So You've Been Publicly Shamed

I picked this up after a particularly tumultuous week of YouTube scandals. My questions were less about specific individuals, and more about what we ultimately hope to gain in “cancelling” someone. We want people held accountable for their actions. We want them to see the harm in what they did. We want them to feel bad and say sorry. Maybe the person called out has a large platform, maybe their followers are young, maybe they need to think carefully about the messages they are sending to impressionable masses. But...then what? I'm not sure any of us know, including Ronson.While interesting and often funny, this was scattered. Ronson jumps from person to person and topic to topic. This kept me reading, but as I neared the end I kept waiting for him to make connections and form an argument, or at least some sort of takeaway. The last chapter was so abrupt. The final few sentences seemed meant to pack a punch, but I was thoroughly underwhelmed. The argument itself was boring and predictable, and he hadn't even laid the groundwork for it. Luckily Ronson doesn't fault something inherent in technology. I wasn't looking for a dismissal or condemnation of social media, because I think it can elevate important but marginalized perspectives. Wesley Lowery writes about this in [b:They Can't Kill Us All 29467267 They Can't Kill Us All Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America's Racial Justice Movement Wesley Lowery https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1475156955s/29467267.jpg 49743766]. One surprising pattern was how eagerly both shamers and “shamees” reached for labels like “sociopath” and “psychopath” to justify shaming. We don't have to talk about the Shane Dawson Jake Paul documentary, but suffice it to say it reminded me of that. Pop psychology shows up throughout the book, but I think Ronson does a decent job defining concepts. I would have liked more focus on deindividuation.Because of my personal interests, I also would have liked Ronson to talk more about power dynamics—what's the difference between calling out someone with millions of subscribers vs. less than 200 followers? Also, he touched on it, but for how consistent a theme it was, he could have further explored misogyny in social media pile-ons. Zuckerberg kind of does this in [b:Not All Dead White Men 38240525 Not All Dead White Men Classics and Misogyny in the Digital Age Donna Zuckerberg https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1524483798s/38240525.jpg 59922909], but not really (not that's she trying to).This is a pretty unique and easy-to-read nonfiction, but it has its flaws. Just a warning: suicides are peppered throughout. I found this jarring and depressing, especially because Ronson typically mentions these deaths frankly then quickly moves on. And in the end, he doesn't really provide many answers. I'm glad I read it, but it could use some paring down. Kind of like this review.