Description
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(as of Mar 17, 2025 06:48:45 UTC – Details)
“Mr. Jurgenson makes a first sortie toward a new understanding of the photograph, wherein artistry or documentary intent have given way to communication and circulation. Like Susan Sontag’s On Photography, to which it self-consciously responds, The Social Photo is slim, hard-bitten and picture-free.” – New York Times
A set of bold theoretical reflections on how the social photo has remade our world.
With the rise of the smart phone and social media, cameras have become ubiquitous, infiltrating nearly every aspect of social life. The glowing camera screen is the lens through which many of us seek to communicate our experience. But our thinking about photography has been slow to catch-up; this major fixture of everyday life is still often treated in the terms of art or journalism.
In The Social Photo, social theorist Nathan Jurgenson develops bold new ways of understanding photography in the age of social media and the new kinds of images that have emerged: the selfie, the faux-vintage photo, the self-destructing image, the food photo. Jurgenson shows how these devices and platforms have remade the world and our understanding of ourselves within it.
Publisher : Verso; First Edition (April 30, 2019)
Language : English
Hardcover : 144 pages
ISBN-10 : 1788730917
ISBN-13 : 978-1788730914
Item Weight : 10.2 ounces
Dimensions : 5.8 x 0.62 x 8.54 inches
Benita –
This is a HUGE idea in a small book!
I must have 90% of the pages flagged in this book. I decided I am making it required reading for a class I am teaching in photography. Many revelations, connections, valuable reminders, and deep thought provoking discussions here. So useful in this world of social media to realize that photography has shaped, framed and continues to evolve how we see, communicate and exist in the world.
Malvin –
Ponders what the social photo may have to say about us
âThe Social Photoâ by Nathan Jurgenson offers original insights into social media, photography and human consciousness. Mr. Jurgenson is an influential thought leader, activist and sociologist who specializes in digital media and culture. This well-written, concise and thought-provoking book ponders what the social photo may have to say about us.Chapter One is âDocumentary Visionâ. Mr. Jurgenson compares and contrasts the early years of photography with the rise of social media to reveal how technology shapes how our lives are experienced, documented and shared. He contends that the social photo should be understood as part of an expanding visual discourse where documentation of experiences is usually more important than the artistry of the image. In fact, the author says that a pervasive âdocumentary consciousnessâ has compelled a growing number of us to live in service to discovering, documenting and sharing the social photo opportunity.Chapter Two is âReal Lifeâ. Mr. Jurgenson will surely be proven correct when he suggests that young peopleâs âdigital dirtâ will become less discomfiting as society grows more tolerant of social media over time. Interestingly, the author believes that privacy is whatever an individual chooses to conceal and thus cannot be destroyed. The social photo simply proves that technology has made it possible for more people to become preoccupied with personal image-making than ever before.I highly recommend this excellent book to everyone.
Julie M. –
Repetitive and Aggravating
I read this book to analyze for one of my classes and it made me miserable. It is the most repetitive book I have read and it actually aggravated me reading it. The whole book could be summed up in much less than 117 pages.
Amazon Customer –
From Photo-As-Object to Photo-As-Language
Thoughtful discussion of photography’s evolution from photo-as-object to photo-as-language. Contrary to my assumption that this book would bash social media’s role in the dumbing down of artistic mediums, the author instead celebrates the way in which social media has infused images with radically new meaning.Reads more like an academic essay than typical non-fiction (those accustomed to lighter fare might call it “dense”) but nonetheless a fantastic read. Highly recommended to anyone interested in photography, communication, and the ways in which social media is transforming art & image.
Chiara Allegri –
Usato per scrivere la tesi di laurea. Esattamente ciò che cercavo: un’analisi sociologica della fotografia sociale
Dom –
This book explores some interesting and thought provoking topics but is mostly an exercise in stating the obvious, in a long winded and drawn out way.