Social Media and the Automatic Production of Memory
Classification, Ranking and the Sorting of the Past
By Ben Jacobsen and David Beer
Published
Apr 1, 2021Page count
128 pagesISBN
978-1529218152Dimensions
203 x 127 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Apr 1, 2021Page count
128 pagesISBN
978-1529218169Imprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Apr 1, 2021Page count
128 pagesISBN
978-1529218169Imprint
Bristol University Press
Social Media and the Automatic Production of Memory
In the media
'Digital power: How Big Tech draws its influence' on Tech Monitor
Social media platforms hold vast amounts of biographical data about our lives. They repackage our past content as ‘memories’ and deliver them back to us. But how does that change the way we remember?
Drawing on original qualitative research as well as industry documents and reports, this book critically explores the process behind this new form of memory making. In asking how social media are beginning to change the way we remember, it will be essential reading for scholars and students who are interested in understanding the algorithmically defined spaces of our lives.
"This book illuminates how our memories are formatted by the interfaces of social media. Jacobsen and Beer have written an insightful analysis of what ‘technologies of memory’ look like in data-driven societies." José van Dijck, Utrecht University
"Jacobsen and Beer’s book is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the automatic production of memory on social media. This book is one to be remembered and revisited time and again." Taina Bucher, University of Oslo.
“Social Media and the Automatic Production of Memory raises a number of questions that are likely to become increasingly important in the coming years… [and] provides a valuable insight into an issue that has drastic implications not only for how we come to understand our own memories, but also for how the individual is to act within a supposedly free society…” LSE Review of Books
“[This book] offers a thought-provoking and timely theoretical framework for understanding the mechanisms and threats of algorithmic memory making on social media. [It] also provides a clear and accessible introduction to critical issues related to datafication, memory studies, and the politics of algorithmic systems.” International Journal of Communication
Ben Jacobsen is a researcher based at the University of York.
David Beer is Professor of Sociology at the University of York.
Introduction: Unpicking The Automation Of Memory Making
A Taxonomy Of Memory Themes: Partitioning The Memorable
The Computational Surfacing Of Memories: Promoting The Memorable
The Reception Of Targeted Memories In Everyday Life: Classificatory Struggles And The Tensions Of Remembering
Conclusion: Sorting The Past
