This but Not That

Digital technologies have transformed the way we live, work and connect. But have they fundamentally changed society?

In this provocative new book, leading social theorist Theodore R. Schatzki challenges assumptions underlying claims that digitalization is revolutionizing society, arguing that some of the most important features of social life remain unchanged.

Modifying his previous groundbreaking social ontology, Schatzki explores how digitalization is reshaping culture, materiality, space, associations and time. He argues that its most profound effects lie not in creating virtual or immaterial spaces, a global present, multiple times or new values, but in transforming the material conditions and social associations that underpin or mark everyday life.

A major contribution to social theory, this book offers a bold new framework for understanding what digitalization changes, what it does not change and why it matters.