It has long been believed that individual human memory has been strengthened by the storage, representational, reproductive, and connective capacities of technologies and media. However, such views of how memory works are being challenged amidst today''s digital maelstrom. In particular, the Internet, and social media platforms, have profoundly transformed the ways individuals receive, store, share, and lose information. Memory has become more externalized, dialogical, and transactive, yet at the same time, unwieldy, opaque, and inaccessible.In The Remaking of Memory in the Age of the Internet and Social Media, Qi Wang and Andrew Hoskins have assembled scholars from cognitive psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, and media and communication studies to synthesize emerging social and cognitive science research on the impact of the Internet and social media on remembering and forgetting. They probe whether human memory is being threatened by a shift from a healthy reliance to a dependency on digital media and technologies. The book illuminates theoretical and empirical research which shows the consequences of human entanglements with the Internet and social media for memory representation, expression, and socialization in individuals and the implications for the family, community, and society. Gathering the leading international scholars of Memory Studies together, this volume offers a new interdisciplinary agenda of inquiry into the digital remaking of individual, collective, and cultural memory.
Industry Reviews
"Do the internet and social media enhance or obliterate human memory? Is memory even the same thing as it has been in the past? Should we be optimistic or pessimistic about prospects for the future? How do the new media affect our personal memories and our very identity? These are just some of the fundamental questions addressed in this volume. Starting with a fascinating dialogue between the editors--two of the world's leaders in memory studies, the volume
presents a landmark discussion that promises to have a major impact for years to come." --James V. Wertsch, David R. Francis Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis
"Over the past 25 years, social media and the internet have profoundly shaped the way memories are produced, recycled, archived, and retrieved. Wang & Hoskins' edited volume The Remaking of Memory in the Age of the Internet and Social Media addresses several 'burning' questions about what digital media 'do' to our personal and collective memories. A must-read for media scholars and, due to the interdisciplinarity of this team effort, a primer
for all academics from the humanities, social sciences, and neurosciences." --José van Dijck, Professor of Media and Digital Society, Utrecht University (NL)
"Questions regarding the nature of memory in the age of social media and the Internet have come to the forefront in several disciplines. This exciting interdisciplinary collection brings together leading experts who address these questions and set an agenda for future research. I highly recommend this essential volume to anyone interested in what memory is and where it is headed." --Daniel L. Schacter, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Psychology, Harvard
University, and author of The Seven Sins of Memory