A big point I learned by reading Amusing Ourselves to Death was that modern media is changing society and its through the medias successful distractions. On page 52 Neil Postman talks about how meaningful content used to be the center of attention, now we are distracted by stories that have no influence on our lives. On page 16 Postman discusses how Tv sets the theme for the nation because it in a way defines us. This is because the majority of the country does not question the tube; many people rely on television as their only source of news. Television along with drugs, video games, amusement parks, and anything else entertaining is designed to distract the public off serious issues. Neil Postman on page xi says... the phenomenon whereby the reporting of a horrific event, a rape or a five alarm fire or global warming is followed immediately by the anchor cheerfully exclaiming... The video I posted below talks about how the Gaza story is below the fold on the main newspaper meaning it's not as important. They try to argue how we have more important issues to worry about then Gaza, but really its a distraction to take your mind off this serious issue. What i gather from this is that we are a very un-informed public, because we are far to distracted with living our daily lives which we take for granted.
Media Revelation #6): Convergence
Media is shifting away from discrete and toward convergence. What this means is that new technologies allow us to stay connected to anybody in the world at any time. Cell phones revolutionized the way we communicate when they became available to the mass public. Now cell phones have evolved into internet phones that allow us to keep in touch with individual people as well as our social networks. This new convergence allows advertisers to build personal profiles for people depending on their searches. The advertisers are then able to use this information to target audiences with individualized advertisements that will pop up. If this trend of connectivity continues to grow, which I'm sure it will be may soon be living in a world similar to that in FEED. On page 97 the book talks about how everything they grew up with, from the stories on the feed to the games, is just stem lining their personalities so that it is easier to sell to them. The video below touches on how print media is down while cell phone and internet usage is still increasing. Sites like myspace and facebook are also majors in pushing this trend of convergence because we are able to access them and keep in touch remotely.
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