"Touch," a video essay on the experience of always-on computing

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Written By James J. Hodge

Why is it so hard to put our phones down? Something keeps us attached. Something both pleasurable and anxiety-inducing. This video essay explores the experience of always-on computing through four new networked genres that have risen to prominence with smartphone culture: selfies, animated GIFs, supercuts, and ASMR videos. Seeking a way past technophobic and technophilic approaches to new technologies, this project seeks to describe why we're always on.

James J. Hodge

James J. Hodge's essays on digital aesthetics have appeared in Critical Inquiry, Postmodern Culture, ASAP/Journal, and elsewhere. His book Sensations of History: Animation and New Media Art is forthcoming from the University of Minnesota Press. He teaches at Northwestern University. 

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