People like Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman were the visionaries who really thought ahead of time about the impending effects of electronic media on the society and human psyche. Postman says 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. As a consequence, we find ourselves suffering from too much of a good thing. (pg. 4). I couldn't agree any less to this statement. Everybody, today is a victim of the new new media and is completely unaware of the way it has hijacked our lives and minds. Leaving aside the negatives, there are actually a very few who use new new media such as social media for some positive serious knowledge discourse. Coming to the impersonal nature of writing (pg. 15), I would like to say that not all writing can be considered impersonal. It is a very subjective statement. I definitely agree with the fact that what a person rights is a lot of times derived from his own experiences and encounters and hence its personal to him but not to the person who is trying to read it. He can't necessarily feel the latent emotions in the words used. However, a form of writing that is academic in nature, pertaining to a particular area/field can become personal for all those who belong to that particular area/field. In other words, if u agree to the text and the teachings of a particular writer, does one not become become personal towards that writing?
It was interesting to learn so many interesting facts about Neil Postman in chapter 2. Another important concept mentioned in the book is that of 'Technopoly'. Using the example of telegraph, the author explains how information overload overwhelms our capacity to process it, evaluate it, or otherwise make sense of it. (pg. 76). This is so true and relevant in today's time because we find satisfaction in technology. We take orders from technology in the sense that even though we are in the 'interactive media' phase, our life is so much controlled and dependent on these media that it has become almost impossible to survive/stay sane without their aid/use. The amount of time we lose during a day in cyberspace speaks volumes of how handicapped we feel without them. I believe that democracy born out of print culture and a reverence for the word has managed to survive in the electronic era and is still surviving today to an extent, if not wholly.
Neil Postman interview -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRabb6_Gr2Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHd31L6XPEQ
It was interesting to learn so many interesting facts about Neil Postman in chapter 2. Another important concept mentioned in the book is that of 'Technopoly'. Using the example of telegraph, the author explains how information overload overwhelms our capacity to process it, evaluate it, or otherwise make sense of it. (pg. 76). This is so true and relevant in today's time because we find satisfaction in technology. We take orders from technology in the sense that even though we are in the 'interactive media' phase, our life is so much controlled and dependent on these media that it has become almost impossible to survive/stay sane without their aid/use. The amount of time we lose during a day in cyberspace speaks volumes of how handicapped we feel without them. I believe that democracy born out of print culture and a reverence for the word has managed to survive in the electronic era and is still surviving today to an extent, if not wholly.
Neil Postman interview -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRabb6_Gr2Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHd31L6XPEQ
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