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amandahess.bsky.social
amanda hess
@amandahess.bsky.social
8.4K followers 170 following 75 posts
writer at large, @nytimes.com *** my book is called SECOND LIFE: HAVING A CHILD IN THE DIGITAL AGE https://bookshop.org/p/books/second-life-having-a-child-in-the-digital-age-amanda-hess/21713723
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amandahess.bsky.social
amanda hess @amandahess.bsky.social · Jun 10
Tech companies are powerfully influencing our relationships with our kids, starting before they’re even born. I wrote a book about the surveillance, commodification and eugenic thinking embedded in everything from period trackers to baby monitors, and you can buy it now bookshop.org/p/books/seco...
Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age
Having a Child in the Digital Age
bookshop.org
Reposted by amanda hess
janerosenzweig.bsky.social
Don't miss this article by @amandahess.bsky.social on the "Love Symposium" where founders discussed the latest trends in AI matchmaking. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/s...
With an assist from A.I., he said, “you can effectively separate private value from common value, which will allow the human mating market to go from zero sum to positive sum for the first time in human history, which could unlock untold human well-being and happiness.”
January 11, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Reposted by amanda hess
drbeldavis.bsky.social
My review of @amandahess.bsky.social book 'Second Life' in the @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social

This is a thoughtful and important book about digital pregnancy and motherhood.

Have you read it? What did you think?
Screenshot of my review on the LA Review of Books' website, showing a picture of the cover of Amanda Hess's book, 'Second Life'.
December 24, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Reposted by amanda hess
jesszimmerman.com
Favorite nonfiction:
Second Life, @amandahess.bsky.social
Sucker Punch, @scaachi.bsky.social
Replaceable You, Mary Roach
Tell Me How You Eat, Amber Husain (forthcoming)
December 22, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Reposted by amanda hess
doubledaybooks.bsky.social
“Hess accepts that we are all, now, dwellers in ‘the digital age,’ and she navigates that landscape with humor and nuance.” @newrepublic.com names SECOND LIFE by @amandahess.bsky.social one of the best books of the year newrepublic.com/article/2041...
The New Republic’s Books of the Year 2025
A far from exhaustive guide to the books that our critics dissected, debated, and most admired this year.
newrepublic.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Reposted by amanda hess
lizzieohreally.bsky.social
other stunners: Second Life, by @amandahess.bsky.social and Empire of AI by @karenhao.bsky.social.

I read a lot of nonfiction. I'm sure I'm forgetting books - I have to make a full list, but it takes some compiling. I am not one of those people who diligently tracks.
December 17, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by amanda hess
petetucker.bsky.social
“I used to be a good MSNBC liberal that libbed out and bought into all of that… [But] when you lose a political race two times to a moron, you really have to go, ‘OK, what in the actual fuck is going on?’”
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/s...
Is This Former Bravo Star Democrats’ Toughest Critic?
www.nytimes.com
December 10, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by amanda hess
lizzieohreally.bsky.social
I can’t stop thinking about how terrified this little boy must be. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/n...
Hundreds Rally for Boy, 6, Who Was Separated From His Father by ICE
www.nytimes.com
December 8, 2025 at 1:28 PM
amandahess.bsky.social
I profiled @mizzwelch.bsky.social, who wakes up at 5 a.m., calls out Democratic leaders to their faces, then runs her own interior design empire—with comments from @rahmemanuel.bsky.social @booker.senate.gov @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social and her country club tennis bud www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/s...
Is This Former Bravo Star Democrats’ Toughest Critic?
www.nytimes.com
December 7, 2025 at 1:50 PM
amandahess.bsky.social
I reviewed BARBIELAND by Tarpley Hitt, a book about scheming doll people, which I loved www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/b...
From Dreamhouse to Nightmare? The Real Barbie Story Is Dark.
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Reposted by amanda hess
doubledaybooks.bsky.social
SECOND LIFE by @amandahess.bsky.social is named one of Audible's 10 best books on wellness of 2025! www.audible.com/blog/article...
The 10 best well-being books of 2025
From step-by-step guidance on overcoming obstacles, to fresh and empowering methods for achieving your goals, these are 2025's best listens for well-being.
www.audible.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Reposted by amanda hess
doubledaybooks.bsky.social
"How seductive it can be not only to explain something, but be able to blame someone." - @amandahess.bsky.social, author of SECOND LIFE, talks pregnancy, anxiety and expectations of parenthood: maternalstressproject.substack.com/p/the-danger...
The danger lurking in the “ambient expectations of motherhood”
Exploring the intersection of maternal self-sacrifice, ableism-fueled fears, and blame-heavy messaging with author Amanda Hess
maternalstressproject.substack.com
September 15, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by amanda hess
pjmaciak.bsky.social
I saved SECOND LIFE by @amandahess.bsky.social for vacation reading, and it is fully extraordinary. It’s not just for people who have kids — it’s for people (all of you reading this now) who live on the internet. Nobody writes about that weird intimacy like she does. bookshop.org/p/books/seco...
Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age
Having a Child in the Digital Age
bookshop.org
August 4, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Reposted by amanda hess
jesszimmerman.com
I’ve been a fan of @amandahess.bsky.social since the late 2000s and basically forced her to be friends with me and if her columns hadn’t already vindicated that choice her book sure did! I read it on the plane which does make crying easier but I was crying AND laughing the whole time
Second Life by Amanda Hess: 9780385549738 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
“Hess’s debut memoir bursts with humor and intelligence as it weaves the story of her own pregnancy....This unexpected page-turner is as vulnerable as it is sharp.” —Vulture As...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
August 10, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Reposted by amanda hess
meredithshiner.com
Second Life by @amandahess.bsky.social

I feel like every Gen Z and millennial woman should be required to read it
August 21, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Reposted by amanda hess
atherton.bsky.social
"At a party held to announce the findings, a knife sliced through a layer of frosting to reveal the fleshy gender inside. A pregnant woman beat a piñata until its gender spilled out. A father-to-be pulled the trigger and rained gender across the range."

Amanda Hess' "Second Life" is so good.
SECOND LIFE 51 mechanisms for spreading the news. They colluded with a doctor, sealed the sex report in an envelope, and arranged for the message to be delivered to a baker, a party outfitter, or a novelty arms dealer. At a party held to announce the findings, a knife sliced through a layer of frosting to reveal the fleshy gender inside. A pregnant woman beat a piñata until its gender spilled out. A father-to-be pulled the trigger and rained gender across the range.
July 29, 2025 at 1:45 PM
amandahess.bsky.social
this is tonight!
July 30, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Reposted by amanda hess
marisakabas.bsky.social
A horrifying statement published today by the Editorial Committee of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.

"Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die"

Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social:
Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die July 21, 2025 AFP has been working with 1 writer, 3 photographers and 6 videographers, all freelance, in the Gaza Strip since its staff journalists left in 2024. Along with a few others, they are now the only ones left to report what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The international press has been banned from entering the territory for nearly two years. We refuse to watch them die. One of them, Bashar, has been working with AFP since 2010, first as a fixer, then freelance photographer, and since 2024, as lead photographer. On July 19th he managed to post a message on Facebook: “I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can’t work anymore.” Bashar, 30, works & lives in the same conditions as all Gazans, moving from one refugee camp to another under Israeli bombings. For > a year he’s lived in utter destitution, working at extreme risk to his life. Hygiene is a major issue for him, with recurring bouts of severe intestinal illness. Since Feb, Bashar’s been living in the ruins of his home in Gaza City with his mother, 4 brothers & sisters and the family of one of his brothers. Their house is devoid of any furnishings, except a few cushions. On Sunday morning, he reported that one of his brothers had “fallen, due to hunger.” Even though these journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, it’s no longer enough to buy food, or they have to pay completely exorbitant prices. The banking system has collapsed, and those who exchange money via online bank accounts charge a commission of up to 40%. AFP no longer has the ability to provide them with a vehicle and there is not enough fuel to allow these journalists to travel for their reporting. Driving a car means becoming a target for Israeli airstrikes. AFP reporters therefore travel on foot or by donkey cart. (alt txt continued in next post)
July 21, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Reposted by amanda hess
doubledaybooks.bsky.social
How tech is transforming parenthood with @amandahess.bsky.social on Apple News in Conversation:
apple.news/AJqDYupu5SZS...
How tech is transforming parenthood (for better or worse) — Apple News In Conversation
Apps, data, and influencers are changing what it means to become a parent.
apple.news
July 21, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Reposted by amanda hess
wired.com
Attempting to eliminate funding for certain kinds of “woke” studies, the Trump administration erased hundreds of millions of dollars being used for cancer research. www.wired.com/story/how-tr...
How Trump Killed Cancer Research
Attempting to eliminate funding for certain kinds of “woke” studies, the Trump administration erased hundreds of millions of dollars being used for cancer research.
www.wired.com
July 21, 2025 at 10:06 AM
amandahess.bsky.social
dr. frankenstein dies at the end fyi www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Inside the Silicon Valley push to breed super-babies
Investors say genetic prediction services for embryos, used by Elon Musk and others, are a trust fund for future children. Many scientists are skeptical.
www.washingtonpost.com
July 18, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Reposted by amanda hess
doubledaybooks.bsky.social
@amandahess.bsky.social joins @wnyc.org's On The Media to talk about her new book, SECOND LIFE, and the surreal collisions between parenthood and technology.

Listen now: www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm...
Having a Child in the Digital Age | On the Media | WNYC Studios
 In Amanda Hess' new book, Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age, she explores the many apps, megamaternity brands, high-tech baby gear, and social media subcultures that hav...
www.wnycstudios.org
July 16, 2025 at 9:11 PM
amandahess.bsky.social
come talk about true life with us!
July 15, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Reposted by amanda hess
mollyfication.bsky.social
It was a huge pleasure to interview @amandahess.bsky.social ‪ for @onthemedia.bsky.social about her book, Second Life. Her book is such a thoughtful and incisive look at how technology has infused so many parts of pregnancy and parenthood today. Take a listen!
www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm...
Having a Child in the Digital Age | On the Media | WNYC Studios
In Amanda Hess' new book, Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age, she explores the many apps, megamaternity brands, high-tech baby gear, and social media subcultures that hav...
www.wnycstudios.org
July 9, 2025 at 4:43 PM