The author discusses “Over the Influence” with Jane Greenway Carr and examines how social media affects women. Presented in partnership with the Phyllis Marchand Leadership Lecture Fund and Labyrinth.
From the Publisher:
This book is a rallying cry for women to recognize and reject the ways social media is being weaponized against us — and instead wield it to empower ourselves.
In "Over the Influence: Why Social Media is Toxic for Women and Girls — And How We Can Take it Back," Kara Alaimo demonstrates how social media affects of the lives of women, girls and nonbinary people, from our relationships and our parenting to our physical and mental wellbeing. It is a book about what it means to live in the world social media has wrought and shows why you’re likely to get fewer followers if you’re a woman. Alaimo explains how fake news is crafted to prey on women’s vulnerabilities. And she reveals why so much of the content we find in our feeds is specifically designed to hold us back.
But we can change this. Alaimo offers up brilliant advice for how to get over the influence — how to handle our daughters’ use of social media, use apps to find the romantic partners we’re looking for and bolster our careers, and protect ourselves from sextortionists, catfishers and trolls. "Over the Influence" calls on women to recognize and call out the subtle (and not-so-subtle) sexism, misogyny and misinformation we find online and use our platforms to empower ourselves and other women.
A book signing will follow the event with our partners from Labyrinth Books providing book sales.
About the speakers:
Kara Alaimo is associate professor of communication at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where she created the university’s programs in social media. She has written for CNN Opinion about the social impact of social media and issues affecting women and girls since 2016. She’s also a former communicator in the Obama administration and United Nations. For more information, visit www.karaalaimo.com and follow her on Instagram, Facebook and X.
Jane Greenway Carr is a senior editor with CNN Opinion whose work has also appeared in The Atlantic, Slate and Vox among other publications. She was previously a contributing editor and fellow at the think tank New America and a lecturer in the English Department at New York University. She is the co-editor of the forthcoming book, “The Case of Lizzie Borden and Other Writings: Tales of a Newspaper Woman” which will be published in June.
From the organizers of the Phyllis Marchand Leadership Lecture at the Princeton Public Library:
The Marchand Lecture, dedicated to “inspiring excellence in community based leadership,” is an annual library event held in honor of Phyllis Marchand, Princeton Township’s longest serving mayor and a leader and leadership mentor in the community for five decades.
Phyllis Marchand, former Princeton Township mayor and Township Committee member, died in the spring of 2021, after serving in Princeton’s local government for 22 years, 14 of them as mayor. In addition to her government service, she had leadership roles in several community non-profits including: the D&R Greenway (she was chair of Board of Trustees at the time of her death); Princeton YWCA; McCarter Theatre; HomeFront; Planned Parenthood; the Coalition for Peace Action; the D&R Canal Commission; Princeton-Pettoranello Sister City Foundation; the New Jersey League of Municipalities; the Mercer Council for Alcohol and Drug Addiction; Corner House; the Jewish Center of Princeton; Cancer Care; the Princeton Garden Theatre; and the Lymphoma Research Foundation.
EVENT TYPE: | Special Events | Lectures & Panels | Author Talks |
TAGS: | Womens History Month |
