Donna Freitas
Author of The Possibilities of Sainthood
About the Author
Donna Freitas is a Nonresident Research Associate at the University of Notre Dame's Center for the Study of Religion and Society, and Visiting Associate Professor of English at Adelphi University. She is the author of Consent on Campus and Sex and the Soul, as well as several novels for young show more adults. She has written for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. show less
Series
Works by Donna Freitas
Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America's College Campuses (1657) 81 copies
The Happiness Effect: How Social Media is Driving a Generation to Appear Perfect at Any Cost (2017) 68 copies
The End of Sex: How Hookup Culture is Leaving a Generation Unhappy, Sexually Unfulfilled, and Confused About Intimacy (2013) 53 copies
Killing the Imposter God: Philip Pullman's Spiritual Imagination in His Dark Materials (2007) 39 copies
Sex and the Soul, Updated Edition: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America's College… (2015) 12 copies
Las nueve vidas de Rose Napolitano / The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano (Spanish Edition) (2022) 1 copy
Associated Works
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought - Volume 42, Number 2 (Summer 2009) (2009) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Freitas, Donna
- Birthdate
- 1972
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Rhode Island, USA
- Places of residence
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
New York, New York, USA
Barcelona, Spain - Education
- Georgetown University (BA | Philsophy and Spanish)
Catholic University (PhD | Religion) - Occupations
- Assistant Professor (Religion | Boston University)
- Organizations
- Boston University
Hofstra University
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 31
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 1,414
- Popularity
- #18,192
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 53
- ISBNs
- 107
- Languages
- 7
- Favorited
- 1
Thanks to NetGalley for this review copy!
Social media is all around us, whether we like it or not. No matter where you go, you will see people constantly checking their phones, taking selfies, or updating their Facebook status. I am one of those people who have spent a few minutes looking at my feed and thinking, “Everyone looks so happy – what am I doing wrong?”
I’m doing nothing wrong. I’m of a generation where I don’t feel pressure to put on a happy face to my peers. I don’t worry about what a potential employer might think of me, based on my social media output. For a change, I feel happy to not be a college student or a Millennial. The pressure (both internal and external) that this generation is under is immense. There is nowhere to hide, nowhere to truly “be yourself” – because the whole world is watching.
The author interviewed a wide sampling of college students around the United States and put together their thoughts in this thought provoking book. Most of the interviewees spoke of selecting the best moments to share on FB, while saving the gossip and melancholy thoughts for sites that encourage anonymous postings. I learned about a site called Yik Yak, where there are no identities, and no boundaries. I also learned that when some students took a self-imposed “holiday” from their cellphones, it was like a vacation. They spoke of truly being in the moment, rather than recording it for their wall.
There was a chapter on relationships, and how students felt about hookup sites like Tinder. In an interesting juxtaposition to this theory by Simon Sinek (click here for video), Freitas notes that college students are very capable of socializing and meeting people, having complete and meaningful conversations with each other, and being empathetic. When they are around their friends, they don’t become awkward and seek to lose themselves in technology; they interact and communicate like any other generation. Sinek, on the other hand, claims that Millennials and future generations will be unable to communicate face to face, due to their smartphone addiction.
For me, the best part of the book was the last 2 chapters, where the author fleshes out her theories and explains her thought process. I support her suggestions of wi-fi free zones, and professors requiring a basket for cellphone “parking” during classes. I also applauded the inclusion of different races and religions, providing needed diversity and showing the reader how circumstances were different from one person to another.
The interviews were informative, and sometimes shocking, but at times they became repetitive and clogged the flow of information. Perhaps if she organized the book differently, it would have been a bit shorter. She did summarize each chapter at the end, while allowing the thoughts and quotes from each interviewee to illustrate her theories.
One thought that kept occurring to me was how happy I was to be older in today’s world, as I mentioned before. It’s a shame that technology has become such a big part in our lives; I can only hope the human race does not become lost.… (more)