New technologies pervade and shape our everyday gestures, personal relationships and ways of life. We are all accustomed to receiving personal messages from web giants and virtual assistants and often receive stylised kisses and hugs in texts from people we don’t really know all that well. If a friend looks at his smartphone during lunch, we are immediately tempted to do the same. We take advantage of the many tutorials made available on Internet for a range of activities, from repairing sun-blinds to setting up a barbecue or baking bread at home. At the same time, many technologies considered dead or obsolete – such as landline telephones and vinyl records – cyclically make a comeback and again become parts of our lives. Focusing on practical situations and typically unconscious habits, the book lays bare our relationship with technological innovation and the spirit of our time.

Massimiano Bucchi teaches Science, Technology and Society at the University of Trento.