Wasting Time On The Internet

The Art of Mindless Surfing

By: Kenneth Goldsmith

Write A Review

Paperback | 24 October 2016

At a Glance

Paperback
256 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
26.5 x 24 x 2

Paperback

RRP $33.98

$32.50

or 4 interest-free payments of $8.13 with

Aims to ship in 10 to 15 business days

KENNETH GOLDSMITH WANTS YOU TO RETHINK THE INTERNET . . .

Many people feel guilty after spending hours watching cat videos or clicking link after link after link. But renowned conceptual artist and poet Kenneth Goldsmith sees that “wasted” time differently. Unlike old media, the Internet demands active engagement and it’s actually making us more social, more creative, even more productive.

When Goldsmith introduced a class at the University of Pennsylvania called “Wasting Time on the Internet,” he nearly broke the Internet. The New Yorker, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Slate, Vice, Time, CNN, The Telegraph, and many more ran articles expressing shock, dismay, and, ultimately, curiosity. Goldsmith’s ideas struck a nerve because they are brilliantly subversive and endlessly shareable.

In Wasting Time on the Internet, Goldsmith expands on his provocative insights, contending that our digital lives are remaking human experience. When we’re “wasting time,” we’re actually creating a culture of collaboration. We’re reading and writing more and quite differently. And we’re turning concepts of authority and authenticity upside down. The Internet puts us in a state between deep focus and subconscious flow, a state that Goldsmith argues is ideal for creativity. Where that creativity takes us will be one of the stories of the twenty-first century.

About the Author

Kenneth Goldsmith is a conceptual artist, and the first poet laureate of the Museum of Modern Art. He is the author of Seven American Deaths and Disasters and the book of essays Uncreative Writing, breaking down the art form he pioneered. Goldsmith teaches at the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught the controversial “Wasting Time on the Internet” class that inspired this book. He lives in New York with artist Cheryl Donegan and their two sons.

Industry Reviews

For decades, Kenneth Goldsmith has forced us to question what constitutes and what does not constitute art. In Wasting Time on the Internet, he demonstrates persuasively and precisely the myriad ways in which the web undergirds contemporary art and ambitious contemporary art engages seriously with the implications of the web. -- David Shields, author of Reality Hunger: A Manifesto "The Internet made the world an intelligence and vastly increased my own. I got my theory from Hawthorne's House of the Seven Gables, Wells' World Brain and McLuhan, but now I have the Internet instruction book: Wasting Time on the Internet. It's also a pretty good history of the future." -- Glenn O'Brien, author of The Style Guy and How To Be a Man "Deeply versed in avant garde and surreal modes of seeing and playing in the so-called "real world," Goldsmith proves a brilliant guide to the worlds we describe as digital or virtual. It's pure pleasure to browse and surf and swipe and poke at contemporary tech culture in his company." -- Rob Walker, co-editor Significant Objects "Entertaining, vividly written investigation of the ways people interact with the web... Goldsmith maintains a sharp focus as he weaves together wildly diverse ideas, explaining new information clearly for a general audience." -- Publishers Weekly "A persuasive argument about how what conventional wisdom dismisses as "wasting time" is actually time well spent" -- Kirkus Reviews

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.