Neil Postman
American social critic and writer
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
What changes in language are being enforced by new technologies and what is being gained and lost by such changes? We have to be careful in considering how words are being changed. Consider, for example, how the words 'community' and 'conversation' are now employed by Internet-users. To me, e-mail is not a conversation; it is two people typing messages to each other. Likewise, 'community' on the Internet has exactly the opposite of the usual meaning — a community not of people of shared interests but people of different interests who have to negotiate with each others' interests to achieve harmony.
—Neil Postman, American social critic and writer, The Guardian, December 5, 1998
Posted on November 14, 2003 at 7:33 AM
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
On television, charm is the heart of the matter, language a mere adornment. ... The ascendancy of the image as a decisive signifier of truthfulness also explains why TV newscasters make up the handsomest group of people in America; why they become as famous as movie stars; why they appear as guests and emcees on entertainment programs; why some are fired for having low credibility ratings, none for speaking falsely. Good looks, a trustworthy gaze, celebrity — these reach regions where reason cannot go, and the word is thus rendered irrelevant. In the Age of Television, truth is a gut reaction.
—Neil Postman, American social critic and writer, Los Angeles Times, November 24, 1986
Posted on October 31, 2003 at 1:43 PM
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