Contemporary Literature & the Internet
Hi all,
I wanted to share what I found to be a fascinating article from the Guardian about the gradual inclusion of the internet into contemporary fiction. You can find it here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011...t-laura-miller
I've found myself growing increasingly frustrated in the past few years with the apparent resistance among authors to directly address the manifold effects of the internet on our lives. So many current books seem to be set in the '80s or before, or in a not-too-distant future when current trends have ballooned to ridiculous proportions. If novels are set in contemporary times, they often gloss over the presence of the internet and toss in a token mention of "social media" or an "online affair". To me, it seems like the internet has pervaded so many facets of our lives in ways that are still unclear, and it's a challenge to even describe the experience of being "on the internet" for such a significant portion of our time (in work, leisure, research, etc.).
Although the topic may seem too mundane, I'd love to see an author really grapple with the internet in the way David Foster Wallace wrestled with our addiction to television in Infinite Jest. Is it just not possible to understand yet? Has anyone read any works of fiction that gave them a deeper understanding of our relationship with the internet?