Overview

The Spectacle of Online Life offers a groundbreaking exploration of the digital age's most pressing paradoxes: connection and isolation, democratization and control, authenticity and performance. Edited by Danielle Antoinette Hidalgo, Christopher T. Conner, and Matthew N. Hannah, this volume assembles a diverse array of scholars to critically examine how online technologies shape, reflect, and amplify the complexities of modern society. Chapters in the text draw on insights from the Frankfurt School, Situationist International, and contemporary media studies. This collection delves into topics as varied as promotional livestreaming, climate change conspiracy theories, beauty influencer culture, and the role of artificial intelligence in content moderation. As the authors show, digital platforms are a double-edged sword both empowering grassroots movements and reinforcing systemic inequalities.

Full Product Details

Author:   Danielle Antoinette Hidalgo ,  Christopher T. Conner ,  Matthew N. Hannah
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Imprint:   Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN:  

9781666948387

ISBN 10:   1666948381
Pages:   328
Publication Date:   20 November 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Chapter 1: Screens and Spectacles: The New Digital Terrain of Connection and Control Christopher T. Conner, Matthew N. Hannah, Danielle Antoinette Hidalgo Chapter 2: Behind the Curtain: Online Spectacle as Veil for Data Obscurity Elizabeth Blakey Chapter 3: Living in the Shop Window: Spectacle, Consumption, and Conflict in Promotional Livestreaming Lizhen Zhao, Alkim Yalin, and Emily West Chapter 4: Conspiracy Theories and the Spectacle of Climate Change Matthew N. Hannah Chapter 5: Ground Beneath the Echo Chamber: Forms of Life and Existential Needs Jeremiah Morelock, Gordon C. Chang, and Crystal Lee Ward Chapter 6: Mass Celebrity and Micro-Spectacle Charles Thorpe and Sam Smith Chapter 7: The Ubiquity of Networked Life: A Critical Environmental Analysis Jessica Pardee and Victor Serravallo Chapter 8: Open Access vs. the Prestige Machine David Arditi Chapter 9: Critical Theory Foundations of Digital Capitalism: A Critical Political Economy Perspective Christian Fuchs Chapter 10: Shoppable Self as Spectacle: Precarious Identity Making of Beauty Influencers in China Zepeng Zhou Chapter 11: Online Violence and Radicalization Matthew Costello Chapter 12: The Spectacle of Digital Waste: Spectacular Reassurance Strategies and the Material Impacts of the Digital Data System Nicholas Baxter Chapter 13The Gay Gayze, Reconsidered: Expressions of Inequality on Grindr Christopher T. Conner About the Editors and Contributors

Reviews

""In this age of spectacle and excess — this moment of what Erich Fromm called ""sadistic circuses"" — how welcome it is to see critical scrutiny applied in such a bracing and sober way to the many dimensions of our society of digitized spectacle. The authors, experts all, offer a treasury of insights across the spectrum of online themes."" * David N. Smith, University of Kansas *

Author Information

Danielle Antoinette Hidalgo is Associate Professor of Sociology at California State University, Chico and author of Dance Music Spaces: Clubs, Clubbers, and DJs Navigating Authenticity, Branding, and Commercialism. Christopher T. Conner is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Matthew N. Hannah is Associate Professor of Digital Humanities in the School of Information Studies at Purdue University.

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