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natshelf's review against another edition
4.0
terrifyingly accurate to the current media landscape; especially to short-form content, filled with sentiments one would be surprised were written in 1985.
strategineer's review against another edition
5.0
Amusing Ourselves to Death is a book about the corrosive effects of television on our politics and public discourse. Now, with television joined by more sophisticated electronic media--from the Internet to cell phones to DVDs-- it's more relevant than ever.
Despite being published in the 80s, this was a great read.
The Internet is the "new" technology that's accelerated us on a path we've been put on by TV initially, many years ago, and ever since then, the way public discourse happens has changed drastically, and not for the better.
The people who get elected today aren't well spoken orators who can reason about the tough societal issues we're faced with, they're Twitter trolls.
This didn't just happen over night and for no good reason. Neil Postman believes that TV (and if he was alive, he would be pointing the finger at the big tech companies I'm sure) is in part to blame for this and through his words he convinced me of this as well.
TV and the Internet are here to stay. The question is: what can we do to stop it from helping bad faith actors from getting and retaining power and ruining things for the rest of us?
Despite being published in the 80s, this was a great read.
The Internet is the "new" technology that's accelerated us on a path we've been put on by TV initially, many years ago, and ever since then, the way public discourse happens has changed drastically, and not for the better.
The people who get elected today aren't well spoken orators who can reason about the tough societal issues we're faced with, they're Twitter trolls.
This didn't just happen over night and for no good reason. Neil Postman believes that TV (and if he was alive, he would be pointing the finger at the big tech companies I'm sure) is in part to blame for this and through his words he convinced me of this as well.
TV and the Internet are here to stay. The question is: what can we do to stop it from helping bad faith actors from getting and retaining power and ruining things for the rest of us?
tophat8855's review against another edition
3.0
Reading nonfiction that was written the year you were born is wild. He gets some things spot on, but also is off on a lot (like how the Internet would affect public discourse). It's pretty short- I listened via Hoopla, and he makes good points about how the medium and mode of public discourse has changed over the centuries. And it's right about politics becoming entertainment. Heck, even driving, with large touch screens and such, is entertainment.
omair's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.0
While there are some very interesting bits, overall there is - at least what felt to me - a lot of repetitive thoughts that make the book feel like it drags along. It crosses the line from informative to preachy and made me feel like trudging through quicksand to get to the end. Still, for a book written four decades ago, it offered me some applicable insight into modern times, so I applaud it for that.
treeme's review against another edition
informative
2.0
Except this classic piece to be better than it was.