There is no subject of public interest- politics, news, education, religion, science, sports- that does not find its way to television. Which means that all public understanding of these subjects is shaped by the biases of television…
Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death
If the medium is really the message, and if we consume every sphere of life through the medium of television and our social feeds, then the message of every aspect of our culture is “incoherence, irrelevance, impotence.” Triviality, addiction, manipulation. Our inheritance is bust. The society we live in is ultimately irreparable. Where is a refuge from this cacophony of distractions?
Our politics have been forever scarred by the echo chamber of a sensational social media. Our news grew alongside and influenced the creation of the seven-second video to keep us engaged and enraged. Our education suffers from the attention spans of teachers and students alike, unable to brood on a single topic long enough to glean its vital relevance to our lives. Our religions have become tribalistic and consumer-driven, only being beneficial in their contribution to our individual bottom lines. Our science has become fragmented across expertises and cultures of specialists who can’t share the same room for want of breathing room around their egos. Our sports are a mix of mostly advertisements for the latest brew or hit pop song while muscular men and women vie for the greatest influence as a new kind of athletic brand, the drafted player.
At the center of all this lies our visual mediums.
Ever-present, never dying. Unfazed by the chaotic storms of online mobs, unintelligible dialogue, and trashy art in its wake.
Its influence can be analyzed ad nauseam, but the definitive test of its lasting mark is the feeling that arises in us over an hour, two hours, and more time spent upon devices that distract us into spiritual oblivion.
