Unsurprisingly, Neil Postman was wrong.
Now, not everything the media theorist postulated in his peak 1980s research was completely wrong–just mostly (as is usually the case when old, straight, white men see society changing and fear their position as oppressors is threatened).
But Postman presented an ideology back in his day that is still reigning supreme in our subconscious and, in an era of myriad technological resources, is becoming increasingly dangerous to practice.
Postman–who hated television, believed the news cycle was sensationalized and valued a typographic approach to, well, everything–ironically valued images above all else. Images were the embodiment of the unaltered, undebatable truth.
Cue the millennial and Gen Z laughter.
Granted, Postman died before the era of the Internet and couldn’t possibly predict the future we currently live in. Which is why it’s rather shocking so many people still buy-in, albeit often unintentionally, to his belief.
Fake images are an accepted reality in our world of Instagram filters and easily accessible photo editing software. Even real images, ascribed incorrectly on social media or news platforms, perpetuate an online culture in desperate need of fact-checking.
But if we are aware not everything we see is real–why do some still believe in it?
Simple: confirmation bias.
Most people who spread false images or alter photos do so because they have specific intentions, usually political ones. And they know even if the image is proven falsified or misleading, confirmation bias will ensure the message survives–in fact, calling out false images can often have the inverse effect and convince more people to rally against the truth.
It’s a vicious cycle, and it means the era of fake news is far from over.
Thankfully, some social media websites are catching on. But this isn’t a reliable solution, as businesses are just that–a business. Their morals can only stretch so far from their wallets.
Yet again, consumers of media are left up to their own devices when it comes to the question of ‘what is the truth?’ But perhaps that is exactly what Postman was trying to combat: consumers so caught up in the media’s bells and whistles they couldn’t see the bigger picture of truth: not all media is on the side of the people.
Brenna Fuhr 