Thursday, August 4, 2016
Thoughts on Amusing Ourselves to Death
After finishing Amusing Ourselves to Death recently, I have a lot of mixed feelings about it that I'd like to share. Since I am not used to reading nonfiction, or books that really don't have a plot really, I had trouble understanding what Postman was trying to say in the first two or three chapters of the book. However, as I progressed further, each chapter began to make more sense to me and I began to have different views on how television had caused a huge change during the time Postman wrote the book. Television began to belittle the importance of politics, religion, and education and make everything be communicated into instant, simple messages that only told people what they wanted to hear. In the same way, the technology of this day and age has made it so that we only get the big idea out of everything to entertain ourselves and not be bored rather than giving us enough information to find importance. By doing this, it's clear that what Postman feared has partially become true in the way that we are not aware of what technology is really doing to us and that its been able to corrupt some of us far enough to believe we cannot live without it. In some cases, it seems people would rather have conversations with their TVs, phones, tablets, or computers than with their own families at this point. All in all, Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death has given me a whole new view on not just television, but technology as a whole, and has led me to believe most of society has prioritized amusement over finding the true significance of something all for the sake of not being bored. I know I was pretty late in finishing the book, but I'm wondering what everyone's thoughts on the book are. Did it change anyone else's views on technology? Has it given anyone a new perspective on society in general? Has what Postman predicted would happen with television become a reality? I'm interested in any thoughts or ideas.
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I concur with your perception of Amusing Ourselves to Death. After finishing the book Postman really made me contemplate the affect technology has had on me personally. After the book I found that I was sort of too attached to the entertainment that my phone amused me with. It's scary to read how a man Like Neil Postman was able to predict the trap that we 20th and 21st century humans have fallen into. His book honestly made me want to challenge myself to ditch my phone from time to time, and to really pay attention to my surroundings or even read a paper-back book.
ReplyDeleteI can also concur with Sydairee in the fact that it is beyond me that Postman was capable of predicting what was going to occur with technology in the 20th and 21st centuries. When reading this book, it really made me think of how attached we are to our devices and the far reaching technology that can characterize the 21st century and how it has affected everyone. It is hard to "ditch" our phones from time to time because we are so used to carrying it with us everywhere while we tweet and snapchat but when the time comes to put it away many struggle to give up their technology for such a short time. I think it is good when we abandon our devices from time to time because that is when we really appreciate our surroundings. If you are having a conversation, drop the phone and actually have eye contact with them in order to have a genuine conversation. When at the dinner table with family members, make eye contact and ask them how their day has been. With technology, we are devoted to it when we should be doing other things that would be more beneficial. We need to use our time wisely and to pick up a book once and a while and clean our room from time to time. My point is that Postman really made me re-evaluate how I go about my days and limit my time on social media and t.v.
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