Postman, Neil

Neil Postman (1931–2003) was an American intellectual and educator whose work underscores the social construction of childhood, maintaining that childhood is a social artifact, not a biological category. As a media theorist, he is best known for demonstrating the ways every form of communication technology carries unique discursive qualities that can affect social categories, such as childhood and adulthood. Postman views childhood emerging as a distinct social category with the invention of print technology in medieval Europe. In his book The Disappearance of Childhood, Postman voices a vital critique of the more recent technology of television, a medium he viewed as blurring the lines between childhood and adulthood. In his work, Postman considers the consequences of various shifts in communication technology, and mainly the age ...