Digital Culture

Digital Culture

Bald man wearing glasses and a peach shirt sits on a chair against a white background, gesturing with his left hand while talking.
19mins
"I call it a tyranny of attention because there's so many demands on our attention coming from so many different directions that we are simply overwhelmed and we don't have the mental bandwidth to cope with it."
A book cover with colorful shapes set against a mysterious Dark Forest backdrop.
Writer and media theorist Bogna Konior connects cosmos and computer by reconsidering our eerily silent Universe.
Illustration of a thumbs up and thumbs down, resembling a like button and dislike button, on a black background, both partially covered with red scribble marks.
Will platforms continue to offer the like button as an all-purpose tool — or will each of the button’s various functions exist in new forms?
A woman's black and white portrait is centered, crafted by AI creators. An abstract geometric background with orange, black, and yellow segments featuring cube patterns surrounds the photo.
The founder of GenZ Publishing joins Big Think from the infinitely unfurling confluence of print and digital.
A man with short, grayish hair, wearing a dark blazer and black shirt, stares directly at the camera against a black background.
9mins
"I think we need a truly open-ended conversation with 8 billion strangers, and what makes that hard to do increasingly is a level of political fragmentation and extremism and partisanship born of our engagement with these new technologies."
Microscopic view of a translucent, spiral-shaped Trichinella spiralis larva within a blue-stained muscle tissue.
4mins
“Part of what's happening now in the world is tension between organic animals and an inorganic digital system which is increasingly controlling and shaping the entire world.”
A person in glasses using a computer is repeated four times on the left, showcasing the intensity of the first pro gamer, while two video game screenshots are featured on the right side of the image. Pink neon lines are superimposed over the scenes.
Dennis “Thresh” Fong talks to us about battling Elon Musk in Quake in the ‘90s, his undefeated record as a pro gamer, and using AI to detoxify gaming.
7mins
Have we evolved to understand multiple rejections on Bumble, or survive more than one ghosting from Tinder? Christine Emba explores the sociology of modern dating and how to make them more ethical.
A graphical representation of network connections superimposed on a dark map, highlighting major nodes with bright orange and yellow lines.
Digital analyses of Enlightenment-era letters are teaching us a thing or two about Locke, Voltaire, and others.
A man with a beard is standing in front of a screen.
Big Think columnist Adam Frank makes the case for why the 2023 video game Alan Wake 2 is a boundary-pushing piece of art.
A person sits in an armchair at a table engaged in digital reading. The person's face is scribbled over with green lines.
From Hogwarts to hashtags, kids' reading habits have changed drastically in recent decades — but data suggests cause for hope.
A person's hand is interacting with a blue screen.
AI programs like ChatGPT can create "thanabots" based on deceased loved ones' digital communications, allowing us to talk with the departed.
Virtually anyone can now create convincing deepfakes. That doesn't mean you should.
Lonely humans will become infatuated with AI-fabricated personas.
Late Night Show with David Letterman
Late-night shows, developed during the "golden age" of TV, are no longer as relevant in the age of streaming services and Donald Trump.
Many Americans aren't rejecting spirituality, just practicing it differently.
digital hoarding
It's time to let go of those emails from your cousin and the photos of your dinner.
crypto black market
Argentina's black market for cash is embracing crypto — but it's not what crypto proponents expected.
Video cameras on city streets are only the most visible way your movements can be tracked.
Faces of two people are being absorbed by their phones.
To reap the benefits of digital technologies, we must contend with their addictive designs.
internet language
You better like and share this article lol.
digital amnesia
3mins
Is social media changing your memory? Here’s what the science actually says.
With this unique opportunity to create a totally new world, why does the metaverse already feature such old-world concepts?
But there are resources, tips, and telltale signs to keep you from being duped. “Some people think that the truth can be hidden with a little cover-up and decoration. But as […]