Why am I passionate about this?

As a writer, designer, and technologist, I've always been fascinated by the extraordinary potential of the internet. Itā€™s our species' greatest invention to date, giving us powers our ancestors would have only dreamed of. But I'm equally aware of its darker side. We now live an inordinate amount of our lives in spaces controlled by algorithms that have strange agendas. A key part of my work is exposing how the subtle designs of our online spaces can dramatically change our emotions, making them much more contagious. By translating these insights into understandable narratives, my goal is to foster digital resilience, and help us take back some real measure of control of our digital lives.


I wrote

Outrage Machine: How Tech Amplifies Discontent, Disrupts Democracy--And What We Can Do about It

By Tobias Rose-Stockwell,

Book cover of Outrage Machine: How Tech Amplifies Discontent, Disrupts Democracy--And What We Can Do about It

What is my book about?

A book about how the internet has broken our brains, and how to fix it.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion

Tobias Rose-Stockwell Why did I love this book?

In my experience, this is the best book for understanding tribal dispositions in a conflict, and the morals inside your brain.

Haidt is a masterful writer who uses cutting-edge research and illustrative examples to show how society got so fracturedā€”and how we might be able to repair it. It was timely when it came out in 2012, and itā€™s only getting more relevant as the years go by.

By Jonathan Haidt,

Why should I read it?

16 authors picked The Righteous Mind as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A landmark contribution to humanity's understanding of itself' The New York Times

Why can it sometimes feel as though half the population is living in a different moral universe? Why do ideas such as 'fairness' and 'freedom' mean such different things to different people? Why is it so hard to see things from another viewpoint? Why do we come to blows over politics and religion?

Jonathan Haidt reveals that we often find it hard to get along because our minds are hardwired to be moralistic, judgemental and self-righteous. He explores how morality evolved to enable us to form communities, andā€¦


Book cover of The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads

Tobias Rose-Stockwell Why did I love this book?

This is an important read for understanding exactly how media operates in cycles of attentional capture and consumer pushback. It is a fascinating exploration of the history of attention extraction, and an inventory of the major shifts of how we as a society learn to deal with them. A fascinating and eye-opening read.

By Tim Wu,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked The Attention Merchants as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Attention merchant: an industrial-scale harvester of human attention. A firm whose business model is the mass capture of attention for resale to advertisers.
In nearly every moment of our waking lives, we face a barrage of advertising enticements, branding efforts, sponsored social media, commercials and other efforts to harvest our attention. Over the last century, few times or spaces have remained uncultivated by the 'attention merchants', contributing to the distracted, unfocused tenor of our times. Tim Wu argues that this is not simply the byproduct of recent inventions but the end result of more than a century's growth and expansionā€¦


Ad

Book cover of Eclipse Chasers

Eclipse Chasers by Nick Lomb,

Forthcoming eclipses coming up in Australia include that of 22 July 2028, which will cross Australia from the Northern Territory to Sydney, home of the internationally famous sights of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Eclipse Chasers will act as a guidebook for both locals and international visitors, givingā€¦

Book cover of Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business

Tobias Rose-Stockwell Why did I love this book?

It mightā€™ve come out originally in 1985, but this book has stood the test of time.

Amusing Ourselves to Death provides deep important context on the history of entertainment, news, and media, showing that trends in entertainment have changed how we see the world. Inspired by a talk Postman gave on Orwellā€™s 1984, the book delivers a clear-eyed analysis of how the demand for constant entertainment is poisoning society, as well as a roadmap for creating healthier information ecosystems.

By Neil Postman,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Amusing Ourselves to Death as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What happens when media and politics become forms of entertainment? As our world begins to look more and more like Orwell's 1984, Neil's Postman's essential guide to the modern media is more relevant than ever.

"It's unlikely that Trump has ever read Amusing Ourselves to Death, but his ascent would not have surprised Postman.ā€ -CNN

Originally published in 1985, Neil Postmanā€™s groundbreaking polemic about the corrosive effects of television on our politics and public discourse has been hailed as a twenty-first-century book published in the twentieth century. Now, with television joined by more sophisticated electronic mediaā€”from the Internet to cellā€¦


Book cover of Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong about the Worldā€”and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

Tobias Rose-Stockwell Why did I love this book?

Factfulness is a critical tool for showing that the world is knowable and making the case for optimism.

Beloved by Bill Gatesā€”who called it ā€œ[one] of the most important books Iā€™ve ever readā€ā€”the book shows how our perspectives get distorted by the information we consume every day. It also shows how taking a fact-based worldview can drastically reduce the anxiety and fear so many of us feel right now.

By Hans Rosling, Anna Rosling Rƶnnlund, Ola Rosling

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Factfulness as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases.' BARACK OBAMA

'One of the most important books I've ever read - an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.' BILL GATES

*#1 Sunday Times bestseller * New York Times bestseller * Observer 'best brainy book of the decade' * Irish Times bestseller * Guardian bestseller * audiobook bestseller *

Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts.

When asked simple questions about global trends - why the world's population is increasing; howā€¦


Ad

Book cover of Radical Friend: Amy Kirby Post and Her Activist Worlds

Radical Friend by Nancy A. Hewitt,

Radical Friend highlights the remarkable life of Amy Kirby Post, a nineteenth-century abolitionist and women's rights activist who created deep friendships across the color line to promote social justice. Her relationships with Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, Sojourner Truth, William C. Nell, and other Black activists from the 1840s to theā€¦

Book cover of What's Our Problem? A Self-Help Book for Societies

Tobias Rose-Stockwell Why did I love this book?

A rare book that is as funny as it is profound, illustrating why things feel so broken.

Tim is the creator of the popular blog Wait But Why, and his unique blend of curiosity and storytelling flair is on full display here. The book eschews the standard left-right political analysis for an exploration of how our brains work (and what impact this has on the decisions that shape societies). 

By Tim Urban,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked What's Our Problem? A Self-Help Book for Societies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the creator of the wildly popular blog Wait But Why, a fun and fascinating deep dive into what the hell is going on in our strange, unprecedented modern times.

Between 2013 and 2016, Tim Urban became one of the world's most popular bloggers, writing dozens of viral, long-form articles about everything from AI to colonizing Mars to procrastination. Then, he turned his attention to a new topic: the society around him. Why was everything such a mess? Why was everyone acting like such a baby? When did things get so tribal? Why do humans do this stuff?

This massiveā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

Outrage Machine: How Tech Amplifies Discontent, Disrupts Democracy--And What We Can Do about It

By Tobias Rose-Stockwell,

Book cover of Outrage Machine: How Tech Amplifies Discontent, Disrupts Democracy--And What We Can Do about It

What is my book about?

A book about how the internet has broken our brains, and how to fix it.

Book cover of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
Book cover of The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads
Book cover of Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,898

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

šŸ“š You might also likeā€¦

Book cover of The Tao of Inner Peace

The Tao of Inner Peace by Diane Dreher,

With its lively, demystifying approach, The Tao of Inner Peace shows how the Tao can be a powerful and calming source of growth, inspiration, and well-being in times of conflict and anxiety.

This timely guide to the timeless wisdom of the Tao Te Ching shows how to: bring greater joy,ā€¦

Book cover of Anatomy of Embodied Education: Creating Pathways to Brain-Mind Evolution

Anatomy of Embodied Education by E. Timothy Burns,

The vast mysterious terrain explored in this book encompasses the embodied human brain, the processes through which humans grow, develop, and learn, and the mystery of consciousness itself. We authors offer this guidebook to assist you in entering and exploring that terrain.

As parents and educators come to understand thisā€¦

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in mass media, consumer behaviour, and civilization?

Mass Media 24 books
Civilization 225 books