Present Shock

When Everything Happens Now

By: Douglas Rushkoff

Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins

"If the end of the twentieth century can be characterized by futurism, the twenty-first can be defined by presentism."

This is the moment we’ve been waiting for, explains award-winning media theorist Douglas Rushkoff, but we don’t seem to have any time in which to live it. Instead we remain poised and frozen, overwhelmed by an always-on, live-streamed reality that our human bodies and minds can never truly inhabit. And our failure to do so has had wide-ranging effects on every aspect of our lives.

People spent the twentieth century obsessed with the future. We created technologies that would help connect us faster, gather news, map the planet, compile knowledge, and connect with anyone, at any time. We strove for an instantaneous network where time and space could be compressed. Well, the future’s arrived. We live in a continuous now enabled by Twitter, email, and a so-called real-time technological shift.

Yet this “now” is an elusive goal that we can never quite reach. And the dissonance between our digital selves and our analog bodies has thrown us into a new state of anxiety: present shock. Rushkoff weaves together seemingly disparate events and trends into a rich, nuanced portrait of how life in the eternal present has affected our biology, behavior, politics, and culture. He explains how the rise of zombie apocalypse fiction signals our intense desire for an ending; how the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street form two sides of the same post-narrative coin; how corporate investing in the future has been replaced by futile efforts to game the stock market in real time; why social networks make people anxious and email can feel like an assault. He examines how the tragedy of 9/11 disconnected an entire generation from a sense of history, and delves into why conspiracy theories actually comfort us.

As both individuals and communities, we have a choice. We can struggle through the onslaught of information and play an eternal game of catch-up. Or we can choose to live in the present: favor eye contact over texting; quality over speed; and human quirks over digital perfection. Rushkoff offers hope for anyone seeking to transcend the false now.

Absorbing and thought-provoking, Present Shock is a wide-ranging, deep thought meditation on what it means to be human in real time.

©2013 Douglas Rushkoff (P)2013 Audible Inc.

Critic reviews

“Rushkoff gives readers a healthy dose of perspective, insight, and critical analysis that’s sure to get minds spinning and tongues wagging.” ( Publishers Weekly, starred review)

“If you read one book next year to help you make sense of the present moment, let it be Present Shock.” (Forbes.com)

“This is a wondrously thought-provoking book. Unlike other social theorists who either mindlessly decry or celebrate the digital age, Rushkof f explores how it has caused a focus on the immediate moment that can be both disorienting and energizing.” (Walter Isaacson)

An epic book, makes your mund spin

I think I need to listen to this again! An challenging, smart and engaging book.

Read it.

Excellent book. I very much appreciated everything here until the last few minutes. Read it either way but expect an slap in the face at the end. I would love to know the author just to respond to the last few lines.

Rushkoff is as close to a modern day seer as it gets

I was surprised to learn this was published years ago as its content is even more relevant and important to understand today, as we approach 2023. I’ve enjoyed all of his books for the clarity of words describing complicated topics and his breadth of research to help the reader grasp the concept.

The narrator sounds like a robot

This has to be the worst listening experience imaginable. The guy sounds like a robot. There’s no way anyone could actually enjoy 11 hours of this. What a waste of my monthly credit!

Not Rushkoff's Best

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Like Rushkoff's other books, there are a lot of thought-provoking ideas. Unfortunately, a lot are re-hashed from other books.

Would you be willing to try another book from Douglas Rushkoff? Why or why not?

Yes. I enjoy his insight.

What didn’t you like about Kevin T. Collins’s performance?

It seemed like he was imitating Rushkoff's voice- it didn't seem like he was paying attention to what he was reading.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

sure

Any additional comments?

The buzzword "iterate" was used so much it made me want to slam my head into a wall.

this should be required reading for all humans

Amazing insights and reflections. Stilll one of my favorites. Ruskoff is a great guide to the world as we know and perceive it

Not even half as interesting as I anticipated

It starts off with extremely smug and totally out-of-touch narration. Just as I was about to abort after the first couple of chapters it became more interesting with a few fascinating real-life facts. It never becomes all that interesting though.

PRESENT SHOCK

"Present Shock" discounts the past and the future; i.e. this moment, the now, is the paradigm of individual’ knowledge and belief. Everything is in the moment. Douglass Rushkoff compels one to believe that the model of what is important in the world has changed. History and the future have become irrelevant.

Part of Rushkoff’s insight is based on the advent of the computer and how it affects education. Because history is at American’ fingertips, memory is not used to remember the past because the past is always present at the click of a mouse. Memory is only used to describe the present in real-time language, naturally acquired and innately available. The use of the brain becomes more focused on patterns of events in the now rather than relationship to a past or projection into a future. Past and future melt into the present. Rushkoff names the phenomena "Present Shock". When something happens, it is already past; history is irrelevant. The future takes care of itself by becoming today. All time is compressed into now. Everything is everything because the mind conflates events of now as a construct of a mind-patterned reality, the only perceived reality.

Rushkoff opines loss of interest in understanding the past and future by noting that writing a book is unlikely to be read by many. It does not have immediacy, immediacy demanded of by the click generation. As Alexander Pope, an 18th century poet, said, “Hope springs eternal…” Here is a book review that hopes Rushkoff is right; that the click generation will widen its field of vision to include a future. Ironically, Rushkoff’s and Pope’s hope are based on a matter of time.

Mis-titled, should be "Consevatives Are Stupid"

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Someone who is looking for justification for liberal thought or enjoys watching Beavis and Butthead

What could Douglas Rushkoff have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I really thought the topic was something I would like and probably would have if political "opining" wasn't the central theme. I think he could have made his very important points without dissing Fox News, the tea party, religion, and all conservative thought. He should listen to the book The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. Jonathan is also a Liberal atheist but is opened minded about different beliefs/moralities. He might learn from Jonathan about the fact that Liberals are unable to grasp 1/2 of the six moral pillars of society and therefore tend to be incapable of understand conservatives who act and think according to all six pillars. Douglas' approach certainly proves this point. He is proudly oblivious.

What didn’t you like about Kevin T. Collins’s performance?

I really liked Kevin's delivery but after listening for a couple of chapters I started to think of him as a liberal elitist snob. Certainly not his fault.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The subject matter is very timely and important I think. I was really hoping to get more out of it.

Present Shock: When A Book Is Bad

Would you ever listen to anything by Douglas Rushkoff again?

hmm...... I don't think so.

Would you be willing to try another one of Kevin T. Collins’s performances?

His performances was fine but not great.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Present Shock?

The second half of it.

Any additional comments?

No it does not deserve your time