Amazing Ourselves to Death Ch. 1-4

Two (possibly random) points stuck out to me in the first couple of chapters that I wanted to discuss this week. The first is regarding the fact that “there is a time for amusement and a time to be serious, and as our media and technology have expanded our ability to amuse ourselves, we have lost our ability to distinguish between the two, blurring the boundaries in favor of amusement” (Strate 4). In another class I’m taking we had a discussion about the reliability of news outlets today. Instead of focusing on serious topics, most news channels are filled with fluff pieces and entertainment stories. In brings into question, what is considered news today? In a society that is so focused on entertainment, the two have blurred together so much that it is hard to tell. We are more drawn to mystery, violence, and sex that to information and facts. Headlines and previews are getting more and more ridiculous and colorful in order to pull people in and increase ratings rather than informing them about what is actually going on. 

The other point I found interesting was that, compared to other forms of communication, writing is very impersonal. As a creative writing minor, I was at first taken aback by this point. For me, writing is one of the most personal things I can think of to share with someone. But after reading the section of the chapter I realized that I think it’s personal because it is -- but only to me. The person reading may have no connection to it whatsoever. They don’t know me or my background, and by only knowing me from what I write, can very easily judge and criticize me. It’s also much easier to make judgments or assumptions when the person is not physically there. For example, when people start fights over the internet that they would never do in person. It is easy to assume something about someone when all you have to go off of are the words in front of you, and it is even easier to judge them for it when you’re looking at a screen or a book rather than the person’s face in front of you.