Neil Postman's thesis that television has and will continue to negatively affect the views and actions of the modern world is rather disturbing, especially since this was written over thirty years ago in 1985. While I was reading, I kept thinking how to counteract his ideas because I mean, I grew up with technology and I did not think it affected me negatively, but I came up with nothing. It is surprising how accurate he is with his views on television an how it can relate to technology today.
For instance, how many of you guys have watched Crash Course videos to study? Or maybe you have had a teacher put on Bill Nye in class. Ever notice how fast pace those are and how quickly they break down and cover the topics. It is way easier watching those videos instead of taking the time to read a textbook. Of course people could argue that it saves time, but how many people are using those videos to learn? These videos make connections that a person should be able to make themselves. Is this not harmful to a person's thought process or maybe the future generations' ability to think for themselves?
Postman also covers how the media affects politics. I could give a list with how many jokes I have heard about the way Donald Trump's voice is, or how his hair and face looks. I have seen many articles online about how Melissa McCarthy drove a podium around New York posing as Sean Spicer. The jokes are almost always about image, rather than the ideas that are brought on in politics. Saturday Night Live is a huge contributor to that thought considering that every skit they do is exaggerated for the entertainment of the people. Some could argue that shows like that spread awareness to the issues, but how many people really know how a skit on SNL relates to politics? I just wonder how different a person's view on politics would be if there was not a face shown when ideas were brought up.
Graciela Izabal
I agree that our many methods of acquiring information nowadays involve some super speed and simplistic form of retrieving it, and I admit that I have seen Crash Course videos to "study". These videos are good only to review content that was deeply analyzed like in textbooks, but for learning however, they are too broad and general to actually grasp the information deeply. The sad thing is that these high speed methods will only continue to appear as we approach the future, and students will probably not even be able to review the information.
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