“If you’ve ever wondered why you can’t stop drunk tweeting or stick to your commitment to delete Facebook from your phone, Stedman’s book might help you feel better about—and maybe even better understand—your behavior.”
Month: October 2020
Foreword Reviews
“The online world has infiltrated the daily lives of billions of people in such a short amount of time. But what exactly is happening in the minds of so many social media users? . . . Stedman is at ease in the existential, both digitally and [offline, and] IRL is a fascinating contribution to this all-important conversation.”
Largehearted Boy
“IRL is a profound and necessary exploration of our identities online and how we interact with each other.”
Sarah Jones
“IRL is a beautiful, honest book, a true balm for my Twitter-addled brain.”
BuzzFeed Books
“A must-read for anyone who’s condemned the internet for creating huge social disconnect, and everyone whose lived experiences prove otherwise. Stedman explores the many ways people form meaningful relationships and reveal their authentic selves through social media and forums—often with more success and freedom than in their ‘real’ lives. Which brings me to an especially salient point—that this distinction between our digital and physical lives is an antiquated one, and both are equally real.”
Input Mag
“A book that will change the online (and offline) you.”
Rewire
“[IRL] is erudite yet highly readable, a deeply confessional memoir that mixes philosophy with pop culture and media studies.”
Life After God
“Much of the time, [Stedman] says, we don’t think of our time on the internet as real, and therefore we don’t approach it with the same critical analysis that we might a different kind of engagement. How much thought do you put into an activity that you don’t think is real? [Stedman] argues that while our lives online are different, [the internet] is no less real. As such he invites us to think deeply and critically about how we engage with the internet, how it is shaping us, and what it’s telling us about what is real and what is important.”
The Loft
“In Stedman’s new book, IRL, he cements his position as a powerful cultural critic and gifted author.”
Library Journal
“Stedman remains accessible as he places himself into this technological yet jargon-free narrative; anyone looking to learn more about digital culture and its impact on society will be interested in and able to follow the concepts the author puts forth.”