Your Undivided Attention

The Man Who Predicted the Downfall of Thinking

Mar 6, 2025

In this discussion, Sean Illing, host of Vox's The Gray Area, and Lance Strate, a communication professor and Neil Postman's former student, dive into the prophetic insights of Neil Postman. They tackle how today's technology, especially social media and AI, fragments our attention and shapes our democracy. The duo highlights the dangers of misinformation, the ethical implications of technology, and the critical need for enhanced literacy in a media-saturated world, urging listeners to reclaim meaningful engagement to preserve humanity.

58:57

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Episode guests

Lance Strate

Sean Illing

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Neil Postman’s insights on technology's impact on attention and society remain strikingly relevant in today's smartphone and social media landscape.

The shift from a reading culture to a visual media environment has diminished the public's capacity for critical thinking and meaningful dialogue.

Engaging with technology critically and fostering ethical frameworks can help society navigate the complexities and risks of emerging technologies.

Deep dives

The Influence of Technology on Society

Technologies such as television, smartphones, and social media have fundamentally altered human relationships and communication. The late media theorist Neil Postman warned about the dangers of these technologies, suggesting they could undermine critical thinking and reshape societal norms. His reflections from earlier media forms are even more relevant today as artificial intelligence enters the stage with the potential to further revolutionize societal structures. Understanding how these technologies influence communication and knowledge is crucial as their impacts are often difficult to discern while still actively embedded in the environment.

Intro

4min

Media Ecology and Democracy

26min

The Cultural Implications of Technopoly and Technology's Role in Society

4min

Navigating the Complexities of AI and Society

19min

Reinforcing Literacy in a Media-Saturated World

2min

Navigating Incentives and the Power of Questions

2min

Dystopian Visions: Orwell vs. Huxley

2min

Few thinkers were as prescient about the role technology would play in our society as the late, great Neil Postman. Forty years ago, Postman warned about all the ways modern communication technology was fragmenting our attention, overwhelming us into apathy, and creating a society obsessed with image and entertainment. He warned that “we are a people on the verge of amusing ourselves to death.” Though he was writing mostly about TV, Postman’s insights feel eerily prophetic in our age of smartphones, social media, and AI.

In this episode, Tristan explores Postman's thinking with Sean Illing, host of Vox's The Gray Area podcast, and Professor Lance Strate, Postman's former student. They unpack how our media environments fundamentally reshape how we think, relate, and participate in democracy - from the attention-fragmenting effects of social media to the looming transformations promised by AI. This conversation offers essential tools that can help us navigate these challenges while preserving what makes us human.

Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on X: @HumaneTech_

RECOMMENDED MEDIA

“Amusing Ourselves to Death” by Neil Postman

”Technopoly” by Neil Postman

A lecture from Postman where he outlines his seven questions for any new technology.

Sean’s podcast “The Gray Area” from Vox

Sean’s interview with Chris Hayes on “The Gray Area”

"Amazing Ourselves to Death," by Professor Strate

Further listening on Professor Strate's analysis of Postman.

Further reading on mirror bacteria

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CORRECTION: Each debate between Lincoln and Douglas was 3 hours, not 6 and they took place in 1859, not 1862.