Have you ever wondered what happened to public space? In the era of the smartphone, the simple yet crucial human act of relating to each other in the present moment has been nearly extinguished, with barely a whimper. In the cover story to our newest print issue, we stop to take stock of what’s actually going on in our public ways with a national visual survey of device use. Are people more distracted in Detroit or Denver? And what is the impact of this dissociative behavior?
Elsewhere in Issue 3, Art Keller debunks the myth of electronic medical records. If you thought digital technology was ushering in a new era of extraordinary health care, this article promises to disillusion you fairly quickly. One known way to improve health is to spend time in nature—just be careful how you post your pics. That’s one thing Veronica Dawson explores in an article about yet another unintended consequence of tech—wilderness trampled from copycat photo-takers.
Kentaro Toyama wonders where the true tech reform activists are, suggesting we need a watershed moment comparable to the exposé of the automobile industry by Ralph Nader. If there is a similar emerging figure, it may possibly be Shoshana Zuboff, whose epic book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism is nearly as audacious and comprehensive as the rapacious empire she confronts. That’s the subject of a review by Geoff Dutton, which is followed by an excerpt of the book itself.
As usual, these articles are not available on this website—they are only in our print edition, coming to a retailer near you within the next two weeks. Find The Technoskeptic at a handful of local shops around the country. Click here for the complete list. If you don’t see your favorite bookstore listed, ask them if they’ll carry it. We’re also proud and excited to announce that Issue 3 will be available nationally in all Barnes & Noble locations beginning June 24th. Of course, you can always subscribe to get Issue 3 and subsequent issues mailed directly to your door. We greatly need and appreciate your support. So thank you, and we hope you enjoy Issue 3!