iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Aarushi Bhandari

Gayle Kaufman @gaylekaufman.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Congratulations to my brilliant colleagues @gerardomarti.bsky.social and @sushiaarushi.bsky.social!! Gerardo won the ASA Soc of Religion Anti-Racist Scholarship Award 🎉 Aarushi won honorable mention for the ASA Marxist Sociology Book Award for Attention and Alienation 🎉

1131

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

So honored! Thanks for the shoutout! 😊

020

Reposted by Aarushi Bhandari

United Academics @local6741.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Our resolution not only passed today, it was actually was voted as one of the top three to head to the floor here at the AFT Convention! More details soon, but for now we're going to celebrate! @aft.org @afthighered.bsky.social @aaup.org @mtmiller.bsky.social @bletiecq.bsky.social

01510

Reposted by Aarushi Bhandari

Matthew Thomas Miller (He/Him) @mtmiller.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

@aaup.org NC state conference president extraordinaire Belle Boggs discussing the incredible organizing work faculty are doing in NC in the community and in non-collective bargaining higher ed contexts at @aft.org convention!

12611

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

So thrilled to receive honorable mention from ASA’s Marxist section for my book!!! “Through novel applications of Marxist theory to understand the contemporary internet and today’s mass data regimes, Bhandari illuminates the capitalist heart of today’s techno-plutocracy.

030

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Wondering why dating apps suck and what dystopian future lies ahead for romance with AI in the mix? Check out our latest podcast ep where we mix sociological analyses (me) with real world experience with online dating (my friends). If you enjoy it please follow us! open.spotify.com/episode/3usb...

open.spotify.com

I'm too sleepy! Dating in your thirties

020

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Book tour dates! DM for interest! 😁

020

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

I know there is like nobody on this app but ftr being a Nepali in the US feels like mild schizophrenia. Separate group chats blowing up over Nepali revolution 2.0 and Charlie Kirk. The human mind is not designed to respond to so many group chats about separate world historical events simultaneously.

050

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Nepali millennials living through: revolution at 15, fascism at 25, pandemic at 30, genocide at 33, more extreme fascism at 34, a second revolution at 35. Therapy will never be enough, we need utopia.

010

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

I am looking for outlets to write about the Nepal protests, please send any leads my way.

000

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

My local bookstore is so cute. 🥺

030

Reposted by Aarushi Bhandari

Columbia University Press @columbiaup.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

Now available! A bold and incisive critical analysis, ATTENTION AND ALIENATION considers how to reclaim the potential of the internet and design new systems that prioritize collective well-being. buff.ly/l0Jo65N #SocialMedia #AttentionEconomy #Nepal #Marx

Now Available: Attention and Alienation: The International Political Economy of Information and Communication Technologies, by Aarushi Bhandari. Includes the book's cover and a blurb by Erik Schneierhan. Save 20% with code CUP20SM at cup.columbia.edu.

262

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

Tomorrow, I turn 35. I have spent 34 years — in my academic work and my personal goals — dedicated to unlocking the keys to collective flourishing. Want to know only two things I have found to be True? 1. Noone has “the” answer. 2. Flourshing and capitalism cannot coexist.

120

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

“No more floating hot takes” she said, and then went on to post several floating hot takes.

020

Reposted by Aarushi Bhandari

American Sociological Association @asanews.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Is there hope for the internet? ASA member Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social‬ ‪@davidsoncollege.bsky.social‬ questions whether compassion, cooperation, and collective flourishing are still possible.

bit.ly

Is there any hope for the internet?

The author of the new book ‘Attention and Alienation’ wonders if the online world can ever become a place where kindness and human flourishing are the prevailing ethos.

052

Reposted by Aarushi Bhandari

The Conversation U.S. @us.theconversation.com · 15/07/2025

The ability to meet and interact with others online as fully realized, three-dimensional human beings would go a long way toward creating a more empathetic, cooperative internet, according to sociologist @sushiaarushi.bsky.social

theconversation.com

Is there any hope for the internet?

The author of the new book ‘Attention and Alienation’ wonders if the online world can ever become a place where kindness and human flourishing are the prevailing ethos.

0152

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

Zohran Mamdani won in a rare W for us utopians. Maybe the only day of I told you so in our life times, but we got one and we better parade it fast.

020

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

Having an out of body experience seeing my book at the local bookstore. And they wrote a little blurb for it! 🥹

070

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

I appeared on The Colin McEnroe show to discuss the political economy of meme culture vis-a-vis Handbag dupes. For more great takes on trauma, rage, class consciousness and collective behavior, you can read by book Attention and Alienation! :) podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/f...

podcasts.apple.com

From totes to Birkins, handbags hold the keys to the world (along with your wallet and phone)

Podcast Episode · The Colin McEnroe Show · 06/04/2025 · 49m

020

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

Feeling sad about Twitter takeover. My book would have generated much buzz there; here on Bluesky, I am talking to myself. Academic Twitter used to be funny, quirky and relatable while boosting visibility for us junior scholars. It should have been a public good. Damn you, Telecom Act of 1996. 😭

020

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

🚨‼️🔔 Just received this @columbiaup.bsky.social my book is now a REAL! I can’t believe I did it — a daughter of child brides from Nepal. Breaking generational constraints, I share all my wisdom with the annals of history. I hope it’s moving and healing. 💕 Preorder cup.columbia.edu/book/attenti...

2194

Reposted by Aarushi Bhandari

American Sociological Association @asanews.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

ASA members in the news are exploring subjects ranging from attacks on higher ed to grandparenting to Birkin bags.

163

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Really amazing slide from students in my Sociology of the Good Place class.

020

Reposted by Aarushi Bhandari

The Society Pages @thesocietypages.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

How are elite handbags, DIY lawyering, & dishwasher debates all sociological? From the Walmart “Birkin” to grandparents parenting, Sociologists in the news weigh in: @musaalgharbi.bsky.social, @sushiaarushi.bsky.social, Michelle Janning, Madonna Harrington Meyer, & more! 🔗 bit.ly/4iokhdJ 🔗

033

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

Good morning academic and sociology friends. My first book Attention and Alienation is coming out on July 1 with @columbiaup.bsky.social. I am looking for speaking opportunities for Fall 2025, and would really appreciate a wide share. Please DM me if you are interested!

2135

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

I am really thrilled, humbled and awed to share that I have received an NSF: CAREER award for my Sociology project synthesizing social psychology and political economy around digital mindfulness apps. This work feels like my life’s purpose, and I am so grateful to have the support to complete it.

190

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Never thought I would say these next words but I wish I had seen the Oscars last night. From the standing ovation to the acceptance speeches, I have chills. 😭 youtu.be/3gzo7PiFiaM?...

youtu.be

'No Other Land' Wins Best Documentary Feature Film | 97th Oscars Speech (2025)

YouTube video by Oscars

020

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

The library representative helping my advanced quant class with lit reviews just said “JSTOR is the TJMaxx of academic research.” Genius framing.

020

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

*into the void once agian* free to use means you are the product. This app will almost certainly teach you anxiety it’s not even a joke. 💯

010

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

🙋🏽‍♀️ Attention and Alienation provides a blueprint for utopian visions of digital technologies.

140

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Great strategy. My CUP reviewers said my book suffered from excessive Marxist undertones and “reads like a Verso book.” So I added a whole opening chapter derived from Marxist theory and it improved my book greatly. Reviewers unintentionally being helpful lol.

020

Reposted by Aarushi Bhandari

Benjamin H. Bradlow @bhbradlow.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Michael Burawoy's concluding lines to his book "Public Sociology" (2021).

0232

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard has the answers on this.

020

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Last day of class, another set of brilliant presentations on Taylor Swift, Labor and Attention Capital. This class was so lit by the end, I wish I could share the student presentations! 🔥

240

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

Student presentations for the Taylor Swift course have been 🔥. This one walked through how TS emodies neoliberal ethos in her public persona and songwriting. It was titled “I can do it with the broken heart” 10/10. At the same time 99% of us had TS as top artist on their Spotify Wrapped. 💀🤭

170

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

This is the beginning of the end of what AI could have been. It’s gonna be AI “therapists” on Better Help saying stuff like “I am sorry that happened to you; you really deserve to buy that [targeted product] you were considering putting on your cart the other day.” The literal dystopia ahead of us.

070

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Nothing like waiting to hear back from 6 different grants that decide your sabbatical fate. I have taken to reviewing my junk folder — not because I think a little W will sneak in but because of the “esteemed professor please be the keynote speaker in our conference on pigeons in Dubai” validation.

040

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Lol this AI’s main “roast” elements of me were how much I talk about my upcoming book, but like what else is the point of this website 😭😭😭😭!!

030

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

The resulting collective mental health crises created a multi-billion dollar social media industry that relied entirely on user efforts to extract surplus. It would not be incorrect from this lens to say for-profit social media cites thrived on a kind of emotional slave labor.

260

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

In trying to become like the select few “influencers” who managed to make a living off these platforms, more and more people increased effort and engagement, exhausted when they got nothing cause the algorithms decided who gets seen. More surplus value was generated for social media companies.

271

Aarushi Bhandari @sushiaarushi.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

When social media companies began to sell user data, they generated surplus value from our attention and engagement. Then followed a cascade of everyday people across crumbling material economies trying to get paid for the surplus value they create. Few succeeded while the vast majority perished.

240