The 1950’s Prediction of Society

Makenzie Prewitt

Imagine a world where everyone is staring at a screen. On the news, there are stories of car accidents due to cell phones being a distraction to drivers (which is illegal). As people are walking, they are running into others because they were only paying attention to what was on their electronic device. Sound familiar? According to an anonymous survey conducted, students spend an average of 6 hours a day on media. A handful also said they spend their entire day on media.
In the dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, one major theme is that society is obsessed with their televisions. The people rarely go outside of their houses to meet with friends, because they can talk to each other through their television. Some can’t even walk their dog or fall asleep at night without their radio or music playing. Books are also illegal in the novel, because they challenge society’s intelligence and people consider them to be offensive. Society is no longer allowed to believe their stories. In the present day, things are similar to what was predicted in this book. Instead of T.V.s, people’s main source of communication is their phone. People are so absorbed in their phones, they’re almost completely unaware of what is going on around them in reality. For some, cell phones are basically their life line. This is not too different from how the obsession with technology was portrayed in Ray Bradbury’s novel.
The irony of today’s society being so strikingly similar to a dystopian novel is truly remarkable. The dystopian genre is supposed to represent a nightmarish world, yet the elements of Fahrenheit 451 are a modern reality.
Recently, new apps have been made to control time spent on an electronic device. One of which is an app called “moment.” Moment helps to set daily limits on app spending time, and shows what apps are used the most. This can help control absent minded scrolling through apps, and to focus more on doing other things such as homework, studying, or working.

“They have completely stopped thinking for themselves, and have allowed technology to think for them.”