Bored, Lonely, Angry, Stupid: Changing Feelings About Technology-From the Telegraph to Twitter-Luke Fernandez and Susan J. Matt (Cambridge, MA, USA: Harvard Univ. Press, 2019)

• Published in: IEEE Technology and Society Magazine 2022-06, Vol.41 (2), p.14-16
• Main Author: Wunsch, A. David
• Format: Magazinearticle
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cathedrals; History; Social implications of technology; Social networking (online); Technology
• ISSN: 0278-0097; 1937-416X
• DOI: 10.1109/MTS.2022.3173322

The husband-and-wife team of Prof. Fernandez and Prof. Matt interviewed 55 people for their book. My favorite conversation comes from a young man named Greg who exults in his recently acquired smart phone. So much in awe is he that he compares its use to entering a cathedral " \ldots there's entire worlds [the Internet] contained in this smartphone that invites me to an experience of awe \ldots " Fifteen months later, in 2017 he's had a change of heart: "Yes, the screen is a cathedral, but it is not the cathedral \ldots you don't have that moment of stepping through the low door [of the cathedral] and then standing up into the majesty of the cathedral." In a bit over a year, his love affair with his phone has lost some of its ecstasy.