All the Feels

Because Internet meets Nancy Jo Sales's American Girls, All the Feels reveals the ways that our emotional range—and ability to name and communicate our feelings—has actually expanded and deepened in the internet age, and how we can spend our online lives enriching our human connections rather than destroying them. Affective computing and emotional design expert Pamela Pavliscak is on a mission to make people feel better about the time they spend online**–**by understanding and embracing the ways that our digitally connected culture can actually improve our well-being, communication, and emotional intelligence. While it's great to go outside and touch grass, the reality of life today is that we spend most of it with our screens, whether for school, work, or socializing, from gaming to reading to streaming to learning new skills on YouTube. Pavliscak knows that this reality is unlikely to shift, so she dove deep into the growing body of research**–and conducted some of her own–**about how being so plugged in affects our emotions. Study after study reveals that digital detoxes have little effect on happiness, yet how we engage with the internet (rather than how much) profoundly shapes our lives. Using emojis to communicate actually expands our emotional range. People who make positive digital connections with just three other humans a day experience lower rates of depression. Others who are exposed even briefly to memes related to mental health recovery report feeling more in control of their emotions. Turns out the possibilities for improving our emotional state are as wide-ranging as the internet itself. Pavliscak shows readers how we can open our phones each day (from bed), and rather than anxiety-spiral, we can foster all the good feels.