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Influenced: The Impact of Social Media on Our Perception
“This engaging, eye-opening book covers everything anyone would ever want to know about social media influencers." —Booklist, Starred Review
Unpacks and pulls the curtain back on what happens to our brains and our behaviors each time we addictively engage social media and the influencers we encounter there.
Individuals seeking to widen their tribes of friends, fans, and followers have an abundance of resources for building their digital footprints and social media popularity. All of this seems well and good from the perspective of revenue, exposure, and perhaps ego-building, but what is the impact of this on the human brain and our behavior? Is anyone paying attention to the lurking side effects of the social media influencer revolution?
As “Dr. Brian” Boxer Wachler—one of the world’s most esteemed authorities on human perception—reveals in The Impact of Social Media on Our Perception, we are oblivious to the mental evolution that is already in process. Science is proving that our addictive reliance upon social media and its influencers is having a demonstrable impact on how we think, feel, and perceive everything around us— and even how we react to stimuli. One might think that a “Like” is nothing more than a split-second tap on a device. However, brain scans tell a different story. Our brains literally light up with every buzz, ding, alert, and ring in anticipation of how our network is responding to us. As we tap away at our devices, we anxiously seek the approval of others—often people we don’t know.
Influenced unpacks what happens to our brains and our behaviors each time we click “Like”; follow an influencer; consume a video; share or reshare an article; post or repost a photograph; write a comment; pile on a trend;; just scroll for new content; and why do we keep coming back for more. Dr. Boxer Wachler includes his own social and medical findings and highlights them with interviews with top influencers, the latest studies, and pop-culture anecdotes.
Unpacks and pulls the curtain back on what happens to our brains and our behaviors each time we addictively engage social media and the influencers we encounter there.
Individuals seeking to widen their tribes of friends, fans, and followers have an abundance of resources for building their digital footprints and social media popularity. All of this seems well and good from the perspective of revenue, exposure, and perhaps ego-building, but what is the impact of this on the human brain and our behavior? Is anyone paying attention to the lurking side effects of the social media influencer revolution?
As “Dr. Brian” Boxer Wachler—one of the world’s most esteemed authorities on human perception—reveals in The Impact of Social Media on Our Perception, we are oblivious to the mental evolution that is already in process. Science is proving that our addictive reliance upon social media and its influencers is having a demonstrable impact on how we think, feel, and perceive everything around us— and even how we react to stimuli. One might think that a “Like” is nothing more than a split-second tap on a device. However, brain scans tell a different story. Our brains literally light up with every buzz, ding, alert, and ring in anticipation of how our network is responding to us. As we tap away at our devices, we anxiously seek the approval of others—often people we don’t know.
Influenced unpacks what happens to our brains and our behaviors each time we click “Like”; follow an influencer; consume a video; share or reshare an article; post or repost a photograph; write a comment; pile on a trend;; just scroll for new content; and why do we keep coming back for more. Dr. Boxer Wachler includes his own social and medical findings and highlights them with interviews with top influencers, the latest studies, and pop-culture anecdotes.
307 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 31, 2022
20 people are currently reading
260 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
December 18, 2022
I feel misled by the blurb on this book - I was expecting much more of a discussion and dissection of social media use and instead this was primarily focused on how to be an influencer and the author’s experience of influencing.
I think accurate marketing could help this find the right audience. Just wasn’t for me.
I think accurate marketing could help this find the right audience. Just wasn’t for me.
January 23, 2023
DNF'd. Author defines cap and other gen z lingo half a dozen times in half a dozen different ways, overall just lazily written.
June 6, 2022
This look into the effects of social media on individuals will be published on October 29, 2022. Rowman and Littlefield provided me an early galley in exchange for an honest review.
What attracted me to this particular book was the topic itself. I have been on social media for quite a long time (as a blogger since 2007, on Facebook since 2009, and on Twitter since 2010), sharing my thoughts and views on a variety of subjects. While it is not an overwhelming part of my life, it has had its moments where I was very dedicated to it. As such, I was very curious to see what insights on this activity that Dr. Wachler could shed light on. As it turns out, there is a variety of useful information within these pages.
I liked how Wachler approached his discussion, breaking things into their logical components and building upon them. His approach is not one that is overly scholarly or stuffy. He describes things in everyday terms with an eye towards educating and informing. He also gives a very balanced view on things - equally covering both the negatives and the positives of this medium.
And, if I may, a word or two about the cover: I think it is very effective. The plain white background with black lettering, the latter supplemented with the use of familiar social media logo elements, is attractive in its simplicity. It will pop on the shelf, enticing the casual browser to check it out.
I think Influenced will be beneficial to both those who are firmly entrenched into social media and those who have zero experience with it as well. In fact, the latter group might definitely benefit from it as they can discover how powerful this medium has come in a very short time.
What attracted me to this particular book was the topic itself. I have been on social media for quite a long time (as a blogger since 2007, on Facebook since 2009, and on Twitter since 2010), sharing my thoughts and views on a variety of subjects. While it is not an overwhelming part of my life, it has had its moments where I was very dedicated to it. As such, I was very curious to see what insights on this activity that Dr. Wachler could shed light on. As it turns out, there is a variety of useful information within these pages.
I liked how Wachler approached his discussion, breaking things into their logical components and building upon them. His approach is not one that is overly scholarly or stuffy. He describes things in everyday terms with an eye towards educating and informing. He also gives a very balanced view on things - equally covering both the negatives and the positives of this medium.
And, if I may, a word or two about the cover: I think it is very effective. The plain white background with black lettering, the latter supplemented with the use of familiar social media logo elements, is attractive in its simplicity. It will pop on the shelf, enticing the casual browser to check it out.
I think Influenced will be beneficial to both those who are firmly entrenched into social media and those who have zero experience with it as well. In fact, the latter group might definitely benefit from it as they can discover how powerful this medium has come in a very short time.
July 8, 2023
read 100 pages and gave up. the blurb and title made it sound like this book was going to focus more on the psychological effects of social media on our collective consciousness. instead, it detailed the dangers of social media and then became an instructional manual on how to be an influencer.
as other reviewers mentioned, i’m not sure who the intended audience for this book is. the first part seems to be for parents and the second for aspiring influencers. as someone who’s grown up on social media, this book definitely wasn’t written for me. a lot of the info provided was pretty elementary. also, “gen z slang” in this book (lots of which is actually just co-opted AAVE) is already stale.
also, the author has bad takes on cancel culture and “free speech.” imo. no nuanced exploration here of as a pro-social tool for accountability, despite its ills.
as other reviewers mentioned, i’m not sure who the intended audience for this book is. the first part seems to be for parents and the second for aspiring influencers. as someone who’s grown up on social media, this book definitely wasn’t written for me. a lot of the info provided was pretty elementary. also, “gen z slang” in this book (lots of which is actually just co-opted AAVE) is already stale.
also, the author has bad takes on cancel culture and “free speech.” imo. no nuanced exploration here of as a pro-social tool for accountability, despite its ills.
March 25, 2024
Overall, I give this book 1 out of 5 stars because I can’t imagine recommending it to anybody, and I can think of no meaningful thing I've gained from reading it. It’s a book that feels like the author got offered a book deal simply to sell books because of his “influencer” status, then wrote it very quickly with little editing. Boxer Wachler is a medical physician with his only expertise in the subject of social media coming from his own experience. He is also not a very good writer for this kind of book. He often uses obscure, cheesy references (I’m assuming as attempts at jokes) that actually distract from the point he’s attempting to make. I’ve read much better books that have clear theses and progress meaningfully. This book starts off decently, then continues to meander and get worse as if the author were just trying to make a word count requirement--demonstrated by the increasing number of typos and grammatical errors in the latter chapters. Frankly, it’s a book that did not need to be written as Boxer Wachler is unclear on who his desired audience is (he somehow seems to pedantically explain basic ideas to both young people who are digital natives and older people who are social-media obtuse, and both attempts feel patronizing and annoying) and he provides little to no meaningful insights to the topic at hand. A waste of time, yet I still read it cover to cover in order to fairly offer this review.
Other books in a similar vein that I found much more interesting, helpful, and well-written:
“Stolen Focus” by Johann Hari
“Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked” by Adam Alter
Other books in a similar vein that I found much more interesting, helpful, and well-written:
“Stolen Focus” by Johann Hari
“Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked” by Adam Alter
March 1, 2023
This read too much like the author was bragging about how popular he was on social media, then saying how dangerously addicting social media is, then name-dropping influencers, and then telling the reader how to become an influencer. I expected more evidence-based tips on combating the influence of social media, particularly in teens. This book was not that.
October 19, 2023
By a boomer for boomers. Truly the worst book I’ve read in years. Typos galore. Poorly written. The content of the book was hardly comprehensible due to what I’m guessing was a lack of editing/experience. A 15 minute YouTube video could teach you more about the science of social media.
March 19, 2024
There are wonderful gems of information to be mined in this book. However, you have to wade through some seriously uncomfortable reading I can only sum up by comparing it to all the scenes with Jim’s dad in the American Pie series. It’s as if Dr. Wachler were trying to impress his daughters by fitting in with their friends and simultaneously explain to other adults the ins and outs of their kids’ subculture while using all same lingo. I found it painful.
It’s also hard to look past the author’s penchant to seemingly brag about his own grandiosity as an influencer (I hate that term even more than I did prior to reading this). Sure, he has a ton of followers and found his online niche creating content. Yes, that probably does make him a prime candidate to write a book like this. But it comes across as clumsily self absorbed rather than authoritative.
Further, the tone of this book is awkward, the message flip flops all too often from juvenile to academic (all the worse for how educated and intelligent the author is), and the reverence for the most popular social media stars is cringey if not outright toxic. To top it all off, the overuse of Gen Z slang is infuriating. Ultimately it will cause this book to age extremely poorly. And if it doesn’t then I pity the society we’re all going to be living in.
Yet if you can stand all the negatives there are some highly redemptive moments. When the author puts his professional cap on (not the cap he constantly over-utilizes as his shtick) and presents empirical data tidily with the point he’s making the result is fantastic. There are excerpts I’ve shared with friends due to their impact. I just wish the book was composed with more of these.
I really can’t recommend this. Which is unfortunate because I thought it had a lot of promise. Too many chapters are skippable entirely and the good bits are too few and far between to be redemptive enough.
It’s also hard to look past the author’s penchant to seemingly brag about his own grandiosity as an influencer (I hate that term even more than I did prior to reading this). Sure, he has a ton of followers and found his online niche creating content. Yes, that probably does make him a prime candidate to write a book like this. But it comes across as clumsily self absorbed rather than authoritative.
Further, the tone of this book is awkward, the message flip flops all too often from juvenile to academic (all the worse for how educated and intelligent the author is), and the reverence for the most popular social media stars is cringey if not outright toxic. To top it all off, the overuse of Gen Z slang is infuriating. Ultimately it will cause this book to age extremely poorly. And if it doesn’t then I pity the society we’re all going to be living in.
Yet if you can stand all the negatives there are some highly redemptive moments. When the author puts his professional cap on (not the cap he constantly over-utilizes as his shtick) and presents empirical data tidily with the point he’s making the result is fantastic. There are excerpts I’ve shared with friends due to their impact. I just wish the book was composed with more of these.
I really can’t recommend this. Which is unfortunate because I thought it had a lot of promise. Too many chapters are skippable entirely and the good bits are too few and far between to be redemptive enough.
May 18, 2023
Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler is an influencer. He has a following on social media and creates content for those people. The likes and comments give him a hit of dopamine, which triggers a feeling of pleasure.
It’s a relief to find definitions for these words that Wachler uses since I am not in the loop. I don’t follow influencers. It is a carefully crafted facade that I present to the outside world. I suppose I am Gen X, but again, I don’t know.
I believe this man is on TikTok, but I am not sure. I don’t have a social media other than Goodreads. Wachler goes over the problems associated with social media. Rabid fans, relative anonymity, and a disconnect from the person you target make it easy to ruin someone’s life.
The book has some flaws, but I don’t think it deserves the aggregate score it received. I enjoyed the book. Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.
It’s a relief to find definitions for these words that Wachler uses since I am not in the loop. I don’t follow influencers. It is a carefully crafted facade that I present to the outside world. I suppose I am Gen X, but again, I don’t know.
I believe this man is on TikTok, but I am not sure. I don’t have a social media other than Goodreads. Wachler goes over the problems associated with social media. Rabid fans, relative anonymity, and a disconnect from the person you target make it easy to ruin someone’s life.
The book has some flaws, but I don’t think it deserves the aggregate score it received. I enjoyed the book. Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.
December 11, 2022
This would've been a better reader if I was a fan of the author previous to reading this book. He went over several of his more popular tiktok post and gave a behind the scenes look at his content, but as I had never heard of the cap doctor or whatever he calls himself I found those parts of the book less interesting. Some thought provoking subjects, but overall just okay
March 6, 2024
I thought the topic of this book seemed interesting but boy was it a FIGHT to finish. The author is a medical doctor, not a writer, and this is evident in his prose.
May 7, 2023
As said in other reviews, this book would have been better if marketed correctly. The first half of the book I enjoyed; the second half not so much. I was looking for content about how we are influenced by social media, not how to become an influencer.
Frankly, I was also thrown off by Dr. Boxer's fluctuating word choice throughout the book. He makes a point of using Gen Z slang such as "cap", defining them repeatedly and even providing an index for them. There's an entire section of the index dedicated to emojis, for some reason, which... didn't make much sense to me. In contrast with the slang, he also occasionally throws in words that seem out of place. On page 176 (my copy), he inserts the Yiddish word for face ("punim") and, knowing his readers won't know what it means, puts the definition afterwards. Why did we need to sidetrack just so the author could prove he knows more than one word for face?
The author had a good message and his usage of personal examples is very effective; however, I just didn't enjoy this book as much as I could have.
Frankly, I was also thrown off by Dr. Boxer's fluctuating word choice throughout the book. He makes a point of using Gen Z slang such as "cap", defining them repeatedly and even providing an index for them. There's an entire section of the index dedicated to emojis, for some reason, which... didn't make much sense to me. In contrast with the slang, he also occasionally throws in words that seem out of place. On page 176 (my copy), he inserts the Yiddish word for face ("punim") and, knowing his readers won't know what it means, puts the definition afterwards. Why did we need to sidetrack just so the author could prove he knows more than one word for face?
The author had a good message and his usage of personal examples is very effective; however, I just didn't enjoy this book as much as I could have.
February 1, 2023
Was expecting more
The book starts off good but after the middle chapters is slowly dies off and becomes a waste of time to read. It did not give me the satisfaction I was expecting with such a title.
The book starts off good but after the middle chapters is slowly dies off and becomes a waste of time to read. It did not give me the satisfaction I was expecting with such a title.
August 15, 2023
I did enjoy parts but the subtitle never came to fruition and it was a bit repetitive
July 23, 2025
If I could ask Dr. Brian a question about this book, it would be "who did you write this for?" Initially, based on the description on the back of the book itself, you would think that this was a book about how social media influences all of us on a day to day basis without us knowing. Right? Wrong. This book is not about that because the second half of it exclusively focuses on how to become an influencer. Dr. Brian claims to be this insider into the world of 'influencing' who is here to tell you the innermost secrets of this dark world of social media. Except it's not really about that because he also goes into great detail about how terribly addictive social media is while also giving you a step by step guide on how to increase your follower count. Wait, what?
Dr. Brian considers himself to be part of this quasi Coast Guard type group of medical professionals who gatekeep and protect the innocent minds of kids and teens on TikTok by basically debunking misinformation in a 'playful' manner. So this book is geared towards teens, right? The main audience is the teens right? Wrong. Because Dr. Brian also goes to great lengths to define such terms as 'merch', 'fapping', 'profile photo', 'cap' and so on, terms that teenagers who use social media most definitely know and understand. So who is this book for, Dr. Brian?
The author also *loves* talking about himself. Did you know that he is famous on social media and TikTok? Did you know that he has followers who defend him on other people's posts? Did you know that his followers implicitly trust him and call upon his wit when faced with information they do not know is cap or not cap? Did you know that he sells merch? It is genuinely eye rolling at best and infuriating at worst.
This book is incredibly frustrating because it is so shallow and so ridiculously superficial. This feels like it was written by an alien who went on TikTok for a couple of days and presumed that that's all there is to know about human social media. It also has WAY too many typos and spelling mistakes. I borrowed this physical copy of this book from a library so it wasn't a Kindle format or anything like that.
Here is the most infuriating aspect of this book: Dr. Brian will do this thing where he will start talking about an interesting topic such as how Alexa and Amazon implicitly invade people's privacy by listening in on conversations and providing them with ads about the exact thing they were talking about. That's pretty crazy, right? He should start explaining how Amazon and Facebook use trackers and cookies across multiple platforms to build a profile and make assumptions about what you are likely to purchase and ... yeah, no, how about Dr. Brian's 10 don'ts when you're trying to become an influencer, eh? With number one being don't be mean to people on social media because that means you're a bad person! And nobody likes mean people! Also did you know that Dr. Brian is famous on TikTok? Did I mention that yet? That's not cap!
There is also an entire chapter dedicated to something he calls a "wokeness meter" and how cancel culture is bad because everyone made homophobic or racist jokes in the past, right? As long as you're sorry, who cares, right! It's free speech! Do you have something to tell us, Dr. Brian? Because it sure feels you're projecting here. I immediately shut down anyone who starts talking about how Universities no longer accept free speech and how homophobic, sexist and racist jokes are just people being funny! How else are people supposed to be funny if you take away their ability to make homophobic and racist jokes, right? Yeah, say no more Dr. Brian.
This book was clearly written by Dr. Brian for Dr. Brian. This book is not meant to educate anyone because it is incredibly superficial. It doesn't go into any details about how our entire lives are tracked on social media by these giant corporations such as Facebook, how TikTok mines users and collects insane amounts of data, how the algorithms are specifically tailored to be addictive to teenagers, how the rise of generative AI is dumbing down the next generations, nah. This is a pseudo informative book that is meant to stroke Dr. Brian's ego and was more than likely written simply for him to make more money off of his followers. And that's not cap!
Dr. Brian considers himself to be part of this quasi Coast Guard type group of medical professionals who gatekeep and protect the innocent minds of kids and teens on TikTok by basically debunking misinformation in a 'playful' manner. So this book is geared towards teens, right? The main audience is the teens right? Wrong. Because Dr. Brian also goes to great lengths to define such terms as 'merch', 'fapping', 'profile photo', 'cap' and so on, terms that teenagers who use social media most definitely know and understand. So who is this book for, Dr. Brian?
The author also *loves* talking about himself. Did you know that he is famous on social media and TikTok? Did you know that he has followers who defend him on other people's posts? Did you know that his followers implicitly trust him and call upon his wit when faced with information they do not know is cap or not cap? Did you know that he sells merch? It is genuinely eye rolling at best and infuriating at worst.
This book is incredibly frustrating because it is so shallow and so ridiculously superficial. This feels like it was written by an alien who went on TikTok for a couple of days and presumed that that's all there is to know about human social media. It also has WAY too many typos and spelling mistakes. I borrowed this physical copy of this book from a library so it wasn't a Kindle format or anything like that.
Here is the most infuriating aspect of this book: Dr. Brian will do this thing where he will start talking about an interesting topic such as how Alexa and Amazon implicitly invade people's privacy by listening in on conversations and providing them with ads about the exact thing they were talking about. That's pretty crazy, right? He should start explaining how Amazon and Facebook use trackers and cookies across multiple platforms to build a profile and make assumptions about what you are likely to purchase and ... yeah, no, how about Dr. Brian's 10 don'ts when you're trying to become an influencer, eh? With number one being don't be mean to people on social media because that means you're a bad person! And nobody likes mean people! Also did you know that Dr. Brian is famous on TikTok? Did I mention that yet? That's not cap!
There is also an entire chapter dedicated to something he calls a "wokeness meter" and how cancel culture is bad because everyone made homophobic or racist jokes in the past, right? As long as you're sorry, who cares, right! It's free speech! Do you have something to tell us, Dr. Brian? Because it sure feels you're projecting here. I immediately shut down anyone who starts talking about how Universities no longer accept free speech and how homophobic, sexist and racist jokes are just people being funny! How else are people supposed to be funny if you take away their ability to make homophobic and racist jokes, right? Yeah, say no more Dr. Brian.
This book was clearly written by Dr. Brian for Dr. Brian. This book is not meant to educate anyone because it is incredibly superficial. It doesn't go into any details about how our entire lives are tracked on social media by these giant corporations such as Facebook, how TikTok mines users and collects insane amounts of data, how the algorithms are specifically tailored to be addictive to teenagers, how the rise of generative AI is dumbing down the next generations, nah. This is a pseudo informative book that is meant to stroke Dr. Brian's ego and was more than likely written simply for him to make more money off of his followers. And that's not cap!
January 25, 2023
This book is an *early* manual on how 'influencers' and 'consumers' of social media can get a handle on this ubiquitous, inescapable, and *very* addictive activity while retaining some semblance of "control" over their habits.
FACT: The insanity is not going away. It would have been curbed by now by governments (like China) or institutions (like university campuses and schools) or corporate employers. Instead users and 'content creators' continue to spend 2+ hours per day on social media, oftentimes while "multitasking"... like watching Netflix or driving a vehicle 😳 Individuals (and their parents) are largely left to fend for themselves and their families in moderating screen time. This WILL NOT change with any enforceable legislation. This is one of the core themes of this book.
Secondly, much like "Software is eating the world," social media is eating the world of entertainment, infotainment, reality TV, education, and hard news 📰 Consumers are switching off cable and streaming services in favor of YouTube indie channel content creators. Entertainment studios feel the pinch and are consolidating to fight for a share of an evershrinking pie by converging to the lowest common denominator (read: MCU, Star Wars, etc); meanwhile, the "long tail" of indie content continues to explode and improve in quality. AI tools will only accelerate this trend. Social media "stars" now rival traditional media stars. The lines of media vs social media are getting blurred. This is a second theme of this book.
PREDICTION 🔮 Businesses will build a brand first and then deliver products (like "Mr Beast" is doing). Politicians will be social media celebrities FIRST, and *then* run for office. Donald Trump, AOC, and Bernie Sanders have already mastered this art as "early adopters." But the next crop of politicians will HAVE TO become celebrities first to compete against their celebrity political opponents. "Social media" will simply become "media" and be the common pathway for most success stories in personal branding, from business ventures to politics.
There will be many more (and better) books on this cultural transition 📚
FACT: The insanity is not going away. It would have been curbed by now by governments (like China) or institutions (like university campuses and schools) or corporate employers. Instead users and 'content creators' continue to spend 2+ hours per day on social media, oftentimes while "multitasking"... like watching Netflix or driving a vehicle 😳 Individuals (and their parents) are largely left to fend for themselves and their families in moderating screen time. This WILL NOT change with any enforceable legislation. This is one of the core themes of this book.
Secondly, much like "Software is eating the world," social media is eating the world of entertainment, infotainment, reality TV, education, and hard news 📰 Consumers are switching off cable and streaming services in favor of YouTube indie channel content creators. Entertainment studios feel the pinch and are consolidating to fight for a share of an evershrinking pie by converging to the lowest common denominator (read: MCU, Star Wars, etc); meanwhile, the "long tail" of indie content continues to explode and improve in quality. AI tools will only accelerate this trend. Social media "stars" now rival traditional media stars. The lines of media vs social media are getting blurred. This is a second theme of this book.
PREDICTION 🔮 Businesses will build a brand first and then deliver products (like "Mr Beast" is doing). Politicians will be social media celebrities FIRST, and *then* run for office. Donald Trump, AOC, and Bernie Sanders have already mastered this art as "early adopters." But the next crop of politicians will HAVE TO become celebrities first to compete against their celebrity political opponents. "Social media" will simply become "media" and be the common pathway for most success stories in personal branding, from business ventures to politics.
There will be many more (and better) books on this cultural transition 📚
December 4, 2022
Dr. Wachler is a physician/influencer known for fact-checking on social media, especially on TikTok. He creates videos to educate people on social media to improve their critical thinking skills so that they can differentiate misinformation and disinformation from facts. The author introduces a concept name Perceptional Intelligence. PI signifies a person's ability to know when to follow the action of a large group versus heading off on their own. In other words, it means independent critical thinking and decision-making capacity. In his analysis, Dr. Wachler used multiple reliable sources and his interviews with successful influencers from different groups and professions. I personally, enjoyed and learned a lot from the first ten chapters of the book. In the last two chapters, the author discusses topics such as "how to be a good influencer" and the like, which I think are not worth reading as much as the previous ones. Overall, I recommend Influenced to everyone, especially young influencers and teenagers.
March 16, 2023
I'm so sick and tired of the constant barrage of hyperbolic fake news coming from my echo chamber. And while I'm not as addicted as some - I still watch a YouTube or two a day. Developing and maintaining our ability to think critically DEMANDS that we recognize our influencers and listen with a cynical ear that practices verification. Influenced unpacks what happens to our brains and our behaviors each time we click "Like"; follow an influencer; consume a video; share or reshare an article; post or repost a photograph; write a comment; pile on a trend;; just scroll for new content; and why do we keep coming back for more.
February 21, 2023
The book is well written with fun modern language to help keep up with the times (fast evolving social media world). The problem I had with the book was who is the intended audience? It goes from being a book for inspiring influencers to a parent’s guide to social media to a neurobiology book on the effects of social media consumptions.
January 13, 2024
Selected chapters were an easy one-sitting read. It is mind opening to realise how much society has been influenced by herd mentality to get on socmed. People with less than desirable EQ and self-discipline are the ones that suffer most from this..myself included at one point. Gradually desensitizing is crucially key to create multiple personas for the self. A good book for reality check.
February 23, 2023
Mid. Felt pretentious and forced. I don't think people say "cap" that much anymore. I wished the book was either academic (take out all the hundreds of attempts at slang) or a memoir. Dr. Wachler tried for the middle ground and didn't succeed. There were a few interesting tidbits.
May 25, 2023
I don’t think the book goes deep enough into explaining things, but I appreciate that the author incorporates their own experiences with social media and seems to show a genuine care for the younger generation, which I think should read this the most.
June 19, 2023
The blurb is very misleading - I expected this to be more focused on the psychological/behavioral aspects of how social media affects us and this generation as a whole. Informative book but not what I expected.
December 4, 2024
Throughout the book, I appreciated the science and exploration of how human brains and perceptions are significantly altered by the overindulgence of social media. However, the author's analysis was occasionally underminded by a pattern of inconsistencies.
May 27, 2022
This book holds some good points in its pages. Lots of here is what I found to be true scenarios that may or may not help you.
October 26, 2022
3.5 Stars
December 4, 2022
Interesting but not what I expected.
March 17, 2023
This one provided enough insight for me to re-evaluate my relationship with social media and implement some much-needed boundaries.
January 31, 2024
🎧- stop scrolling
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews