The Huxleyan Warning

After reading the excerpt from "Amusing Ourselves to Death" by Neil Postman, I find myself partially agreeing with his views. Postman's stance on culture's immersion into technology is accurate, because people now resort to the use of their cell phones, televisions, or computers as a way to spend their time. I do not believe, however, that these things are a complete waste of time nor are they the only way we spend our time. Yes, if we are not careful as a society, we may become seduced by technology completely without even realizing it. Yes, there are downsides to technology. But, if used properly, however, technology can be a great asset to society. For example, a child moves to college, and he or she is away from his parents for the first time on his own. Although technology is not a substitute for person-to-person interaction, it can certainly help bring people together. The child can call his parents, or even talk to them on Skype or FaceTime. The ability to be connected with people is something that is a necessary part of life.

The part where I agree with Postman the most is his view on television. "Neither do I put much stock in proposals to improve the quality of television programs. Television, as I have implied earlier, serves us most usefully when presenting junk entertainment; it serves us most ill when it co-opts serious modes of discourse - news, politics, science, education, commerce, religion - and turns them into entertainment packages," (Postman 159). The most important aspects of our everyday life are not presented to us as such; they are presented to us as if they are films, or stories with plots. While it is healthy to distract ourselves with Netflix, we can not spend all of our time watching that or following the Kardashians. There is no depth. Especially in this time with a presidential election in the near future, we need to focus on real issues. Voters need to be informed, and the media needs to do a better job of relaying unbiased and honest information.

Humans are independent people. We must be able to make our own choices. We can not be too dull with work and study, but we also must avoid committing ourselves to a life of shallow entertainment.