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Webcam

By Jolynna Sinanan and Daniel Miller
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Webcam explores the transformative impact of webcam technology, especially via Skype, on human interaction and communication. Drawing on research conducted in London and Trinidad, it examines the shift from webcam as a simple videophone to an 'always-on' medium within the context of 'polymedia'—communication environments where multiple technologies coexist. The authors argue that webcams reshape self-consciousness, intimacy, and long-distance relationships, integrating visual media deeply into social life and reflecting fundamental aspects of humanity.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$3799
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for students and scholars in anthropology, media studies, sociology, and communication, as well as anyone interested in the social and cultural effects of digital technology and long-distance communication.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

* The first book to explore the social meaning of the 'always on' webcam and the role it has come to play in our lives. * Using case studies from the UK and Trinidad and Tobago, the authors examine how webcams have become an integral part of people's everyday life.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The use of webcam, especially through Skype, has recently become established as one more standard media technology, but so far there has been no attempt to assess its fundamental nature and consequences. Yet webcam has profound implications for many facets of human life, from self-consciousness and intimacy to the sustaining of long-distance relationships and the place of the visual within social communications.

Based on research in London and Trinidad, this book shows how 'always-on' webcam is becoming an entirely different phenomenon from the initial use of webcam as a videophone. Webcam is examined within the framework of 'polymedia' - that is, the new environments created by the simultaneous presence of a multiplicity of communication technologies - and used to exemplify a theory of attainment that accepts media technologies as aspects of, rather than detracting from, our basic humanity.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Experts praise the book for its insightful and accessible analysis. Alexander Halavais notes that the work reveals how video conversations alter everyday life in unexpected ways, far beyond a mere phone call update. Barry Wellman highlights its portrayal of how Skype enables distant loved ones to maintain close bonds, transforming social networks. The engaging anthropological perspective appeals to scholars across the social sciences, inviting reflection on the broader cultural implications of webcam use.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780745671475

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 24 January 2014

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Polity Press

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 318g

Pages: 220

Collections

Daniel Miller Education & Reference Jolynna Sinanan Non-Fiction Science & Nature

About the Author

Daniel Miller is professor of anthropology at University College London and one of the leading anthropologists in the world today. He is known particularly well for his work on material culture and his many books include The Comfort of Things, Stuff and Tales from Facebook. Jolynna Sinanan has just started her post-doctoral research fellowship in anthropology at University College London, which is part of a larger project on social networking. She has recently completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne, where she examined economic development in post-conflict societies, focussing on Cambodia.

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