Synopsis "Logging Off: The Human Cost of Our Digital World"
'You won't look at your screens in the same way after reading this book' Grace Blakeley, author of VULTURE CAPITALISM
'Logging Off is a life-saving book' Mikaela Loach, author of IT'S NOT THAT RADICAL
'A harrowing but important read' Carole Cadwalladr
We live in a digital world. In the 30 years since we've been online, we've created connections, crossed boundaries and discovered new worlds. We have done things generations before us could never have imagined.
But at what cost?
Growing up as a Gen Z, Adele spent endless hours as a teenager on social media, shaping her view of herself and the world. As a freelance journalist, she has used her social media platforms and digital technology to develop a career in an unfamiliar and competitive industry, benefitting from the opportunities that these spaces can offer. But after losing her sister to online harms, she realised that our current digital world is failing us.
We are an anxious and discontent generation. Our lived realities and our online vulnerabilities are inextricably linked, and this means big business for social media tycoons who want us to stay scrolling at any cost. As Big Tech barons make their billions, capitalising on our emotions, instincts, insecurities and desires, everyday people are losing out.
From workers being fired by algorithms, to online forums dedicated to revenge porn and encouraging suicide, to censorship of marginalised voices and the turbulent impacts of AI, Logging Off reveals that our digital world is currently fuelling crises that only empathy, agency and humanity can resolve. This book is a call for a radical reclamation of our digital world, for a more humane future that empowers us all.
'Poignant, timely and astute, Logging Off is a compelling examination of how our lives have been shaped - and irrevocably changed - by the rise of digital technologies' Yomi Adegoke, author of THE LIST
Not everyone could turn a horrific family tragedy into a smart, compulsive and urgent read about the dangers of social media, but this is exactly what Adele Walton has achieved with her much-needed book Logging Off. She blends together scientific and social research with personal experience to bring to life the impact social media has on all our lives. As the first generation to grow up with social media throughout their childhoods, we urgently need to listen to voices like Adele's if we are to tackle the harms of this technology, while also recognising the joys and connections the internet can bring. - Sian Norris, author of BODIES UNDER SIEGE
Logging Off is a deeply moving and powerfully argued expose of the technologies that have come to dominate our lives. Walton masterfully demonstrates that these technologies are not neutral - they are designed to enrich their owners and harm their users. You won't look at your screens in the same way after reading this book. - Grace Blakely, author of VULTURE CAPITALISM
Logging Off is a life-saving book. It's an essential deep-dive into the digital world that everyone needs to read. An important, fascinating, heart-filled page-turner of a debut. - Mikaela Loach, author of IT'S NOT THAT RADICAL
A harrowing but important read from a member of the rising generation of young people who've experienced first hand the dangers of out of control tech companies and killer algorithms. - Carole Cadwalladr, the Guardian
