Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business

Television has encouraged a dumbing down of societal discourse. Neil Postman's arguments seem both dated and prenicient. When written in the 1980s, television was primarily consumed via limited broadcast stations. Cable was growing, but still limited. Computers were something of a novelty. People sat down in front of a family TV to get information. If they were bored, they stopped watching.

Today it has become worse. Moving pictures are available on phones, computers and the TV set. There are a near-infinite number of different videos that can be streamed with the click of a button. Nearly everything is "stand alone". You can watch a single youtube video then see more from the same creator. There are many series and movies available. The attention spans have shrunk further as there are many other options if something is not entertaining.

With COVID, education and religion have been migrated to screens with poor results. Church did not have the same "sacredness" when it was just coming from a screen at home. People would do things that they would not otherwise do at church. Similarly school was a different experience. Even trying to replicate the same school experience over Zoom produced poor results. Why watch a boring teacher, when there are many well-produced programs out there? Migration to screens seems to degrade the original.

TV is here to stay. We are now picking leaders based on how they appear on screens rather than on substantive issues. "Influencers" have large media followings. With the large number of video productions there are some that are daring. However, the overall quality has veered towards those with lower attention spans and less spot. It does not bode well for society. Postman observed the problems and half heartedly proposes solutions. Things do not bode well for society.