--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When a population becomes distracted by…" description: "\"When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversatio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/neil-postman-1598_audience_when-a-population-becomes-distracted-by_711152.jpg" --- # When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when… ![“When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience, and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself…” quote by Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/neil-postman-1598_audience_when-a-population-becomes-distracted-by_711152.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/neil-postman-1598_audience_when-a-population-becomes-distracted-by_711152.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/neil-postman-1598_audience_when-a-population-becomes-distracted-by_711152.jpg) > “When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience, and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; culture-death is a clear possibility.” [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. When society values entertainment over serious discourse, it erodes culture and threatens national vitality. **In simple terms:** Entertainment replaces thoughtful public dialogue, endangering culture. Key Takeaway Prioritize critical conversation over trivial entertainment. Themes culture media public discourse civic health Mood concerned urgent Type critical analytical When to use this quote - education reform - media literacy programs - community forums - political debates Key Concepts media saturation cultural decay public sphere Questions to Reflect On - How can we encourage deeper public dialogue? - What role should education play in resisting cultural trivialization? A Different Perspective Entertainment alone cannot sustain a healthy culture without depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Baby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baby/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Entertainment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entertainment/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) [Trivia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trivia/) [Vaudeville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vaudeville/) ## Related quotes > [“long before reality TV and Facebook or Instagram — media analyst Neil Postman ominously warned, “When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dice/long-before-reality-tv-and-facebook-or-instagram-media-analyst-neil/) [Mark Dice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dice/) > [The Church counters the culture of death with the culture of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/the-church-counters-the-culture-of-death-with-the-culture-of-love/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [“The culture of Death is everywhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/commenting-on-the-civil-war-in-burundi-from-the-warrior-s-honour-boutrous-boutrous-ghali-by-michae/the-culture-of-death-is-everywhere/) commenting on the civil war in Burundi from The warrior's Honour Boutrous Boutrous Ghali by Michae > [As Luxenberg's work has only recently been published we must await its scholarly assessment before we can pass any judgements. But if his analysis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-warraq/as-luxenberg-s-work-has-only-recently-been-published-we-must-await/) [Ibn Warraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-warraq/) > [Especially for those of us living in the Western culture, death to a large extent is still a taboo subject. It's considered something dreadful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/especially-for-those-of-us-living-in-the-western-culture-death-to-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [That was my real education in the world - I learned politics, the social and cultural life of India, Hindu tradition and religion, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satish-kumar/that-was-my-real-education-in-the-world-i-learned-politics-the-social/) [Satish Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satish-kumar/) > [You find that along with the culture of death go all kinds of other law-breaking: Not following good sanitary procedure, giving abortions to women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-akin/you-find-that-along-with-the-culture-of-death-go-all-kinds-of-other/) [Todd Akin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-akin/) > [“My absence would hardly be conspicuous anyway since it was going to be a big day in many places that day due to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-louise-bennett/my-absence-would-hardly-be-conspicuous-anyway-since-it-was-going-to/) [Claire-Louise Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-louise-bennett/) > [The BBC is a huge part of the nation's cultural life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-bruce/the-bbc-is-a-huge-part-of-the-nation-s-cultural-life/) [Fiona Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-bruce/) > [Firemen have a culture of death. There are rituals, carefully constructed for the living, to process the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/firemen-have-a-culture-of-death-there-are-rituals-carefully/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [There was a kind of cultural life in New York that wasn't as solidified as it is now, it wasn't as money-driven. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benton/there-was-a-kind-of-cultural-life-in-new-york-that-wasn-t-as/) [Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) > [Too many developers still treat cultural strategies as a fig leaf to get planning permission, rather than make a thoughtful, genuine commitment to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munira-mirza/too-many-developers-still-treat-cultural-strategies-as-a-fig-leaf-to/) [Munira Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munira-mirza/) > [We're very proud of our cultural life. Culture is to London what the sun is to Spain. It's a major driver for our tourism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munira-mirza/we-re-very-proud-of-our-cultural-life-culture-is-to-london-what-the/) [Munira Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munira-mirza/) > [The culture of death is imposed by economic and political interests, the arrogance of power, corruption. I blame the first world for having taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rigoberta-menchu/the-culture-of-death-is-imposed-by-economic-and-political-interests/) [Rigoberta Menchu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rigoberta-menchu/) > [Kabul was a thriving cosmopolitan city with its vibrant artistic, intellectual and cultural life. There were poets, musicians, and writers. There was also an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/kabul-was-a-thriving-cosmopolitan-city-with-its-vibrant-artistic/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) ## 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 Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. It's addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/it-s-the-adrenaline-rush-you-only-get-from-being-in-front-of-an/) [Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. 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My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) [Browse all 9,118 Audience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience, and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; culture-death is a clear possibility.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Postman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/when-a-population-becomes-distracted-by-trivia-when-cultural-life-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Audience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/when-a-population-becomes-distracted-by-trivia-when-cultural-life-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/neil-postman-1598_audience_when-a-population-becomes-distracted-by_711152.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/neil-postman-1598_audience_when-a-population-becomes-distracted-by_711152.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/neil-postman-1598_audience_when-a-population-becomes-distracted-by_711152.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of…” — 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": "When a population becomes distracted by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/when-a-population-becomes-distracted-by-trivia-when-cultural-life-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/when-a-population-becomes-distracted-by-trivia-when-cultural-life-is/#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 } } ] } ```