This book investigates the precise effects on society of new electronic technologies and challenges the prevailing rhetoric surrounding their transformative power. Steve Woolgar, a prominent sociologist known for his work in science and technology studies, assembles a collection of contributors to examine whether fundamental shifts in human behavior, organization, and interaction are truly occurring as a result of information and communication technologies. The text employs a critical framework to dissect the gap between the hype of a 'virtual society' and the empirical realities of technological integration in daily life.

Experts in the field of science and technology studies recognize this volume as a critical intervention against technological determinism. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the rigor with which the contributors interrogate the societal implications of digital growth.