Read more
The Smartphone Paradox is a critical examination of our everyday mobile technologies and the effects that they have on our thoughts and behaviors. Alan J. Reid presents a comprehensive view of smartphones: the research behind the uses and gratifications of smartphones, the obstacles they present, the opportunities they afford, and how everyone can achieve a healthy, technological balance. It includes interviews with smartphone users from a variety of backgrounds, and translates scholarly research into a conversational tone, making it easy to understand a synthesis of key findings and conclusions from a heavily-researched domain. All in all, through the lens of smartphone dependency, the book makes the argument for digital mindfulness in a device age that threatens our privacy, sociability, attention, and cognitive abilities.
List of contents
1. Introduction.- 2. A Brief History of the Smartphone.- 3. Habit-Making Devices.- 4. Use. Gratify. Repeat.- 5. Outsourcing Memory.- 6. Digital Socialites.- 7. Going Dark.- 8. Conclusion.
About the author
Alan J. Reid is Assistant Professor of First-Year Writing and Instructional Technologies at Coastal Carolina University, USA, where he teaches English and New Media courses. He also works in the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University, USA as an Evaluation Analyst.
Summary
The Smartphone Paradox is a critical examination of our everyday mobile technologies and the effects that they have on our thoughts and behaviors. Alan J. Reid presents a comprehensive view of smartphones: the research behind the uses and gratifications of smartphones, the obstacles they present, the opportunities they afford, and how everyone can achieve a healthy, technological balance. It includes interviews with smartphone users from a variety of backgrounds, and translates scholarly research into a conversational tone, making it easy to understand a synthesis of key findings and conclusions from a heavily-researched domain. All in all, through the lens of smartphone dependency, the book makes the argument for digital mindfulness in a device age that threatens our privacy, sociability, attention, and cognitive abilities.
