Postman Today

It has already been mentioned that some of Postman’s ideas are outdated due to the ever-increasing advancement of technology. However, I am interested in discussing what Postman’s opinions might have been about how the internet has affected public discourse. At first, it would seem to be a transformation for the better as the majority of on-line discourse is done through the written word; however, these words very rarely have much depth, almost never contain any detailed exposition or analysis, and have at best only the faintest hint of propositional content. A new, dominant medium has arrived on the scene, but it seems to have arrived too late to actually benefit us. Our intellect is already so compromised form the effects of a century of television that the internet only seems to have magnified the effects (so far). The already-over-abundance of information has only increased, the capacity for which is now infinite. The internet has only taken the effects of television to absurd extremes, and while the capability for it to become a glowing bastion of intellectual content and intelligent discussion and debate certainly exists, as of now, it has become the new soma, only much stronger.

Therefore, Postman’s book is more relevant now than ever, at this critical time when we move form the Age of Show Business to the Age of YouTube, when a new medium once again has taken over and is working its subtle effects on our epistemology. It may be some time before the effects of this technology become clear, but by then, they will probably be so common and widespread as to be invisible, just like the effects of television on our minds today. Consequently, Postman’s prescription is necessary: children must be taught about the differences in the inherent biases in different forms of media, and how to properly assimilate and contextualize the massive amounts of information that assault us every day. We must ultimately begin to realize that these are serious times we live in, that without intelligent discussion and debate the problems that face us will never be solved, and our societies will crumble and fall as we continue watching TV, surfing the web, and amusing ourselves to death.