Over the past few years, I have posted reviews for two books by Chris Martin: Terms of Service: The Real Cost of Social Media and The Wolf in Their Pockets: 13 Ways the Social Internet Threatens the People You Lead. Both of these books examine how social media (or the social internet) affects us (and, in the case of “church leaders,” the people in their churches). Although social media has only been around for twenty years or so, the author frequently cited a book that was published in 1985, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, by Neil Postman. I finally got around to reading this book for myself.
Postman’s book dealt with how television affected public discourse. As Martin explained in his books, social media has done the same thing, but at a much larger scale. So Postman’s book, although it is now forty years old, can help us understand how television (and now the internet and social media) affect the way we understand the world around us.
From the book’s description:
Originally published in 1985, Neil Postman’s groundbreaking polemic about the corrosive effects of television on our politics and public discourse has been hailed as a twenty-first-century book published in the twentieth century. Now, with television joined by more sophisticated electronic media—from the Internet to cell phones to DVDs—it has taken on even greater significance. Amusing Ourselves to Death is a prophetic look at what happens when politics, journalism, education, and even religion become subject to the demands of entertainment. It is also a blueprint for regaining control of our media, so that they can serve our highest goals.
Our culture in the United States has gotten much more casual over the past few generations. This affects our work, speech, relationships, and the way that we dress. The trend toward more casual attire has made its way into the church as many Christians do not “dress up” very much (if at all) when they assemble for worship.
