Book presentation Platform Brutality at V2_
- Come to V2_ and celebrate one of Valiz' latest publications, as part of Engage festival
- Learn more about Lovinks' collection of both critical analyses and discussions of alternatives on internet platforms
What: Book presentation Platform Brutality
When: 10 October 2025, 17:30–19:00
Where: Eendrachtsstraat 10, Rotterdam
Organized by: V2_, Lab for the Unstable Media and Engage
Language: English
Entrance: € 6,- for a passe partout to Engage festival, tickets here
More information here
On 10 October, longtime friend and collaborator of V2_ Geert Lovink will present his newly released book Platform Brutality, along with the years-long research that led up to its publication. A a panel of theorists and philosophers will help to deepen the discourse. The panel includes Miriam Rasch, Arie Altena, and Marissa Memelink.
Platform Brutality is a scathing diagnosis of our digital condition in the aftermath of Covid, grappling with a world overwhelmed by platform decay, social media addiction, and the psychic toll of techno-capitalism. The central thesis is that social media no longer just distracts—it wounds. And yet, we stay. Lovink labels the dominant emotional landscape as copium—a metaphorical opiate for digital despair, numbing users trapped in endless loops of scrolling, doom, and distraction. The book covers topics such as the paradox of loneliness on social media, mythologies of smartphones, the role of dreaming in this digital age, and techno-feudalism as the political economy of Big Tech oligarchy. Platform Brutality is a monument to digital fatigue, and a final urgent appeal for collective withdrawal.