The pursuit of attention : power and ego in everyday life
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The pursuit of attention : power and ego in everyday life
Oxford University Press, c2000
2nd ed
- : pbk.
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 124-128) and index
Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
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: pbk. ISBN 9780195135497
Description
"Enough about me," goes the old joke, "what about you? What do you think about me?" Hence the pursuit of attention is alive and well. Even the Oxford English Dictionary reveals a modern coinage to reflect the chase in our technological age: 'ego-surfing' - searching the Internet for occurrences of your own name. What is the cause of this obsessive need for others' recognition? This useful and popular volume, now in a second edition that features major new
introductory and concluding essays, entertainingly ponders this question. Derber argues that there is a general lack of social support in today's America, one which causes people to vie hungrily for attention, and he shows how individuals will often employ numerous techniques to turn the course of a
conversation towards themselves. Illustrating this 'conversational narcissism' with sample dialogues that will seem disturbingly familiar to all readers, this book analyses the pursuit of attention in conversation - as well as in politics and celebrity culture - and demonstrates the ultimate importance of gender, class, and racial differences in competing for attention. Derber shows how changes in the economy and culture, such as the advent of the Internet, have intensified the rampant
individualism and egotism of today. And finally, in a new afterword, he focuses on solutions: how to restructure the economy and culture to humanize ourselves and increase the capacity for community, empathy, and attention-giving.
- Volume
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ISBN 9780195135503
Description
"Enough about me," goes the old joke, "what about you? What do you think about me?" Hence the pursuit of attention is alive and well. Even the "Oxford English Dictionary" reveals a modern coinage to reflect the chase in our technological age: "ego-surfing" - searching the Internet for occurrences of your own name. What is the cause of this obsessive need for others' recognition? This volume features introductory and concluding essays, and ponders this question. Derber argues that there is a general lack of social support in today's America, one which causes people to vie hungrily for attention, and he shows how individuals will often employ numerous techniques to turn the course of a conversation towards themselves. Illustrating this "conversational narcissism" with sample dialogues that may seem disturbingly familiar to all readers, this book analyses the pursuit of attention in conversation - as well as in politics and celebrity culture - and demonstrates the ultimate importance of gender, class, and racial differences in competing for attention.
by "Nielsen BookData"