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A great Steve Jobs quote relevant to your first point: A lot of times we think “Why is the television programming so bad? Why are television shows so demeaning

A great Steve Jobs quote relevant to your first point: A lot of times we think “Why is the television programming so bad? Why are television shows so demeaning, so poor?” The first thought that occurs to you is “Well, there is a conspiracy: the networks are feeding us this slop because its cheap to produce. [...] but the truth of the matter, if you study it in any depth, is that networks absolutely want to give people what they want so that they will watch the shows. If people wanted something different, they would get it. And the truth of the matter is that the shows that are on television, are on television because that’s what people want. [...] And that’s far more depressing than a conspiracy. Conspiracies are much more fun than the truth of the matter, which is that the vast majority of the public are pretty mindless most of the time. There's no conspiracy, just mindlessness. It's just how society has evolved over time.

Kototama 14y ago
Needs and desires are not always immanent. They are also created by education, advertisement etc. What the public do want is also in good part what he was taught to want, no?
- frogpelt 14y ago
  People generally are more influenced by their friends and acquaintances than by institutions. If everyone you know has a smart phone you are going to have work hard not to feel that you should get one too.
  - Kototama 14y ago
    But why do these first buyers feel a need to have a smartphone in the first place? We need to balance the gain of acquiring products with the inconveniences not only at a personal level but at a societal level one (work, environment, work condition of those producing etc.) This seems to be rarely the case.
    - firefoxman1 14y ago
      I think the product comes into existence because it has potential demand. Smartphones, for example, do have valid uses. For some people some of the time. I think problems arise when companies who make a product, in the name of higher profits, convince us that everyone needs the product all the time.
JoeAltmaier 14y ago
Used to be legitimate news reporters getting substantial stories. Turned into pretty faces spouting fatuous nonsense. Why did news teams last so long? Not because the television public wouldn't have watched crap - there was crap available, and they watched it. (Candid Camera was a sort of first-generation realitiy TV show). It lasted because the guys running the business respected the news teams - for their power over politics, their ability to turn over rocks and reveal dirt, whatever. At some point (writers' strike?) content became a race to the bottom, which is about where we sit now. This is a new phenomenon, not some natural ecosystem response.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]

Kototama 14y ago

Needs and desires are not always immanent. They are also created by education, advertisement etc. What the public do want is also in good part what he was taught to want, no?

frogpelt 14y ago
People generally are more influenced by their friends and acquaintances than by institutions. If everyone you know has a smart phone you are going to have work hard not to feel that you should get one too.
- Kototama 14y ago
  But why do these first buyers feel a need to have a smartphone in the first place? We need to balance the gain of acquiring products with the inconveniences not only at a personal level but at a societal level one (work, environment, work condition of those producing etc.) This seems to be rarely the case.
  - firefoxman1 14y ago
    I think the product comes into existence because it has potential demand. Smartphones, for example, do have valid uses. For some people some of the time. I think problems arise when companies who make a product, in the name of higher profits, convince us that everyone needs the product all the time.

JoeAltmaier 14y ago

Used to be legitimate news reporters getting substantial stories. Turned into pretty faces spouting fatuous nonsense. Why did news teams last so long? Not because the television public wouldn't have watched crap - there was crap available, and they watched it. (Candid Camera was a sort of first-generation realitiy TV show). It lasted because the guys running the business respected the news teams - for their power over politics, their ability to turn over rocks and reveal dirt, whatever. At some point (writers' strike?) content became a race to the bottom, which is about where we sit now. This is a new phenomenon, not some natural ecosystem response.

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]