In his new book, Present Shock, the media theorist Douglas Rushkoff takes a stab at describing an emergent cultural phenomenon. According to his subtitle, everything happens now, and that’s problematic, leaving us marooned in a timeless space, struggling with endless streams of sensory input, the collapse of narrative, and an inability to cope with the speed and asymmetrical power of digital media. Whereas corporations, for example, once put products out in the world and waited for a response, they’re now overpowered by instantaneous feedback loops, by the immediate, perfervid response of social media, which prevents them from observing patterns and making long-term plans.
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