Be smart, stay dumb.

Back to the sheet Electronics Television · C2
Amusing Ourselves to Death
C2 · Level 0 · No electricity Dumb as a rock

Amusing Ourselves to Death

Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985), Penguin paperback.

$10Buy on Amazon
Amazon US, October 2026. Prices change.

The lateral alternative, with a point. Postman’s 1985 classic argues that television turns everything, the news included, into entertainment. No standby light, no terms of service, and it works on a train, in a tent and during a power cut.

Calm
Does not compete for your attention: no notifications, feeds or endless content. Does its job and gets out of the way.

Where to buy

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Survival checklist

What it survives, next to the smart one it replaces.
1
=SURVIVES(threat)Survives…
ThisAmusing Ourselves to Death
What it replacesSmart oneSamsung The Frame
2
Power cut
TRUE
FALSE
3
Wi-Fi goes down
TRUE
#DEPENDS
4
The company switches off its servers
TRUE
#DEPENDS
5
Someone tries to hack it
TRUE
FALSE
6
A firmware update goes wrong
TRUE
FALSE
7
Twenty years from now
TRUE
#DEPENDS
8
=COUNTIF(TRUE)Total
6 of 66/6
0 of 60/6and three maybes

The smart one is the Samsung The Frame.

Row 2

See it in the sheetIn the sheet
You are here

Infinite resolution. Never needs charging.

Amusing Ourselves to Death

$10
Calm
Amusing Ourselves to Death$10
Buy on Amazon