How Technology Changed Society in the Surrender of Culture (Book Report Sample)

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The Surrender of Culture to Technology
Introduction
Neil Postman in his book “Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology” published by Alfred Knopf focuses on the relationship between the technology and the society. In chapter 5, Broken Defenses, Postman argues that humans that are referred to as “technopoly” depend solely on technology to find the information that they require. People believe that easy access to different data offers freedom, growth, and peace of mind, but Postman admits that control of information ensures successful social systems. He states, “In reality, human beings drive comes from technology because of the abundance information that it avails, but with this huge information, it is important to implement control measures even though this has led to bureaucracy” (Postman 71).
The Surrender of Culture to Technology
The chapter Broken Defenses argues that technology is a central part in human society, and a flood of information comes with it. People approve of the huge amount of data available because it offers direction, development, and freedom. However, it is important to have control measures when disseminating it so that it is received by the right people and in the right way (Postman 71). When information is not controlled effectively, it leads to chaos just as Postman claims giving an example of an immune system that is defective since “it becomes disordered and destroys the delicate interconnectedness of essential organs” (Postman 72).
In an effort to control the distribution of information, the society has asked social institutions to serve this role. For instance, in courts, the judges do not allow certain information like “hearsay” or personal convictions to condemn an accused person. In schools, there is a curriculum followed to ensure that students do not get exposed to the unnecessary material that deviates from the course. Family institutions protect children from certain kinds of information to preserve their innocence and keep them away from the harmful information. On the other hand, religions have their manuscripts like the “Bible” in Christianity that dictates how its followers should act, what they should read, and offers moral guidance in order to as Postman puts it, “seal them off unwanted information” (Postman 79). Despite the control of information, there is a problem of bureaucracy which justifies the release of data but takes no responsibility when it causes harm. Bureaucracy as stated in the chapter is the idea of institutions allowing access to information but not