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mrossperkins's review against another edition
4.0
Postman's thesis is provocative and sobering, and the modern cultural norms brought about by the internet only solidify the validity of basically everything he argues in this book. It's legitimately terrifying to read this book in the context of the modern era, because everything that we now take for granted as being completely normal serves as direct, undeniable evidence that Postman's prophecies and frantic warning sirens were basically spot on back in 1982.
My only criticism is that Postman's substantiations suffer from a narrowly specific anglocentric point of view that never once in the course of the book acknowledges the existence of non-western cultures and histories. The book would have benefitted a lot from integrating the sociological perspectives of non-western cultures, and I think that Postman's arguments would have only been made more comprehensive and authoritative by this kind of cultural and historical cross-comparison. After all, certainly if the book's arguments are valid, integration of non-western perspectives would surely just further reinforce and confirm this validity.
The anglocentric basis for his thesis becomes a bit treacherous at times and requires the reader to constantly remind oneself that when Postman refers to "childhood," he is not referring to it in terms of developmental psychology or human biology; his scope is limited solely to a childhood of western hegemonic and cultural conception. He makes this explicitly clear many times in the text, but it's often necessary to remember that Postman is talking less about childhood as a universal human phenomenon and more about childhood as it is uniquely conceived and acted out by specific people living in a specific place and in a specific historical context.
I enjoyed this book and found it illuminating, although not nearly as much as I enjoyed Postman's far more cogent "Amusing Ourselves to Death." In "The Disappearance of Childhood," his position is staunchly reactionary by comparison, though his warnings are definitely timely and important, and his writing is engaging and highly accessible, given the bleak subject matter.
My only criticism is that Postman's substantiations suffer from a narrowly specific anglocentric point of view that never once in the course of the book acknowledges the existence of non-western cultures and histories. The book would have benefitted a lot from integrating the sociological perspectives of non-western cultures, and I think that Postman's arguments would have only been made more comprehensive and authoritative by this kind of cultural and historical cross-comparison. After all, certainly if the book's arguments are valid, integration of non-western perspectives would surely just further reinforce and confirm this validity.
The anglocentric basis for his thesis becomes a bit treacherous at times and requires the reader to constantly remind oneself that when Postman refers to "childhood," he is not referring to it in terms of developmental psychology or human biology; his scope is limited solely to a childhood of western hegemonic and cultural conception. He makes this explicitly clear many times in the text, but it's often necessary to remember that Postman is talking less about childhood as a universal human phenomenon and more about childhood as it is uniquely conceived and acted out by specific people living in a specific place and in a specific historical context.
I enjoyed this book and found it illuminating, although not nearly as much as I enjoyed Postman's far more cogent "Amusing Ourselves to Death." In "The Disappearance of Childhood," his position is staunchly reactionary by comparison, though his warnings are definitely timely and important, and his writing is engaging and highly accessible, given the bleak subject matter.
mikideez's review against another edition
1.0
This was terrible and not worth the time taken to read it. He has taken "evidence" out of context and touted it as proof of his theory.
elizlizabeth's review
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
This was a bit dissapointing since I read Technopoly and liked the insights on that one a lot. Here I feel like he takes strong arguments and somehow manages to get to the wrong conclussions. Most of the last half had me dying with laughter at how immature and superficial it was, but I would eventually like to annotate and dissect this book further because there's definitely something if I can only get behind the reactionary attitude and the USAmerican occidentalism.
Despite the arguments practically leading him to it, Postman refuses to acknowledge how the socioeconomic patterns dictate social constructs like CHILDHOOD which he spent so many pages proving to be one. At one point he concludes that "American culture is [the enemy of childhood] but it's not a forthright enemy in the sense that one might say for example, that America is against communism". Dude. My brother in christ I'm begging you to see what the opposite of communism is.
Despite the arguments practically leading him to it, Postman refuses to acknowledge how the socioeconomic patterns dictate social constructs like CHILDHOOD which he spent so many pages proving to be one. At one point he concludes that "American culture is [the enemy of childhood] but it's not a forthright enemy in the sense that one might say for example, that America is against communism". Dude. My brother in christ I'm begging you to see what the opposite of communism is.
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia and Misogyny
At a couple of points the author mentions lesbianism and homosexuality as taboos that must be kept from the children until they are of age. He concludes that protecting childhood is ultimately a responsibility not of the family but of the women since they are the most apt to care and educate for children.rkw1989's review against another edition
3.0
A very lengthy read about not really any kind of argument or support for the title.
jbethke's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
I listened to this on audio, so I was doing laundry, dishes and chasing kids while listening. This book was very challenging to me, I found myself nodding in agreement with many parts, yet perplexed at Postman's attitudes during other parts.
Overall, I enjoyed the challenging of the culture (that is, the culture of 1981 and 1993). I think the main difference I have is worldview from the author. I am a Christian mom who chooses to homeschool, and so I approached this work with positivity, of course I want to preserve childhood!
The early chapters of this book describe the Middle Ages, and the time period where there was no childhood, young people and adult coexisted with the same exposure to the world, and the same social expectations were upon both groups of people. To summarize his point, the emergence of the printing press and widespread literacy created two separate groups of people, those who can read and understand the new "secret world" and those who could not.
Being a Christian, my knowledge of the Bible tells me that there are many stories and commandments about young people, including many that say to instruct the young, and Jewish tradition which has a set structure for young people being considered mature, so I am suspicious of Postman's narrow definition of the creation of childhood, yet I admit I have not researched this myself.
Towards the end of the book, Postman speaks in depth about the media, and it's influence on culture, including the blurring of lines between childhood and adulthood. I agree mostly with him, especially since my memory of the world is not too keen considering I was eight years old the year the new edition of the book was released. I can only guess his current comments at the age of the internet, social media and the like (it would be very interesting and I would check it out if a new edition was released).
Going on, he describes his disdain of the "moral majority" and "fundamentalists", and much of his criticism I agree with. He goes on to say that the Children's Rights movement is interested in abolishing compulsory schooling, as children should have the right to choose how they spend their time, and also that the spread of technology makes schools unnecessary. He does not spend much time on this topic, and to be fair homeschooling was not done much or legally at the time of the first edition, but I feel like Postman neglects to see how homeschooling has the ability to extend childhood, protect children from adult things, and allow for freedom and preservation of playtime and childlike things. I feel that if he knew the extent that media and technology are taking hold of schools, and that things like recess are being taken away, he might agree.
Overall, I enjoyed being challenged in my thoughts, I do wish he would have put more emphasis on why it is important to have separate child and adult worlds through the lens of psychology and development, I feel like that was a missed opportunity.
I listened to this on audio, so I was doing laundry, dishes and chasing kids while listening. This book was very challenging to me, I found myself nodding in agreement with many parts, yet perplexed at Postman's attitudes during other parts.
Overall, I enjoyed the challenging of the culture (that is, the culture of 1981 and 1993). I think the main difference I have is worldview from the author. I am a Christian mom who chooses to homeschool, and so I approached this work with positivity, of course I want to preserve childhood!
The early chapters of this book describe the Middle Ages, and the time period where there was no childhood, young people and adult coexisted with the same exposure to the world, and the same social expectations were upon both groups of people. To summarize his point, the emergence of the printing press and widespread literacy created two separate groups of people, those who can read and understand the new "secret world" and those who could not.
Being a Christian, my knowledge of the Bible tells me that there are many stories and commandments about young people, including many that say to instruct the young, and Jewish tradition which has a set structure for young people being considered mature, so I am suspicious of Postman's narrow definition of the creation of childhood, yet I admit I have not researched this myself.
Towards the end of the book, Postman speaks in depth about the media, and it's influence on culture, including the blurring of lines between childhood and adulthood. I agree mostly with him, especially since my memory of the world is not too keen considering I was eight years old the year the new edition of the book was released. I can only guess his current comments at the age of the internet, social media and the like (it would be very interesting and I would check it out if a new edition was released).
Going on, he describes his disdain of the "moral majority" and "fundamentalists", and much of his criticism I agree with. He goes on to say that the Children's Rights movement is interested in abolishing compulsory schooling, as children should have the right to choose how they spend their time, and also that the spread of technology makes schools unnecessary. He does not spend much time on this topic, and to be fair homeschooling was not done much or legally at the time of the first edition, but I feel like Postman neglects to see how homeschooling has the ability to extend childhood, protect children from adult things, and allow for freedom and preservation of playtime and childlike things. I feel that if he knew the extent that media and technology are taking hold of schools, and that things like recess are being taken away, he might agree.
Overall, I enjoyed being challenged in my thoughts, I do wish he would have put more emphasis on why it is important to have separate child and adult worlds through the lens of psychology and development, I feel like that was a missed opportunity.
sophiaxlm's review against another edition
3.0
略有年代感的一些观点（一看就是前网络时代的作品），对现代媒介对童年消逝（儿童成人化、成人儿童化）的影响只到电视广播阶段为止——其实这一段有点ranting，反倒信服力一般。前2/3介绍童年概念的产生和到书籍文化是如何模糊儿童与成人的界限的部分更让人有延伸阅读的欲望。其实我倒是很想看看，那条边界彻底消失的世界是个什么画面（混邪微笑）。
jimmypat's review against another edition
2.0
Even though I am sympathetic to Postman's message, I found his thesis that "childhood" was invented in the Middle Ages to be absurd. The first chapter of this book lacked scholarship, breadth, and research. It seemed as if Postman cherrypicked a couple of sources that helped make his case and ignored everything else. I finally put the book aside as he seems to be looking for a sort of morality to help, but yet he takes continued pot-shots at religion which are the source of the morality he is looking for. In the end, it just makes Postman seem kind of sad and lost. If you are to read a book by him I would recommend Amusing Ourselves to Death and avoid this one.
rwaringcrane's review against another edition
4.0
A compact volume that I'm reading for a research project. Every page contains information/observations that I am compelled to mark for citation later. Postman makes an interesting case for the creating of "childhood" with the advent of the printing press and its disappearance with technology and a visual culture.
diana_eveline's review against another edition
4.0
"The traditional assumptions about the uniqueness of children are fast fading - For adults, play is serious business. As childhood disappears, so does the child's view of play."
Postman undertakes an impressively extensive research into the creation, the peak and the disappearance of childhood. The concept of childhood has changed in meaning over the years, as modern inventions drastically changed our way of life. Postman points to the rise of widespread literacy, technology and the new social values in our modern society as the culprits for this change. Childhood has lost its identity in a world where there are increasingly fewer ways of keeping the secrets of adulthood hidden from children. Postman looks into the definition and evolvement of childhood and ends with some provocative questions about his finds.
This is a little different from his other works that I have read so far. No less enjoyable and incredibly well-written. In The End of Education and Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman has a clear opinion that is woven through his work and he also presents plenty of options on how to fight, for example, the rise of the entertainment value in education or the loss of teaching critical thinking. At the start of this book, he confesses to not have any answers on how to fight this disappearance and at the very end, he even says he isn't sure whether that it is in our best interest. He has managed to map out the history of childhood in a very impressive way. It is odd to read how we are exposing our children to such different things now, like TV. It has become rather normal but I had never considered what kind of psychological effect TV-shows and the depiction of children on TV could have...
Postman put forward many patterns that brought about the current predicament that I could never have identified myself. He says himself that though he has no solutions to offer, he finds it important to write it down so perhaps someone else can be inspired by his work and come up with something. As always, Postman manages to point at the double-sidedness of progress and technological development in a way that makes the flipside look downright horrifying. This book leaves me with plenty of food for thought. I am once again impressed and, upon finishing this book, immediately ordered another one of his works.
Postman undertakes an impressively extensive research into the creation, the peak and the disappearance of childhood. The concept of childhood has changed in meaning over the years, as modern inventions drastically changed our way of life. Postman points to the rise of widespread literacy, technology and the new social values in our modern society as the culprits for this change. Childhood has lost its identity in a world where there are increasingly fewer ways of keeping the secrets of adulthood hidden from children. Postman looks into the definition and evolvement of childhood and ends with some provocative questions about his finds.
This is a little different from his other works that I have read so far. No less enjoyable and incredibly well-written. In The End of Education and Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman has a clear opinion that is woven through his work and he also presents plenty of options on how to fight, for example, the rise of the entertainment value in education or the loss of teaching critical thinking. At the start of this book, he confesses to not have any answers on how to fight this disappearance and at the very end, he even says he isn't sure whether that it is in our best interest. He has managed to map out the history of childhood in a very impressive way. It is odd to read how we are exposing our children to such different things now, like TV. It has become rather normal but I had never considered what kind of psychological effect TV-shows and the depiction of children on TV could have...
Postman put forward many patterns that brought about the current predicament that I could never have identified myself. He says himself that though he has no solutions to offer, he finds it important to write it down so perhaps someone else can be inspired by his work and come up with something. As always, Postman manages to point at the double-sidedness of progress and technological development in a way that makes the flipside look downright horrifying. This book leaves me with plenty of food for thought. I am once again impressed and, upon finishing this book, immediately ordered another one of his works.
mattbrosseau's review against another edition
3.0
This is a difficult book to rate. Not because it's hard to understand, but because it struggles to find its point. Understanding where the concept of childhood comes from is an important aspect of understanding where it is going, however, the majority of this book is about the history of literacy and the printing press and how that has shifted us toward the development of "childhood" as a concept.
By the time Postman gets to the thesis outlined in his book's title, it sounds more like one of the generic articles complaining about "Millennials" rather than a critical analysis of the concept of childhood and how to help preserve it.
By the time Postman gets to the thesis outlined in his book's title, it sounds more like one of the generic articles complaining about "Millennials" rather than a critical analysis of the concept of childhood and how to help preserve it.