internetting with amanda hess
In our 10-episode video series, Amanda Hess decodes the culture of the internet, the super-fun hellscape in which we live out our days.
CreditTracy Ma/The New York TimesRemember “Wayne’s World”? I think a lot about this one scene: Wayne and Garth, having sold their public access show to the enterprising capitalist yuppie Benjamin, arrive at the set of their newly slick, ad-supported program. They’re in a control booth peering down over a perfect replica of Wayne’s basement, and Garth says: “We’re looking down on Wayne’s basement, only that’s not Wayne’s basement. Isn’t that weird?”
On the internet, I often feel like I’m in that control booth, looking down on a version of me, fighting for the controls to myself.
And who am I? Personally, I’m a plant mom, Garth stan and friend to outdoor cats. Professionally, I’m a critic-at-large for The New York Times, which is a fancy way of saying that I’m a critic of everything. I write about movies and awards shows and SoulCycle branding. I end up thinking a lot about the internet, which means thinking about money and power and brands and the unseen ways our online identities are guided by all of the above.
The point is: I’ve made a digital product for you to consume. It’s a video series about internet culture, and it is branded around me. It’s called “Internetting with Amanda Hess” and it’s about the downfall of cat memes, the rise of Instagram cyborgs, the creeping dominance of hands videos, and more. I want you to watch it and share it with everyone you know, and everyone you don’t. I want you to Tweet it, Facebook it, Pin it, Instagram it and post it everywhere else influence is sold.
“Internetting with Amanda Hess” is a video adventure through our unending dystopian nightmare. Sign up for email reminders about the latest episodes.Doesn’t it seem like we’re all selling something now? The story of the internet is of a freewheeling public communication accelerator colliding head first with consumer culture — wrangled by zillionaires, pumped with venture capital and showered with ad dollars. Here, all of our wild, individualistic social relations are aggregated into market research and greased for consumption. The game plays out all around us, from the cute dog videos we watch to the tiny famous babies we follow on Instagram. It subtly shapes how The New York Times makes content for the internet, too: YouTube likes faces, so mine is everywhere.
Wherever the trends move and the cash flows, there we all are. The dizzying rise of online visual culture means our faces and bodies are exposed and scrutinized like never before. Whatever it is we “do” for a living is increasingly stitched up with who we are. We sell ourselves and stuff at the same time — my Instagram cat photos are interspersed with links to my articles, asking you to like me and my work, too.
Sometimes, scrolling back over my online presence, it can seem like I’m playing myself in an ad for myself. What’s the inverse of your soul leaving your body? Being a citizen of the internet can make me feel like my image is out walking around without my knowledge, representing me to strangers and brokering little deals.
So here’s one more: “Internetting” drops on Monday, July 30. We’ll be publishing the first three episodes all at once, so you’ll be able to binge watch them and never ever leave.
You can sign up now to get email reminders from me, me, me — or write directly to internetting@nytimes.com. And with me as always is Shane O’Neill, who edits and produces “Internetting.” Soon you’ll encounter his brand, too.
We’re not worthy,
Amanda
Amanda Hess is a critic-at-large. She writes about internet culture for the Arts section and contributes regularly to The New York Times Magazine. She has written for such publications as Slate, ESPN the Magazine, Elle and Pacific Standard. @amandahess • Facebook
