100 Things We've Lost to the Internet
- Downloads：3182
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-10-28 03:19:01
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Pamela Paul
- ISBN：0593136772
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
The acclaimed editor of The New York Times Book Review takes readers on a nostalgic tour of the pre-Internet age， offering powerful insights into both the profound and the seemingly trivial things we've lost。
Remember all those ingrained habits， cherished ideas， beloved objects， and stubborn preferences from the pre-Internet age？ They're gone。
To some of those things we can say good riddance。 But many we miss terribly。 Whatever our emotional response to this departed realm， we are faced with the fact that nearly every aspect of modern life now takes place in filtered， isolated corners of cyberspace--a space that has slowly subsumed our physical habitats， replacing or transforming the office， our local library， a favorite bar， the movie theater， and the coffee shop where people met one another's gaze from across the room。 Even as we've gained the ability to gather without leaving our house， many of the fundamentally human experiences that have sustained us have disappeared。
In one hundred glimpses of that pre-Internet world， Pamela Paul， editor of The New York Times Book Review， presents a captivating record， enlivened with illustrations， of the world before cyberspace--from voicemails to blind dates to punctuation to civility。 There are the small losses: postcards， the blessings of an adolescence largely spared of documentation， the Rolodex， and the genuine surprises at high school reunions。 But there are larger repercussions， too: weaker memories， the inability to entertain oneself， and the utter demolition of privacy。
100 Things We've Lost to the Internet is at once an evocative swan song for a disappearing era and， perhaps， a guide to reclaiming just a little bit more of the world IRL。
Remember all those ingrained habits， cherished ideas， beloved objects， and stubborn preferences from the pre-Internet age？ They're gone。
To some of those things we can say good riddance。 But many we miss terribly。 Whatever our emotional response to this departed realm， we are faced with the fact that nearly every aspect of modern life now takes place in filtered， isolated corners of cyberspace--a space that has slowly subsumed our physical habitats， replacing or transforming the office， our local library， a favorite bar， the movie theater， and the coffee shop where people met one another's gaze from across the room。 Even as we've gained the ability to gather without leaving our house， many of the fundamentally human experiences that have sustained us have disappeared。
In one hundred glimpses of that pre-Internet world， Pamela Paul， editor of The New York Times Book Review， presents a captivating record， enlivened with illustrations， of the world before cyberspace--from voicemails to blind dates to punctuation to civility。 There are the small losses: postcards， the blessings of an adolescence largely spared of documentation， the Rolodex， and the genuine surprises at high school reunions。 But there are larger repercussions， too: weaker memories， the inability to entertain oneself， and the utter demolition of privacy。
100 Things We've Lost to the Internet is at once an evocative swan song for a disappearing era and， perhaps， a guide to reclaiming just a little bit more of the world IRL。
Reviews
Bill
，
Pamela Paul’s 100 Things We’ve Lost to the Internet is an amiable， browsable series of brief essays exploring， usually though not always with a pang of regret， those things and actions made obsolete by the internet， such as phone calls， paper maps， filing， and more。 Or as she puts it in the introduction: “the things we achingly miss， the things we hardly knew existed， the things to which we can give a hard adios。”Paul also early on acknowledges that a number of these will be idiosyncratic losses Pamela Paul’s 100 Things We’ve Lost to the Internet is an amiable， browsable series of brief essays exploring， usually though not always with a pang of regret， those things and actions made obsolete by the internet， such as phone calls， paper maps， filing， and more。 Or as she puts it in the introduction: “the things we achingly miss， the things we hardly knew existed， the things to which we can give a hard adios。”Paul also early on acknowledges that a number of these will be idiosyncratic losses， defined by her own background: her age， her socio-economic status， etc。 She notes early on that “my own grievances reflect my experience as a Gen Xer … the priorities of a reader … the hopes and anxieties of a mother of three in New York。” She also quickly forestalls any charges that she is a luddite; she happily recognizes the many benefits of the web， and even， with regard to some of the lost objects/acts， bids them farewell with a cheery “good-riddance。” The pieces themselves are brief， a few a mere couple of sentences or paragraphs with most coming in at 2-3 pages and mostly covering just what one （at least one of a certain age range） would expect。 Along with the above， that includes answering machines， getting lost， taking photographs， flea markets， old-style TV watching， etc。 There’s a sense therefore of familiarity to a number of the pieces， and I found my favorites were the more unexpected ones， such as ignoring people or solo travel。Their tone is mostly light and light-hearted， whimsical at times， self-deprecating at moments， sometimes funny， other times sad。 But the emotions are always moderate—never too high， never too low。 The writing is always clear and precise， the voice engaging and conversational， the pieces reading almost as a cross between an informal blog and more formal essays。 They mostly skim the surface， dipping a few times a bit deeper， but never for too long。 I did at times find myself wishing for a bit more substance， a deeper dive into the ramifications of what was lost。 But that’s clearly not Paul’s goal here so it can hardly be lodged as a writing critique， more a wistful “it would have been nice” desire， given just how smooth a writer she is。 Because of that， and the similarity in tone and subject， I’d recommend it be read over several days/nights rather than straight or nearly straight through。 And since there’s no grand arc， one can feel free to open up to whatever topic strikes their fancy。 Well written， well covered if not exhaustive in terms of content， a welcome wry and observant voice。 Recommended。 。。。more
Brianna
，
This isn’t my typical read but I’m glad I found it while scrolling through NetGalley。 Most of Paul’s list was way before my time， so I got to relive those while reading through the list。 Most of the things he discussed are important concepts， since we’ve slowly been losing certain aspects of life thanks to the Internet。
Katherine
，
Paul has an incredible list of "things" that have been lost to the internet-- in actuality many of the things are actually ideas or concepts。 In the list， a couple of my personal favorite items were the reminders of my using my grandparent's rotary phone and taking a picture with a camera。 Paul has a fun way of explaining the way things were and comparing it to them to technology of today。 This is a great book for young adults to perhaps explain 'quirks' they see from older generations。 It appea Paul has an incredible list of "things" that have been lost to the internet-- in actuality many of the things are actually ideas or concepts。 In the list， a couple of my personal favorite items were the reminders of my using my grandparent's rotary phone and taking a picture with a camera。 Paul has a fun way of explaining the way things were and comparing it to them to technology of today。 This is a great book for young adults to perhaps explain 'quirks' they see from older generations。 It appears that most of this book was written before the worldwide closures due to COVID-19。 In many ways the internet was not all that bad and made it possible to keep people connected during a trying time。 I am intrigued to see what （if any） edits are made in the published edition。 ***Thank you NetGalley for providing me with access to this e-preview。 This review is based on an ARC。*** 。。。more
Cynthia
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