Argumentative Essay_AP English Language 3

A prophecy came true. Contemporary life of media and information was once anticipated by Aldous Huxley and George Orwell in their novels “Brave New World” and “1984”. Neil Postman, a current social critic, contrasts both views on the current society. I personally agree with Postman, who asserts that Huxley’s forecast of the future is more applicable than that of Orwell’s.

           Postman claims that Huxley feared that there would be no one who wants to read a book. This view presents the social problem of more adults avoiding books. According to a statistics in a newspaper article, an adult only reads 1.2 books a month on average nowadays. This data is not an exaggeration, because what we see more in the public, like in the subways, is a bunch of people having electronics in their hands and constantly tapping with a finger. It has now become very difficult to see people turning the pages of paper books.

           Aside from that, Postman states that Huxley feared that we would become a trivial culture. Teenagers in today’s world show why the term “trivial culture” is appropriate to describe the modern society. Violent video games and pornographies are indicated as serious problems of teenagers. It became easier for them to access violence and sex as means of entertainment. According to Washington Post, more than 70 percent of American teenage boys have played the violent and adult-rated “Grand Theft Auto” video game, in which players take on the role of criminals and commit assassinations and other crimes. Teenagers are deeply indulged in momentary pleasure of improper things, which are detrimental for sound mind.

           Postman’s argument on Huxley’s view is more agreeable because it matches with the social phenomena of adults keeping off reading books and teenagers addicted to violent games and pornographies. The statistics of the average number of books that adults read in a month and teenage players of “Grand Theft Auto” support the stance. Huxley, indeed, had predicted the society of 80 years ahead.