The Prophecy of a Postman
Neil Postman predicted the future in 1985, but what does that mean for us now?
In the current internet age, it often feels as though we are flooded with more information than we know what to do with. In the 1980s, one prominent social critic observed similar effects caused by the television. In 1985, critic Neil Postman wrote a book Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business criticizing mass media, and particularly, the television for its effects on American discourse. Building on Marshall McLuhan’s famous maxim: “the medium is the message” Postman observes the effects that television specifically and mass entertainment more generally have had on our culture. The book is very nonpartisan, criticizing major figures from both political parties. Two dystopian novels gripped the literary public in the 20th century, George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxely’s Brave New World. In the words of the author, Amusing Ourselves to Death is “about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right. He contrasts the two writers:
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy.
To be clear, the argument is not merely that television is being used poorly, but that it is impossible, by its nature, to be used well. He observes television’s effects on politics: the ascendancy of Ronald Reagan. He laments the media’s treatment of him, that his charm and understanding of media helped him on the campaign trail and his comparison of politics to show business.
Postman is also disgruntled at the effects of television on religion. He contrasts the televangelists of the 1980s with the religious luminaries of days gone past, “who were men of great learning, theological subtlety and powerful exposition.” He attributes this decline in the quality of religious discourse to television saying:
What makes these television preachers the enemy of religious experience is not so much their weaknesses but the weaknesses of the medium in which they work.
He attributes this weakness to being that television further incentivizes people to appeal to their audience, instead of telling people what they do not want to hear, as great religious leaders of days gone past have done. Perhaps this is true, because television is (compared to literature) easier to produce and takes less effort to consume, but still, I am somewhat skeptical of this line of argumentation. Religious pandering and hypocrisy is as old as religion itself. In one of his letters to Timothy, Paul condemns those who suit their doctrine to their own desires:
For there shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears: And will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
Undoubtedly, the medium of television helps support this tendency, by offering more options and takes very little (if any) effort to consume.
The Medium of Our Day
Undoubtedly, the medium of our present cultural moment is social media networks. The most popular site now is TikTok (and it’s copycats Instagram reels and YouTube shorts). These 15 second or so videos provide the mind with a condensed bit of information, a small soundbite, joke, or whatever it might be. If the television had detrimental effects on our discourse, I have far greater fear of what this new medium can have. The new medium, unlike television, constrains by time limit what you can say, while retaining the captivating digital stimulation of television. Especially in the realm of politics and religion, where nuance is required to understand difficult abstract concepts, discourse will be made difficult. Instead, what will be encouraged are ten-second soundbites, personal insults, and jokes about pop-culture.
Of course, social media and television are neither intrinsically good nor evil. They are tools, that can enhance your life if you use them correctly. The issue is most people don’t. This points to a broader question about human desire and optimal behavior.
Why Do We Struggle to Do Things That Are In Our Best Interest?
So we have technology that in theory should make our life, better. St. Thomas has some insights that may be able to allow us to understand why we struggle to make the best use of technology. In a perfect world, where our passions were subject to our intellect, and not disordered, we would experience no problems stewarding this incredibly technology in the digital age. That said, one of the most obvious aspects of the human experience is our inclination towards things which may not be good for us.
In Christian theology, a disordered lower appetite contrary to reason is referred to as concupiscence. Concupiscence came as a result of man’s original disobedience to God in the garden of Eden and make it difficult to live a life or virtue. Regardless of whether you accept the Christian narrative of how concupiscence came to be, it is undoubtedly a part of the human experience. There is no doubt this applies to our use of digital technology as well. Evidence of this can be found in the language we use to refer to our use of technology. The term “doomscrolling” has recently entered the public lexicon as referring to spending an excessive amount of time scrolling through media on one’s phone.
Can Technology Be Redeemed?
The rise of digital media and the internet presents a massive opportunity. We have greater access to information, computing power, and learning resources than we have ever had before. A world class education that was (and still is) the envy of the world is at your fingertips. People have opportunities for greater choice in who they marry and start a family with and can meet like-minded individuals from across the world. We have access to almost all the music ever made for free on YouTube. There is undoubtedly the opportunity for technology and social media specifically to drastically improve our standard of living. To do this, I will present a few practical suggestions that might help us in pursuit of a better life and a healthier relationship with technology.
Be mindful of the reality of concupiscence. As mentioned before, humans are not perfectly rational, optimized creatures. We are broken, we do not always perfectly desire our good. Because of this, it may be necessary to say “no” to some things that are not necessarily bad in themselves but are presenting negative consequences for you in your life.
Understand “the medium is the message.” Yes, there is nothing wrong with consuming, in moderation, short 10-15 second videos. It should be noted, however, that the medium makes it difficult to delve into the complexity of deeper topics. It is very difficult to grasp abstract concepts if the format by which you are learning are these short videos.
Think about the end for which you use the technology. This does not mean that every use of technology has to be “productive” or something that you could put on a LinkedIn. If you want to watch an hour of YouTube for recreation, that is a-okay, but it should be done with intention and not something that mindlessly eeks its way into your day. I find this to be especially important with social media sites.