This is the argument Postman makes in "Amusing Ourselves to Death": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amus

This is the argument Postman makes in "Amusing Ourselves to Death": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death Before the telegram news was predominantly local news and only major news from abroad since it took so long to travel. The telegram made all news globally, instantly available and we were suddenly inundated with information that for the most part we couldn't really act on and had a strong incentive to be as sensational and attention grabbing as possible. Newer media like the radio, television and the internet only accelerated this trend.