Neil Postman: 6 Questions We Should Ask Before Adopting a New
Technology
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What is the problem that this new technology addresses?
Whose problem is it?
What problems do we create by solving this problem?
Which people and which institutions might be harmed by a technological solution?
What changes in language occur as the result of technological change?
Which people and which institutions will acquire economic and political power when this technology is
adopted?
If you apply these questions to the advent of text messaging, your answers might look something like this:
1. It makes it easier and faster to communicate without needing to have an actual conversation (e.g.
example, making plans about when and where to meet somebody).
2. This problem especially applies to busy people, efficiency-minded people, and people who are
uncomfortable talking on the phone.
3. As a result of this solution, communication becomes less personal, and you lose the ability to
communicate through tone of voice and other verbal cues, and there are more automobile accidents.
4. Email providers, landline phone companies, and the postal service may be harmed by this technological
advance.
5. As a result of texting, our ideas are shortened and abbreviated, we use symbols and punctuation such as
exclamation points and (later) emojis to convey emotion, communication becomes more informal, and
text lingo enters everyday spoken conversation.
6. Cell service providers and younger more technologically adept employees are likely to gain economic
and political power as a result of this development.
As a class let’s apply these same questions to “The Veldt.” As we generate our answers, go ahead and record
them below.
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Now as a class, let’s brainstorm some new technologies that might lead us to ask these six questions.
Your homework is to pick one of the new technologies that we’ve brainstormed as a class, or one of
your own choosing, and answer the Neil Postman’s six questions.
New Technology: ___________________________
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The Veldt
1. What is the problem that this new technology addresses?
Kids boredom and dissatisfaction with their parents
Parents struggles to provide entertainment for their kids
2. Who’s problem is it?
Both kids and parents: kids because they don’t feel fulfilled and entertained by their present lives, and
parents because taking care of their kids is a burden they would like to be relieved of
3. What problems do we create by solving this problem?
The parents feel unnecessary and obsolete because their duties have been replaced
The kids feel ungrateful, resentful, and eventually hatred toward their parents
4. Which people and which institutions might be harmed by a technological solution?
Children’s book, toy, and board game manufacturers
Maybe churches or other spiritual institutions
5. What changes in language occur as the result of technological change?
There is less of a need to talk at all, especially with your parents. There would be less of a need to
communicate your thoughts or imagination, and there would be no need to put them down in writing since
they could literally come to life in front of you.
6. Which people and which institutions will acquire economic and political power when this technology is
adopted?
Psychologists and other mental health practitioners, drug and pharmaceutical companies, and all of the
researchers and manufacturers of this technology,