'So You've Been Publicly Shamed' is the journalist's exploration of 21st century shaming. Gone are the stocks and pillory, the rotten missiles and the town square, but the idea that we, the public, have the right to expose and condemn perceived wrongdoing in the public sphere is alive and well. Ronson's voyage of discovery begins when a group of academics set up a fake Twitter account in his name and, despite trying to reason with them, it's his followers' public shaming that finally makes them delete it. Justice may have been done, but the method raises uncomfortable questions for Ronson. It's just the start of a journey that leads to him meeting the victims, judges and executioners in the brave new world of modern shaming. There are non-fiction writers whose work is just a bit too creative, ordinary joes and janes whose jokes leave a lot to be desired, reformers who think tackling shame would end crime as we understand it and the pioneers of the new science of Online Reputation Management. The safety of the internet is in doubt and you will never think about it in the same way again.
This was a very interesting book that got stuck into a perspective that felt so new it was almost hard to get my head around. Early on, Ronson shows why it's so difficult to acknowledge; shaming is something that everyone has been involved in, especially online, at one time or another, most people, even those who make the most vicious comments, usually think they have the moral high ground and are doing something good and we rarely see the full consequences of public shaming.
I've been a fan of Ronson's work for many years and would recommend 'Them: Adventures with Extremists' and 'The Psychopath Test'. He normally has a slightly meandering style and there is charm in the way he lets curiosity show him where to go next. But this book left me a bit dissatisfied. It felt like the concept was a bit unwieldy and the book's structure didn't let him explore topics as much as I, as a reader, would've liked. For example, a harrowing case study about the consequences of a rape trial cross examination are described, but there is no follow up with forensic linguists about the language of the courtroom and campaigns to make this type of shaming a thing of the past. Also the section on why people shame seems to hit a dead end before even touching on whether the distancing effect of computer mediated communication is contributing to the rise in online shaming. I know that the focus of the book was supposed to be victims and how they'd survived shaming, but perhaps more about why people shame would've made readers think about their own behaviour before jumping on the bandwagon. I was also left a bit confused about shaming in new vs old media. It might've been interesting to explore whether the case studies showed it's easier to get over a shaming by a weekly newspaper rather than by the massed ranks of Twitter.
Overall, I did enjoy 'So You've Been Publicly Shamed' and would recommend it to other readers, but it felt a bit unfinished and I sincerely hope that Mr Ronson returns to the topic at a later date. I would love to read an updated and augmented version of this book in the future.
Now, what next...
