Why Don’t We Speak To One Another Anymore? | Neil Postman
The next Neil Postman quote we’re going to look at is also from Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, here’s the quote:
“Americans no longer talk to each other, they entertain each other. They do not exchange ideas; they exchange images. They do not argue with propositions; they argue with good looks, celebrities and commercials.”
– Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, 1985
It’s remarkable, again, to note that Postman was writing this in the early 1980’s, two decades before the real rise of the internet. He was, of course, referring to the influence of television, but his words are perhaps even more relevant to the influence of the internet, social media, and especially the smartphone. The quote, “Americans no longer talk to each other,” is something that could have been written today, and that is more true today than when Postman wrote it. When a group of us are together, smartphones are never far away and we often find ourselves sharing videos, images, and memes. We “entertain each other. [We] do not exchange ideas; [we] exchange images.”
Of course, this is not completely and universally true, but it is sufficiently true to give us cause for reflection about the wisdom of our relationship with our smartphones, and how it affects our relationships with our friends and family.
If we want to work towards becoming serious people, here are some questions that might be worth considering:
1. Are we happy with the quality and frequency of meaningful conversations?
2. Has our communication shifted from dialogue to entertainment?
3. Do we spend more time exchanging memes than we do ideas?
4. Are our arguments superficial? Do we give undue weight to those who are attractive or famous?
5. Do our interactions cultivate genuine discussion?
6. Do we have the kinds of connections and intellectual growth that we seek?
The answers to these questions will differ for each of us, and they will differ greatly from one culture other another. Ultimately, each of us needs to ask ourselves: what kind of life do we want? What kind of relationships do we want? It’s likely that in order to have the kind of life and relationships that we seek, that we will need to alter our relationship with technology.
Ok…that’s it for today. If you haven’t already downloaded The How Did We Get Here? Reading List, please do that now: