Delete : The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age / Viktor Mayer-Schönberger.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mayer-Schönberger, Viktor, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Computer storage devices.

Internet--Social aspects.

Memory.

Persistence.

Local Subjects:

Computer storage devices.

Internet--Social aspects.

Memory.

Persistence.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (264 p.)

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2011]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Delete looks at the surprising phenomenon of perfect remembering in the digital age, and reveals why we must reintroduce our capacity to forget. Digital technology empowers us as never before, yet it has unforeseen consequences as well. Potentially humiliating content on Facebook is enshrined in cyberspace for future employers to see. Google remembers everything we've searched for and when. The digital realm remembers what is sometimes better forgotten, and this has profound implications for us all. In Delete, Viktor Mayer-Schönberger traces the important role that forgetting has played throughout human history, from the ability to make sound decisions unencumbered by the past to the possibility of second chances. The written word made it possible for humans to remember across generations and time, yet now digital technology and global networks are overriding our natural ability to forget--the past is ever present, ready to be called up at the click of a mouse. Mayer-Schönberger examines the technology that's facilitating the end of forgetting--digitization, cheap storage and easy retrieval, global access, and increasingly powerful software--and describes the dangers of everlasting digital memory, whether it's outdated information taken out of context or compromising photos the Web won't let us forget. He explains why information privacy rights and other fixes can't help us, and proposes an ingeniously simple solution--expiration dates on information--that may. Delete is an eye-opening book that will help us remember how to forget in the digital age.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Chapter I. Failing to Forget the "Drunken Pirate"

Chapter II. The Role of Remembering and the Importance of Forgetting

Chapter III. The Demise of Forgetting-and Its Drivers

Chapter IV. Of Power and Time-Consequences of the Demise of Forgetting

Chapter V. Potential Responses

Chapter VI. Reintroducing Forgetting

Chapter VII. Conclusions

Afterword to the Paperback Edition

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [231]-244) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Mai 2019)

ISBN:

9786613831705

9781283519250

1283519259

9781400838455

1400838452

OCLC:

733040192