Thanks for Watching

“Thanks for Watching demonstrates how anthropological concepts can be understood within the context of mediated technologies and challenges a number of popular discourses and assumptions around technology use. . . . This is good ethnography.” —Lori Lopez, University of Wisconsin–Madison“In Thanks for Watching, Patricia Lange has written a theoretically sophisticated and nuanced ethnography of the social life of YouTube creator/consumers. With welcome clarity of thought, Dr. Lange takes on the pervasive and pernicious assumptions about online communities. Rather than create false dichotomies she invites us to join a conversation about how online and offline lives intertwine, how anonymous players can embrace accountability, and how technologically mediated interactions can build human relationships. She avoids focusing on extremes and celebrities, instead bringing 'a sense of empathy for everyday creators who are trying to have their voices heard and engage in civic dialogue.' This book is a pivotal work for communications theorists across multiple disciplines and will resonate with ethnographers who work with content creators, as well as anyone who has ventured into the worlds of everyday media creation.” —Jan English-Lueck, San Jose State University
"Lange’s research presents rich, comprehensive insight into YouTube’s social and cultural impact." —CHOICE
"Lange’s work highlights the value of self-expression and freedom of expression on the world’s largest video hosting site, You Tube. This 12-year participant-observation ethnography poignantly uncovers the journey of YouTubers as they negotiate their mediated sociality through the making and sharing of videos. The themes presented in this work include the establishment of a community of vloggers, who sought respite from the barriers and oversight of corporate media. The early users of the site harnessed the emancipatory potential of the digital sphere until the site was purchased itself and became yet another corporate entity with all of the requisite regulations, monetization and subscription policies along with content censorship, which serve as a threat to free speech on this social networking site platform." —National Communication Association
"This is the book that will remind anthropologists that there is a huge player in the social media world that has been curiously sidelined and that needs to be more fully acknowledged. Lange has consistently been the researcher who provides the material to fill that gap." —American Ethnologist