"Mindf*ck goes deep inside Cambridge Analytica's "American operations," which were driven by Steve Bannon's vision to remake America and fueled by mysterious billionaire Robert Mercer's money, as it weaponized and wielded the massive store of data it had harvested on individuals--in excess of 87 million--to disunite the United States and set Americans against each other. Bannon had long sensed that deep within America's soul lurked an explosive tension....

"The first full account of the Slenderman stabbing, a true crime narrative of mental illness, the American judicial system, the trials of adolescence, and the power of the internet. On May 31, 2014, in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha, Wisconsin, two twelve-year-old girls attempted to stab their classmate to death. Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier's violence was extreme, but what seemed even more frightening was that they committed their crime under...

"Social media can be used for good or for evil. In 2018, organizers of the March for Our Lives used social media to bring roughly 500,000 people to Washington, DC, to peacefully protest against gun violence--a powerful example of how social media can be used for good. But the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021 showed just as powerfully how social media can also be used for evil. Behavioral addiction is a mental health condition in which a person...

"The enigmatic billionaire founder of Tetration, the world's most powerful tech company, hires a failed novelist, Josh Cohen, to ghostwrite his memoirs. The mogul, known as Principal, brings Josh behind the digital veil, tracing the rise of Tetration, which started in the earliest days of the Internet by revolutionizing the search engine before venturing into smartphones, computers, and the surveillance of American citizens. Principal takes Josh on...

Lanier offers powerful and personal reasons for all of us to leave the dangers of online platforms behind. He has seen their tendency to bring out the worst in us, to make politics terrifying, to trick us with illusions of popularity and success, to twist our relationship with the truth, to disconnect us from other people. And he asks: How could the benefits of social media possibly outweigh the catastrophic losses to our personal dignity, happiness,...

"Sexting, cyberbullying, revenge porn, online predators... all of these potential threats can tempt parents to snatch the smartphone or tablet right out of their children's hands. While avoidance might eliminate the dangers, that approach also means your child misses out on technology's many benefits and opportunities. This book is packed with at-home discussion topics and enjoyable activities that any busy family can slip into their daily routine....

Internet philosopher Weinberger shows how business, science, education, and the government are learning to use networked knowledge to understand more than ever and to make smarter decisions than they could when they had to rely on mere books and experts.