The Extinction of Experience
Being Human in a Disembodied World
An Esquire Best Book of 2024 We embraced the mediated life—from Facetune and Venmo to meme culture and the Metaverse—because these technologies offer novelty and convenience. But they also transform our sense of self and warp the boundaries between virtual and real. What are the costs? Who are we in a disembodied world? In The Extinction of Experience, Christine Rosen investigates the cultural and emotional shifts that accompany our embrace of technology. In warm, philosophical prose, Rosen reveals key human experiences at risk of going extinct, including face-to-face communication, sense of place, authentic emotion, and even boredom. Considering cultural trends, like TikTok challenges and mukbang,…
A reflective, original invitation to recover and cultivate the human experiences that have atrophied in our virtual world.
Christine Rosen is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a columnist for Commentary magazine, senior editor at the New Atlantis, and fellow at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. She lives in Washington, DC.
