Technopoly by Neil Postman

I recently came across Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology by Neil Postman, and it really gave me a new perspective on technology and society.

Ironically, I found the book while doom-scrolling through Instagram reels, here are a few ideas that really made me think:

Technopoly

Neil Postman uses the word technopoly to describe a kind of society where technology doesn’t just help us, it rules us. In a technopoly, technology shapes everything: our values, our way of life, even how we think about what matters. It’s no longer just a tool we use.

The opposite of a technopoly is what Postman calls an instrumental society, a place where technology still plays an important role, but only as a tool. In these societies, people define their own values and goals, and technology exists to support them, not to replace them.

Technology as the New God

Postman argues that in modern society, people no longer see technology as just a helpful tool. Instead, it has become a kind of deity, something we trust completely, often without question.

We believe in technology the way people once believed in gods: as if it’s always right, always the answer.

We worship efficiency, speed, and convenience, but rarely stop to think about the cost.

We Are Not Just Numbers

Postman warns that in a society ruled by technology, we begin to believe that only numbers and data are real. If something can’t be measured, we start to think it doesn’t matter.

This obsession with “what can be quantified” ignores the things that are harder to measure, like emotions, moral values, meaning, and purpose.

Technology doesn’t just change how we live, it also changes how we think about life itself. In education, for example, when we focus only on test scores, performance metrics, and efficiency, we risk forgetting the real purpose of learning: to grow as human beings, not just to produce results.

Is Technopoly a prison for our mind?