In the slumber of the interactive: digital interactive technology and the myth of empowerment in consumer culture

"Paying special attention to the development of Interactive Television (lTV), in part one I will examine DIT development in order to construct a framework for understanding how technology, as both object and agent, is implicated in the persistence of consumer culture. In part two, I will broaden my perspective so I can address the notion of interactivity in general. By taking a deeper look at the notion of interactivity, I will examine the ways that DIT impacts upon the agency of its users. Through my object/agent framework I will challenge the taken-for-granted assumptions about technology that emerge through the discourses of consumer culture, and analyse the impact of DIT on human agency. I will argue that in many ways, the experience of technology within consumer culture is that of a dream where one believes they are awake. In other words, our experiences are those of a culture trapped in the slumber of the interactive"--From Introduction page 3.