The Virtual Self

 The new radically social habit of tracking our behaviours and preferences is booming. From Facebook timelines to Google Navigator to Twitter, we generate enormous amounts of online data about our activities: where we go, what we do, how we feel. In The Virtual Self, journalist Nora Young examines this growing phenomenon of self-tracking - why it's compulsive, its attractions and benefits, the dangers surrounding privacy and information control, and moreover, what it means for our sense of self.
     Fascinating and entertaining, and offering unique insights into our emerging technological culture, The Virtual Self takes the personal, psychological reality of everything from smart phones to social networking and teases out the increasing impact of the virtual information we all produce on the real world around us.

"Thoughtful and engaging." Winnipeg Free Press

"A book bursting with exciting and occasionally alarming ideas. The Virtual Self is a must read." Rabble.caNORA YOUNG is the host and creator of Spark, a show about technology and culture that airs nationally on CBC Radio. She was the founding host of Definitely Not the Opera, where she first began writing and broadcasting about technologically mediated change. She is fascinated with the intersection of technology and culture, and in particular how technology shapes the way we see ourselves, and each other. She lives in Toronto.