Analysis Of Neil Postman's Five Things We Need To Know About Technological Change

Written over 20 years ago, Neil Postman’s “Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change” confronts the issues of the present and future by examining the past. Postman’s unbiased approach to technological change allows the reader to decide for herself/himself whether recent innovations are helpful or detrimental. When used ethically and cautiously, social media can positively benefit society; however, social media has proven to have many large problems that, if left unexamined, could deconstruct our society. First, Postman introduces the idea that for every positive effect technology has, there must be a negative effect. Social media is different than most inventions because it is not concrete or tangible, like a phone, but it exists in the online “space.” The online space is a positive advantage of social media because it eliminates the barriers of the physical world, allowing someone in Tokyo to communicate with someone in New York. This advantage also has a negative effect on social media users because they become disconnected from the physical world. Second, Postman presents several questions for the reader

As aforementioned, social media has redefined what it is to be social and part of a community. I agree with Postman: the introduction of social media has permanently changed how we communicate, obtain information, and interact as a society. Once this new way of life is established, there are two ways it can go; one, people will reject the new idea and allow it to “die off;” or two, people will accept the new way, and it will cause a permanent change. Postman fails to explain that society must first accept the technology, and once accepted, that technology becomes ecological. One example of a rejected technology is the “terminator technology,” which makes plants unable to reproduce, create new seeds, and if the technology were accepted, the world would quickly fall into