Current debates about digital technology are caught in a death spiral of gloom, doom and anxiety. After a long period of optimism that accompanied the explosion of social media and assumptions of their democratic potential, today’s discourse is dominated by fear. Fear about the unchecked power of digital monopolies like Facebook, Google and Amazon; about the (ab)use of social media by far right political movements; about the psychopathologies, risks and trade-offs associated with constant and unyielding connectivity; fears about the radical surveillance enabled by the digital.

What are the actual dangers we face in a world where almost every aspect of our life is digitally mediated? What are the ways people are trying to respond to these dangers, individually and collectively? What solutions do society and technology offer for challenging total digital interpellation? This international conference will explore the digital pessimism that is currently engulfing our understanding of the internet and social media, and assess possibilities for resistance.

The conference will include various panels, on a number of issues including Digital Overload/Digital Detox, Precarity and Automation, Activism and Oppression, Surveillance, Algorithmic Discrimination, Digital Politics.

The event is organised by Zeena Feldman and Paolo Gerbaudo. 

This event is open to all, tickets are £10 and you can register via the eStore. 

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