--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Americans no longer talk to each other…" description: "\"Americans no longer talk to each other, they entertain each other. They do not exchange ideas, they exchange images. They do not argue with proposition..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/257/neil-postman-1598_arguing_americans-no-longer-talk-to-each-other-t_2017512.jpg" --- # Americans no longer talk to each other, they entertain… ![“Americans no longer talk to each other, they entertain each other. They do not exchange ideas, they exchange images. They do not argue with propositions; they argue with good looks, celebrities and comercials.” quote by Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/257/neil-postman-1598_arguing_americans-no-longer-talk-to-each-other-t_2017512.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/257/neil-postman-1598_arguing_americans-no-longer-talk-to-each-other-t_2017512.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/257/neil-postman-1598_arguing_americans-no-longer-talk-to-each-other-t_2017512.jpg) > “Americans no longer talk to each other, they entertain each other. They do not exchange ideas, they exchange images. They do not argue with propositions; they argue with good looks, celebrities and comercials.” [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society has shifted from exchanging ideas to exchanging images, reducing deep discourse to superficial appeal. **In simple terms:** People share pictures, not thoughts. Key Takeaway Prioritize meaningful conversation over visual entertainment. Themes media culture dialogue Mood concerned reflective Type analysis commentary When to use this quote - social media - advertising - political debate - education Key Concepts information theory visual culture Questions to Reflect On - How can we restore idea exchange in a visual age? - What role do images play in shaping opinions? A Different Perspective Visual focus can still convey complex ideas if used wisely. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans/) [Americans Longer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans-longer-2818043/) [Arguing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arguing/) [Exchange Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exchange-ideas-481521/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Images Argue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/images-argue-3635451/) [Looking good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-good/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Shallowness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shallowness/) [Talk Entertain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-entertain-3023123/) ## Related quotes > [I like that in country, you can talk about what you want to talk about. You can entertain, yet you can have a spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-gokey/i-like-that-in-country-you-can-talk-about-what-you-want-to-talk-about/) [Danny Gokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-gokey/) > [Americans no longer look to government for economic security; rather, they look to their portfolios.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-owens/americans-no-longer-look-to-government-for-economic-security-rather/) [Bill Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-owens/) > [The biggest political change in my lifetime is that Americans no longer assume that their children will have it better than they did. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-noonan/the-biggest-political-change-in-my-lifetime-is-that-americans-no/) [Peggy Noonan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-noonan/) > [The majority of people think their children's lives will not be as good as theirs. Nearly half of all Americans are no longer proud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-troia-mcfarland/the-majority-of-people-think-their-children-s-lives-will-not-be-as/) [Kathleen Troia McFarland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-troia-mcfarland/) > [Trump is not the problem. He is the symptom of the problem where Americans no longer believe that the system works for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sestak/trump-is-not-the-problem-he-is-the-symptom-of-the-problem-where/) [Joe Sestak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sestak/) > [Learning and the exchange of ideas is dramatic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-randolph/learning-and-the-exchange-of-ideas-is-dramatic/) [Marc Randolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-randolph/) > [We can exchange ideas with each other. Learn from each other and become better!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/we-can-exchange-ideas-with-each-other-learn-from-each-other-and/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [I hope that my work expresses my worldview and encourages people to exchange ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-hope-that-my-work-expresses-my-worldview-and-encourages-people-to/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [If you're going to have an exchange of ideas, the only thing you can do is to meet people face-to-face in front of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-schultz/if-you-re-going-to-have-an-exchange-of-ideas-the-only-thing-you-can/) [Ed Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-schultz/) > [No form of human exchange is more profitable than the exchange of ideas. If I give you a thought in return for one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/no-form-of-human-exchange-is-more-profitable-than-the-exchange-of/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [It is human nature to want to exchange ideas, and I believe that, at bottom, every artist wants no more than to tell the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/it-is-human-nature-to-want-to-exchange-ideas-and-i-believe-that-at/) [M. C. Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/) > [I personally believe that a critical part to innovation is that exchange of ideas so when you say, 'Here's my idea,' someone else at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-randolph/i-personally-believe-that-a-critical-part-to-innovation-is-that/) [Marc Randolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-randolph/) > [Exchange ideas frequently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cash-penney/exchange-ideas-frequently/) [James Cash Penney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cash-penney/) > [Truth is, generally I like film festivals; somewhere at some level there's an exchange of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/truth-is-generally-i-like-film-festivals-somewhere-at-some-level/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [“In a world of material goods and material exchange trade. I have got a hunk of gold and you have a watch. If we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-kamen/in-a-world-of-material-goods-and-material-exchange-trade-i-have-got-a/) [Dean Kamen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-kamen/) ## More by Neil Postman > [“to whom will the technology give greater power and freedom? And whose power and freedom will be reduced by it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/to-whom-will-the-technology-give-greater-power-and-freedom-and-whose/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [Cyberspace' is a metaphorical idea which is supposed to be the space where your consciousness is located when you're using computer technology on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/cyberspace-is-a-metaphorical-idea-which-is-supposed-to-be-the-space/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [Textbooks, it seems to me, are enemies of education, instruments for promoting dogmatism and trivial learning. They may save the teacher some trouble, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/textbooks-it-seems-to-me-are-enemies-of-education-instruments-for/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [The whole problem with news on television comes down to this: all the words uttered in an hour of news coverage could be printed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-whole-problem-with-news-on-television-comes-down-to-this-all-the/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“There being no international copyright laws, “pirated” editions abounded, with no complaint from the public, or much from authors, who were lionized.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/there-being-no-international-copyright-laws-pirated-editions-abounded/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“The television commercial is not at all about the character of products to be consumed. It is about the character of the consumers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-television-commercial-is-not-at-all-about-the-character-of/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Many decisions about the form and content of news programs are made on the basis of information about the viewer, the purpose of which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/many-decisions-about-the-form-and-content-of-news-programs-are-made/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“the world we live in is very nearly incomprehensible to most of us. There is almost no fact, whether actual or imagined, that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-world-we-live-in-is-very-nearly-incomprehensible-to-most-of-us/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Tüketici psikodramalarla yatıştırılan bir hastadır.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/t-ketici-psikodramalarla-yat-t-r-lan-bir-hastad-r/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Huxley grasped, as Orwell did not, that it is not necessary to conceal anything from a public insensible to contradiction and narcotized by technological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/huxley-grasped-as-orwell-did-not-that-it-is-not-necessary-to-conceal/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“The written word is assumed to have been reflected upon and revised by its author,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-written-word-is-assumed-to-have-been-reflected-upon-and-revised/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [We do not measure a culture by its output of undisguised trivialities but by what it claims as significant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/we-do-not-measure-a-culture-by-its-output-of-undisguised-trivialities/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“In America, the least amusing people are its professional entertainers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/in-america-the-least-amusing-people-are-its-professional-entertainers/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/we-were-keeping-our-eye-on-1984-when-the-year-came-and-the-prophecy/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“The question is not, Does or doesn't public schooling create a public? The question is, What kind of public does it create? A conglomerate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-question-is-not-does-or-doesn-t-public-schooling-create-a-public/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) [Explore all 220 Neil Postman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) ## More Americans quotes > [“People – Americans, mostly – realise how attached they are to material comforts when they arrive in India.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-william-roberts/people-americans-mostly-realise-how-attached-they-are-to-material/) [Paul William Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-william-roberts/) > [Music has an intrinsic value that touches Americans - they love their music, and want more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-rosen/music-has-an-intrinsic-value-that-touches-americans-they-love-their/) [Hilary Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-rosen/) > [Americans are very friendly and very suspicious, that is what Americans are and that is what always upsets the foreigner, who deals with them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/americans-are-very-friendly-and-very-suspicious-that-is-what/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [Just because the Americans are so good at rattling out accessible and cheap junk food, nobody looks twice when it comes to their food.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-oliver/just-because-the-americans-are-so-good-at-rattling-out-accessible-and/) [Jamie Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-oliver/) > [My parents don't care what Americans think of us; we just care what the other Indian people in our community think of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/himanshu-suri/my-parents-don-t-care-what-americans-think-of-us-we-just-care-what/) [Himanshu Suri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/himanshu-suri/) > [When Americans, who have no idea who I am, laugh at my jokes, it's exactly the same if someone loves you even if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gad-elmaleh/when-americans-who-have-no-idea-who-i-am-laugh-at-my-jokes-it-s/) [Gad Elmaleh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gad-elmaleh/) > [So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-americans-understand-the-costs-of-war-yet-as-a-country-we-will/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We Americans tend to be a prodigal lot. We are as careless with our personal resources as we are with the resources of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/we-americans-tend-to-be-a-prodigal-lot-we-are-as-careless-with-our/) [Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) > [Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn't block traffic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/americans-will-put-up-with-anything-provided-it-doesn-t-block-traffic/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [Most Americans believe in fairness; we believe that people should work hard but there should be a safety net. We believe in saving the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-maclean/most-americans-believe-in-fairness-we-believe-that-people-should-work/) [Nancy MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-maclean/) > [“Using a wide variety of media, we could demonstrate for our fellow Americans their anxieties, desires, insufficiencies, and frustrations--and how to assuage them all.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/using-a-wide-variety-of-media-we-could-demonstrate-for-our-fellow/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [The Americans say that we are ungrateful-but I ask them for heaven's sake, what should we be grateful to them for-for murdering our fathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walker/the-americans-say-that-we-are-ungrateful-but-i-ask-them-for-heaven-s/) [David Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walker/) > [So many Korean Americans like me came to this country with the hope of achieving their own American Dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-steel/so-many-korean-americans-like-me-came-to-this-country-with-the-hope/) [Michelle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-steel/) > [You are Americans. You love this country. Together we are entrusted with the principles that represent mankind's greatest political and social achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/you-are-americans-you-love-this-country-together-we-are-entrusted/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) [Browse all 1,536 Americans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Americans no longer talk to each other, they entertain each other. They do not exchange ideas, they exchange images. They do not argue with propositions; they argue with good looks, celebrities and comercials.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Postman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/americans-no-longer-talk-to-each-other-they-entertain-each-other-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Americans" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/americans-no-longer-talk-to-each-other-they-entertain-each-other-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/257/neil-postman-1598_arguing_americans-no-longer-talk-to-each-other-t_2017512.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/257/neil-postman-1598_arguing_americans-no-longer-talk-to-each-other-t_2017512.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/257/neil-postman-1598_arguing_americans-no-longer-talk-to-each-other-t_2017512.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Americans no longer talk to each other, they entertain each other. They do not exchange ideas, they exchange…” — Neil Postman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Neil Postman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Americans no longer talk to each...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/americans-no-longer-talk-to-each-other-they-entertain-each-other-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/americans-no-longer-talk-to-each-other-they-entertain-each-other-they/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```