While I was reading Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman makes a point about how the telegraph made news irrelevant and unimportant. He talks about how the newspaper no longer cared about the value of information that was printed but about how fast they received information from far distances. He claims that the news is full of “information that gives us something to talk about but cannot lead to any meaningful action,” (68) which is actually fairly true. As I read on, he made it seem as if we watch the news or read the paper for our amusement and entertainment. It’s shocking to hear someone talk about how irrelevant the news is considering I’ve been told my whole life how important it is to know what’s going on around the world. I get what he’s saying about how we can’t do anything about the information we hear from around the world but is it bad for us to be informed?
I believe it is beneficial to many people, including myself, to be informed by current events around the world. I have family members that live in places across the country as well as on a whole nother continent, so I am personally grateful for the information that the news provides me. Do you guys think it’s important to keep up with what’s happening on the news? Why? What relevance does it have to you if there is any?
I believe the news is important, because it does keep people informed about dangerous events that have happened or that are said to happen. For example, if there were warning signs for a hurricane, or a tornado, the news would warn their audience, and many injuries would be prevented as people prepare. The news also reports missing people that a viewer might've seen, and their call helps the people looking for that person. Some parts of the news are irrelevant, but might lift your spirits, if its a heartfelt story. The news can also keep worried families updated on their loved ones who were in an area that was hit by a natural disaster. The news is important in many ways, but sometimes a random story can be irrelevant to actual world news.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Most people were informed of tragedies that have happened recently because of the news. Like you said, it warns people of things that can harm them. The problem is that some news stations only cover a topic for a certain amount of time. People don't really pay attention to certain topics if it doesn't interest them. That's why they usually have an irrelevant story, for entertainment purposes.
Delete