The new radically social habit of tracking our behaviours and preferences is booming. From Facebook timelines to Google Navigator to Twitter, we generate enormous amounts of online data about our activities: where we go, what we do, how we feel. In The Virtual Self, journalist Nora Young examines this growing phenomenon of self-tracking - why it's compulsive, its attractions and benefits, the dangers surrounding privacy and information control, and moreover, what it means for our sense of self. Fascinating and entertaining, and offering unique insights into our emerging technological culture, The Virtual Self takes the personal, psychological reality of everything from smart phones to social networking and teases out the increasing impact of the virtual information we all produce on the real world around us.

It has been my experience and observation of students of Buddhism, that after an initial period of enthusiastic practice, they get stuck. They come to the edge of a gap, and can't go back but are stuck going forward. The edge of this gap represents the boundary that defines the results of their efforts so far. Serious effort has been given to practice and to incorporating the fundamentals of the Buddha's method into their lives. Nevertheless, the practitioner I have in mind feels not only stuck but somewhat disheartened perhaps. Having exhausted the youthful enthusiasm that naturally arises upon discovery of the Buddha's path, one now feels a lack of joy. Looking beyond the boundary line of the gap, there seems to be a vast space between where one is now and the ultimate goal of enlightenment. The Virtual Self: Beyond the Gap in Buddhist Philosophy offers some suggestions for renewing one's inspiration and a way to joyfully navigate that sacred space beyond the gap.

"This book provides insights to better enhance the understanding of technology's widespread intertwinement with human identity within an advancing technological society"--Provided by publisher.

The Virtual Self is an engaging and exciting text that addresses issues relating to our rapidly changing society, social structure, and communication needs. In doing so, it addresses major issues in sociology that inform virtually all of a student’s course work. Introduces students to concepts of the self and society in an age of rapid technology and high speed communication Examines the relationship between everyday life and social structure in key domains of communication, personality, work/family, leisure and entertainment, and economics Written in a lively, engaging style for readers without a sociological background

Online Identities: Creating and Communicating the Online Self presents a critical investigation of the ways in which representations of identities have shifted since the advent of digital communications technologies. Critical studies over the past century have pointed to the multifaceted nature of identity, with a number of different theories and approaches used to explain how everyday people have a sense of themselves, their behaviors, desires, and representations. In the era of interactive, digital, and networked media and communication, identity can be understood as even more complex, with digital users arguably playing a more extensive role in fashioning their own self-representations online, as well as making use of the capacity to co-create common and group narratives of identity through interactivity and the proliferation of audio-visual user-generated content online. - Makes accessible complex theories of identity from the perspective of today's contemporary, digital media environment - Examines how digital media has added to the complexity of identity - Takes readers through examples of online identity such as in interactive sites and social networking - Explores implications of inter-cultural access that emerges from globalization and world-wide networking

Daigo Umehara. He is the most dominant fighting game champion in the world. But before he was Japan's first pro gamer, Daigo was one of many players battling their way through Japanese arcades during the golden age of fighting games. Find out how the player became the legend in DAIGO THE BEAST: UMEHARA FIGHTING GAMERS! In Volume 1: Shinya Ohnuki, a gamer with prodigious talent, is drawn into the wild and wonderful world of fighting games after a chance meeting with him. An enduring rivalry between Umehara and "Nuki" is born in the heat of battle!

As technology continues to rapidly advance, individuals and society are profoundly changed. So too are the tools used to measure this universe and, therefore, our understanding of reality improves. Boundaries of Self and Reality Online examines the idea that technological advances associated with the Internet are moving us in multiple domains toward various "edges." These edges range from self, to society, to relationships, and even to the very nature of reality. Boundaries are dissolving and we are redefining the elements of identity. The book begins with explorations of the digitally constructed self and the relationship between the individual and technological reality. Then, the focus shifts to society at large and includes a contribution from Chinese researchers about the isolated Chinese Internet. The later chapters of the book explore digital reality at large, including discussions on virtual reality, Web consciousness, and digital physics. - Cyberpsychology architecture - Video games as a tool for self-understanding - Avatars and the meaning behind them - Game transfer phenomena - A Jungian perspective on technology - Politics of social media - The history and science of video game play - Transcendent virtual reality experiences - The theophoric quality of video games