An Esquire Best Book of 2024

A reflective, original invitation to recover and cultivate the human experiences that have atrophied in our virtual world.

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, and politically unsettling phenomena, like sociometric trackers and online conspiracy culture, Rosen exposes an unprecedented shift in the human condition, one that habituates us to alienation and control. To recover our humanity and come back to the real world, we must reclaim serendipity, community, patience, and risk.

• We started tracking this book on September 4, 2024.
• This book was $14.99 when we started tracking it.
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• The current price of this book is $9.40 last checked 4 hours ago.
• The lowest price to date was $9.40 last reached on February 18, 2025.
• This book has been $9.40 one time since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $14.99 last reached on September 4, 2024.
• This book has been $14.99 one time since we started tracking it.
• This book is currently at its lowest price since we started tracking it.

• Politics & Social Sciences

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