Food for Thought: Are We TOO Entertained?

I have now finished week two of five of the first session of summer classes offered at Appalachian State University. The courses I have chosen to enroll in this summer are Internet Communication and the obvious Social Media Strategies. Through these courses, I am starting to immerse myself further and further into the strategies used by influencers to target specific audiences and hold attentions.

In the 1980s, Neil Postman wrote a book titled Amusing Ourselves to Death. He states in the book that we are currently living in the Age of Show Business and that Las Vegas, the city of entertainment, is the most accurate representation of America today.

Ever since this groundbreaking read for myself, my need for entertainment has not been able to go unnoticed and I have been able to see that I share this desire with almost everyone around me. I am constantly checking my phone subconsciously, scrolling until something holds my short attention span as I frequently find many of my friends doing as well. But why is this the case? Why has the printed word become too little for the eye to bear?

We have replaced paper with a screen; and while this is an advancement in communication technology, it has caused us to deem other mediums of communication as insignificant when in fact each medium offers its own unique platform for communicating.

This summer, I encourage you to try and ditch the blue light from your phone and replace it with a book light. Be mindful of your attention span and try to spend free time doing things other than browsing the web. I realize this is an ironic post to have on a blog, not to mention a blog that was made for Social Media Strategies, but this has been something I have been more aware of and think that others should be as well.

Thank you for reading my THIRD post! Until next time...

Charlie Sanderson

Neil Postman’s book Amusing Ourselves to Death is available for purchase on Amazon here.