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Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Politics & Social Sciences, Social Sciences
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Publisher's Summary
Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now is a timely call-to-arms from a Silicon Valley pioneer.
You might have trouble imagining life without your social media accounts, but virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier insists that we’re better off without them. In his important new audiobook, Lanier, who participates in no social media, offers powerful and personal reasons for all of us to leave these dangerous online platforms behind before it’s too late.
Lanier’s reasons for freeing ourselves from social media’s poisonous grip include its tendency to bring out the worst in us, to make politics terrifying, to trick us with illusions of popularity and success, to twist our relationship with the truth, to disconnect us from other people even as we are more “connected” than ever, to rob us of our free will with relentless targeted ads. How can we remain autonomous in a world where we are under continual surveillance and are constantly being prodded by algorithms run by some of the richest corporations in history that have no way of making money other than being paid to manipulate our behavior? How could the “benefits” of social media possibly outweigh the catastrophic losses to our personal dignity, happiness, and freedom?
Lanier remains a tech optimist, so while demonstrating the evil that rules social media business models today, he also envisions a humanistic setting for social networking that can direct us towards richer and fuller way of living and connecting with our world.
What the critics say
"Narrator Oliver Wyman brings his full complement of vocalizations to this polemic on social media and what it is doing to us. His cadence and delivery are spot-on...." (AudioFile Magazine)
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What listeners say about Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Patrick Daoust
- 2019-01-07
Concise and thoughtful
Well structured and thoughtful arguments written in plain English. I learned a lot reading this book, it gave me a broader picture of the Tech industry's current paradigm and how this is incompatible with people's needs.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Justice Martens
- 2018-11-19
Necessary Read for EVERY Millennial
Please consider taking an extended break from the “behaviour modification empires” which manipulate our data (and more than that) for personal gain. Experience freedom from the bondage of social media for awhile and see if you want your life uploaded afterwords. It’s a beautiful thing to be human.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Dan
- 2021-08-19
Nothing in life is free!
Admittedly a little ignorant heading into this book. I intuitively started abandoning social media 6 months prior. The arguments are salient and confirming.
The only issue I take with the book is the authors ideologies outside his expertise. Leave those opinions for coffee shop discussions.
I will be recommending this book to my teenagers.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2021-04-14
cat analogy was a little odd but loved it
wish it was narrated by Jaron, but still good. thought provoking. feel more informed after listening. thank you.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Utilisateur anonyme
- 2020-11-08
Honest, Insightful, and Informative
It's good to be aware of what is going on when you use social media. This was a great book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- M. B. O.
- 2020-10-20
Remarkably Thought Provoking
Truly exceptional title. It raises the most entertaining questions about the continuously changing digital landscape.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2020-07-05
please read this book!
fantastic book must read for everyone wish this was released years ago. thank you!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rally
- 2020-06-15
One of the most impactful books I’ve read
A must read for anyone who has a gut feeling that social media is doing more harm in your life than good. A lot of eye opening information from a Silicon Valley insider.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Dave
- 2020-03-27
informative enlightening aspects from an insider.
the information within is worth the listen. taking back our free will, will not happen until we all become educated and look at current social media methods and tactics seriously. recommend if only at least for the information. do with it what you want.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Biscuit
- 2019-02-24
I’m pretty much rethinking being on social media
But, it has its hooks in me. I’ve got major fomo, and I’m addicted to the sense of connection social media gives. But after listening to this book, I’m ready for a change and ready to turn off my social connection.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Craig D. Lawrence Jr.
- 2020-06-23
Hatred for Trump Interferes with book
I really enjoyed the premise of quitting social media. It’s fascinating and horrifying what Facebook and others know about their users. However, the author’s hatred of Trump just dragged on to the extent that it took away from what would have otherwise been a good book. By the last several chapters, it became so much that I decided to write one of my few reviews because it really succumbed to what is wrong with social media by doing this.
46 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- troy
- 2019-12-30
Great topic, but too much of authors politics.
It's unfortunate that with such an intriguing topic, the author kills his own message with him anti-Trump, anti-conservative messages. Does EVERYTHING a liberal does have to tie in Trump? Jesus, all I wanted was to hear/read about the shadyness of behavior modification as I am detaching as well, but I get 5 hours of political behavior modification.
39 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Zack Orr
- 2018-06-26
One of the most important books in recent history
This should be required listening before anyone is allowed to use social media. It is clear that the author is a liberal so conservative listeners may be put off....BUT, politics aside, everything he says regarding social media not only rings true but is backed up with scientific studies. You should get this book “right now.”
21 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Corey Webb Stone
- 2020-08-22
Radical Left Ideology
This book started off great, but quickly spun into a Trump hating and far left ideology word vomit. Sad. I love the direction this book had in the beginning with great content, but am disheartened that this book is exactly what it preaches against. Can people not write without having to give their political views on a topic that shouldn’t require political views? Pretty sure it’s the left that controls people through social media anyways. Don’t listen unless you are a snowflake.
16 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Christopher Edgar
- 2019-01-05
Wow... wow... WOW. A MUST listen/read for everyone
As a Technologist myself, I’ve seen personally how social media and it’s algorithms can destroy lifelong friendships and even my own marriage. This is the first book I’ve come across that coherently and very effectively describes all the main challenges and the damage social media platforms are causing our society simply because of s faulty business model. I strongly suggest anyone with a social media account of any type read or listen to this book before carrying on in their online life. Lastly, I would like the author, Jaron Lanier, for taking the time to publish this amazing piece of work. I agree with you on all points and thank you for your contribution to helping make our world a better place.
13 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Necessity Lorelei
- 2019-09-23
Propaganda filled with no intelligent arguments.
I wanted to like this book. I like everyone else know that social media has a dark side. I wanted well researched, formulated, arguments. An intelligent book that speaks to what we know and has references. This book is not that type of book. It tells you what you already know, all while the author points out his influential friends, his morality and pushes his own biases. He talks to you as if your an obstinate child with a low IQ. I felt it had only one good point that social media has the intention to exploit your data to make you a better consumer...and yet we all knew that before buying this book.
This is the first book I have ever returned to audible. The propaganda lace drivel has annoyed me to the point of me making my money speak my opinion for me.
21 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robert
- 2018-07-26
Thoughtful and persuasive
This is a provocative summary of some powerful arguments against using social media as they are presently organized. Very well worth a listen.
7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- vmp
- 2018-08-17
Must Read
Wake up humanity to this reality check. Listen carefully to the arguments and make a decision that will benefit you, your loved ones, and your “friends”.
5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- GiaJulianA
- 2018-08-18
Compelling, must read!
Very cogent arguments by Jaron Lanier. What's the adage, you never get something for nothing? Society has sacrificed too much so that a few technocrats profit, capitalizing on negativity, and manipulating our everyday experiences. The end result is bitter tribalism which ups engagement. Irony is that perhaps the outrage that keeps us hooked might only exist inside the SM matrix, but is spilling over with real world consequences.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Allie Iacobelli
- 2020-08-25
Surprised by how slow & dry it is; not convincing.
I purchased this title WANTING to be convinced; I've been on the fence about whether I should remove social media from my life entirely for quite a while, and while I suspect it that would have an overall positive impact in my life, I'm a very scientific/fact-driven person and I want to weigh all of the evidence and data, and based on the description given of the book, This sounded like the perfect place to start.
I was on board for the first several arguments, but soon realized that in order to follow the entire book, you actually need to memorize the several acronyms used - maybe if I was reading the physical edition and could highlight, take notes, and easily flip back to reference all the acronyms, definitions, and niche vocabulary introduced, I could've followed better.
For instance, early on, the author's defines a "B.U.M.M.E.R" and the way you remember what a BUMMER is, is that a bummer will always A.B.C.D.E.F - I understood all of this information and exactly what the author was trying to convey and define.
From that point on, however, pretty much every paragraph contains the phrase "BUMMER" - while the author uses the word as a verb and a noun. Since this is a phrase you've just learned, when you hear the word 'bummer', you're still going to go to your context of 'bummer' in your head, not the authors - and then you remember it's this BUMMER, but what was the criteria for something to be a BUMMER? ABCDEF? The "arguments" get increasingly repetitive as you go on, most varying slightly from each other; the evidence given is all common sense/common knowledge, not the hard facts I was looking for. Again, I think if I read it and could flip back and maybe take some notes, I'd follow better and enjoy it. Definitely do not recommend as Audiobook though.
2 people found this helpful