Technopoly

I've always considered myself to be a bit of an old-fashioned gal (despite my newfound lust for blogs and the blogging world.. ;-). I'm one of those you might refer to as a technophobe: when something electronic malfunctions, my first, usually only response is to turn it off and turn it back on again. I prefer re-heating my leftovers in a pan rather than in a microwave; hand-sewing and knitting my own clothing; using maps instead of GPS and bicycles instead of cars; and I simply don't understand the need for such silly portable devices as the i-phone (no offense, technophiles, but that's just me).

With that being said, I've recently purchased and perused Technopoly, a book written by Neil Postman in the early 1990's. I thought that it would be a great fit as my newest conspiracy-theory indulgence read; and although the book is somewhat dated, I felt that my distrust of all things technological would be vindicated through its relevant socio-cultural data. In fact, the book turned out to be a relatively accurate and compelling rundown of our limitless submission and consecration to the ubiquitous power and pervasiveness of technology. Really, it was much more of a serious account than I expected it would be, and a very haunting sign of our shifting cultural times.

I'm halfway through the book now, and thought that it would be a good idea to share some excerpts from it here (I think that good literature should always be shared).

Here is the first, about the beginning of the information revolution:

As the twentieth century began, the amount of information available through words and scriptures grew exponentially. With telegraphy and photography leading the way, a new definition of information came into being. Here was the information that rejected the necessity of interconnectedness, proceeded without context, argued for instancy against historical continuity, and offered fascination in place of complexity and coherence. And then, with Western culture gasping for breath, the fourth stage of the information revolution occurred, broadcasting. And then the fifth, computer technology. Each of these brought with it new forms of information, unprecedented amounts of it, and increased speeds (if virtual instancy can be increased).

What is our situation today? In the United States, we have 260,000 billboards; 11,520 newspapers; 11,556 periodicals; 27,000 video outlets for renting video tapes; more than 500 million radios; and more than 100 million computers. Ninety-eight percent of American homes have a television set; more than half our homes have more than one. There are 40,000 new book titles published every year (300,000 worldwide), and every day in America 41 million photographs are taken. And if that is not enough, more than 60 billion pieces of junk mail (thanks to computer technology) find their way into our mailboxes every year.*

From millions of sources all over the globe, through every possible channel and medium- light waves, airwaves, ticker tapes, computer banks, telephone wires, television cables, satellites, printing presses- information pours in. Behind it, in every imaginable form of storage- on paper, on video and audio tape, on discs, film, and silicon chips- is an ever greater volume of information waiting to be retrieved. Like the Sorcerer's Apprentice, we are awash in information. And all the sorcerer has left us is a broom. Information has become a form of garbage, not only incapable of answering the most fundamental human questions but barely useful in providing coherent direction to the solution of even mundane problems. To say it still another way: the milieu in which Technopoly flourishes is one in which the tie between information and human purpose has been severed, i.e., information appears indiscriminately, directed at no one in particular, in enormous volume and at high speeds, and disconnected from theory, meaning, or purpose.

ALl of this has called into being a new world. I have referred to it elsewhere as a peek-a-boo world, where now this event, now that, pops into view for a moment, then banishes again. It is an improbable world. It is a world in which the idea of human progress, as Bacon expressed it, has been replaced by the idea of technological progress. The aim is not to reduce ignorance, superstition, and suffering but to accommodate ourselves to the requirements of new technologies. We tell ourselves, of course, that such accommodations will lead to a better life, but that is only the rhetorical residue of a vanishing technocracy, We are a culture consuming itself with information, and many of us do not even wonder how to control the process. We proceed under the assumption that information is our friend, believing that cultures may suffer grievously from a lack of information, which, of course, they do. It is only now beginning to be understood that cultures may also suffer grievously from information glut, information without meaning, information without control mechanisms.

*I would just like to point out that this book was written nearly 3 decades ago, and that the torrent of information assailing our lives has undoubtedly grown enormously since then.... just something to think about the next time you update you open your inbox, or turn on Fox news!

...peace