The Argument

Mark Bauerlein begins the introduction to his anthology with the presentation of an example of the Digital Age. He speaks of Amy Chua and her published book excerpt that cause a great deal of controversy all over the world. He then begins to state that people all have an opinion and those opinions are voiced through the acts of comments and networking, yet they still have to follow “community rules” within the web. Mark Bauerlein then states that as human beings, we learn to adapt, especially when it comes to interacting with each other. We un-subconsciously create norms that enable us to voice our opinions. He closes this paragraph with a question, “ Is this democratic participation or fruitless vanity?”

“The writings in this anthology address that and many other questions. They present a range of judgments about the Digital Age and digital tools and behaviors that have enveloped our waking hours. Indeed, whenever people consider the marvelous and unprecedented way that the Digital Age has transformed our lives, they should keep that curious fact in mind.”

According to Mark Bauerlein, the purpose to this anthology is to answer and develop judgments about how the Digital Age has impacted society as a whole. His statements about the anthology are absolutely true, and within the anthology you see even more detailed information about how the Digital Age has impacted, from the way we interact with each other to the way our brains are reprogrammed to fit technology.