One sentence summary: Postman discusses the extent to which television has influenced not only our consumption of media, but the way we behave in every aspect of our daily lives.
- Page 87 “Of course, to say that television is entertaining…”
- Page 97-98 “What all of this means is that our culture…”
Postman reflection: I really enjoyed this chapter. Postman essentially covered all of the ways the influence of television has extended beyond just media and into our daily lives. He says at one point that it is less important for people to satisfy “the demands of their discipline than the demands of good showmanship” (98). I hadn’t really considered that, but as soon as I read it it clicked for me. Think about Dr. Phil; he’s a licensed psychologist who has essentially left behind all trappings of his profession in order to create a version of things that is more appealing to watch on television. Is it still a valid form of psychological therapy? Has Dr. Phil’s form of help stripped away too much to be helpful? I don’t know enough to say the answer, but the fact that it’s even conceivable is very telling. Television has, as Postman claims, taken out a large portion of the substance of things and replaced it with showmanship. I tend to agree with assessment. Postman has extended this argument for almost all professions, including doctors, lawyers, and even the clergy.
Podcast reflection: I thought this was a great continuation of the previous sessions on attention and how to manage it properly. In particular, I liked that he mentioned that designers should change the goal from “making it easy to send a message” to “creating the highest quality of messaging”, for example. Just because it is easy for us to get in contact with others does not mean that this is always a good thing or even a necessary thing. Essentially, Harris is suggesting that we should shift from a mundane design goal to a Human design goal; that is, we need to design things in order to create the best feelings in their users rather than to just deliver on a service regardless of the effects. I thought this was great point, and something that has made me think more than a little bit about my own relationship with technology.
