Photo: Andrew Postman
Whenever we talk about misinformation, the state of democracy, or what new technology is doing to public debate, one book comes up over and over again even though it was written 40 years ago. Amusing Ourselves to Death; Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman.
It argued distraction would be our undoing, and once everything becomes entertainment, serious thought to take on serious issues is hard to come by. Neil Postman saw this coming long before social media feeds, constant scrolling, and smartphones in every pocket. Andrew Postman is a writer and Neil Postman’s son, He wrote the introduction to the latest edition of his father’s prescient book. He offers insights into the man who sounded the warning about mindless screentime all those years ago.
