Extremely Online

More about the book

Acclaimed Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz presents a groundbreaking social history of the internet, revealing how online influence and its creators have reshaped our world. For over a decade, Lorenz has been an authority on internet culture, documenting its profound effects on our lives. Her debut book explores how online influence has disrupted traditional barriers and created new sectors of the economy, marking one of the most significant changes in modern capitalism. By tracing the evolution of the internet, Lorenz uncovers how social platforms’ power users have transformed our expectations of content, connection, and power. She highlights how early blogging moms monetized their personal brands, bored teens reinvented fame through selfie videos, and young TikTok creators opted out of traditional career paths. These shifts, often dismissed as fleeting trends, have led to a digital dynamic that has fundamentally altered work, entertainment, and ambition in the 21st century. The book offers an inside look at the untold story of our interactions with the internet and its impact on society, illustrating how these social and economic transformations have reshaped our understanding of success and connection in the digital age.