Douglas Rushkoff is an American media theorist, author, documentarian, and professor of media studies. He is best known for his pioneering work in the fields of media theory, digital media, and cyberculture. He is the author of several books including Program or Be Programmed, Media Virus, Life Inc., and Present Shock.
Born in New York City on February 18, 1961, Rushkoff was raised in a Jewish family in the suburban area of Queens. He attended a Jewish day school and then a progressive public high school. At the age of 17, Rushkoff attended the State University of New York at Purchase, where he received a BA in media studies in 1982. He then went on to pursue a master's degree in communications from New York University.
Throughout the 1980s, Rushkoff worked as a freelance journalist and consultant for various media outlets, including the online magazine Hotwired, where he wrote the first feature on the World Wide Web. In 1994, Rushkoff published his first book, Media Virus, which explored the implications of media technology on culture. This was followed by Cyberia: Life in the Trenches of Hyperspace in 1995, which explored the way in which technology was transforming society.
In the 2000s, Rushkoff wrote several influential books on the subject of digital media, including Program or Be Programmed (2010), which focused on how humans can take control of technology rather than be controlled by it. He also wrote Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back (2009), which explored how corporatization had taken over the world and suggested ideas about how to reclaim autonomy.
In addition to his writing, Rushkoff has also taught media theory and digital media at New York University, the New School, and the University of California, Berkeley. In 2013, he became a professor of media theory and digital economics at CUNY's Queens College. He is also a frequent lecturer and has appeared in numerous documentaries.
Rushkoff is a member of the digerati and is an active participant in the debate about the impact of technology on culture. He is also a strong advocate of open-source software and is a vocal critic of the corporatization of the internet. His writing and teaching have been featured in numerous books, magazines, and television shows.
Today, Rushkoff is a respected media theorist and is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of digital media. His books and
