We can choose when to use them and, more importantly, when to set them aside. When I am aimlessly scrolling, I make an effort to ask myself what particular issue I am attempting to resolve. I have little uprisings instead of big fixes. His voice becomes even more important in the era of artificial intelligence. It is a silent protest against the tide of insignificance, a deliberate attempt to maintain areas in my life for meaningless conversation, ideas that don't need to be shared, and understanding that develops gradually, like sediment, rather than being gathered in quick, ephemeral clicks.
This is Postman's legacy in action - am I looking for information, or am I just trying to avoid a quiet moment? Postman reminds us that the most crucial discussions are about the purpose of technology and the types of people we become as a result of using it, rather than what it can accomplish. When I want to read a book, I put my phone away in a different room. It is a quiet resistance against the tide of triviality, a conscious effort to preserve spaces in my life for conversation that meanders without a point, for thought that doesn't need to be shared, and for understanding that is built slowly, like a sediment, rather than collected in rapid, fleeting clicks.
Neil Postman's words hit me like a splash of cold water: television wasn't just entertainment- it was reshaping how we think. Postman, the cultural critic who spent decades analyzing the influence of the media on society, continues to speak directly to anyone who is confused by the deluge of information that exists today. Even now, years later, as I browse through countless feeds on my phone, I keep coming back to his concepts.
His writings continue to be an essential guide for navigating a world he predicted with startling accuracy, providing the knowledge to create a more humane future rather than a map to a bygone era. Neil Postman's statement that television was changing our way of thinking rather than just providing entertainment struck me like a cold shower. Postman winked to encourage self-awareness rather than reprimanding. I burst out laughing, then winced as I realized that I had the same tendency in my own life - turning sadness into stories and birthdays into content.
Because everything there was packaged as spectacle, including history classes, weddings, and even oxygen. He is readable because of his sense of humor. He wanted us to realize that all media are biased by nature and that some communication methods work better for particular kinds of discourse than others.
