, 2020
Thoughts on and history of technology and its effects on ourselves (our emotional selves) and our societies. Not glib. The historical perspective is particularly interesting. Lengthy.
July 3, 2025
some gems here and there, all of which are starting to become more prolific as we speak (Netflix's documentary on effects of social media to 10 reasons to quit social media). its not gaining traction much and that's because addicts don't like being told that they're addicts. some dry + repetitive, just give me cliff notes. I mean we all know this shit in some shape or form: social media bad. make it lively and interesting.
November 13, 2020
Please visit my writing blog for full review...
https://writeinblood.com/2020/11/13/b...
https://writeinblood.com/2020/11/13/b...
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews