Screens have led to a generation lacking seriousness.

“We are becoming sillier⁣ by the minute.”

Such was Neil Postman’s judgment in 1985. In Amusing Ourselves⁢ to⁢ Death, ⁤he warned against the consequences of the decline of a print-based culture in favor of “a⁣ television-based epistemology.” That meant‌ a retreat ⁤from the mental effort of​ traditional literacy in favor of a⁣ mind-altering​ technology. “As culture moves from printing‌ to televising, its ideas of truth move with it.” The truth⁤ of ⁣things is easily‍ missed in ⁤the⁤ screen’s succession of⁤ images and spectacles ⁢with the lifespan of a mayfly.

“We are becoming sillier by the minute.”

By now, silly is too mild a ‌word.

Cell phones and⁤ social media have done more⁢ than⁢ accelerate⁣ the transformation of reading into viewing. They displaced it. The ‍swap stunts culture at ⁣its source. The word “influencer” is no longer an⁢ ordinary noun; it has become a career goal. To some 26 percent of today’s young people, ‍it eclipses occupational choices that require training​ and formal qualifications like a⁣ college degree. The thrill of​ online ‌affirmation, measured in followers,⁢ crowds out time-honored pride in ​useful work.

One gauge‍ of American‍ cultural decline is‍ the vanishing tally of public⁢ intellectuals beside a swelling number of wired celebrities.

Influencers are social media ​performers, ⁤pitchmen for an infinity of purposes from brands to lifestyles. They capitalize on ​the ​investment ⁤of young audiences‍ in their own self-image as knowing ⁣consumers of attitudes and gear trending in their social scene.

By contrast, public intellectuals were reflective writers, editors, and trained and tested scholars who addressed an informed, morally self-aware adult ‌audience.

Their essential métier was criticism. From the politics of culture to ethics and economics, they presented principled arguments about rights, responsibilities, and ​the health of the social ‍order. Such names as Irving Howe,​ John Kenneth Galbraith, Dwight MacDonald, Lionel Trilling, Mary McCarthy, C. Wright Mills, Reinhold Niebuhr, Daniel Bell, and Hannah Arendt, ​among others, had an effect on political debates ​and public affairs. Differences aside, they willed the common ‌good and set the intellectual⁢ standards by which historians judge an age.

What will historians make of the American mind when they look at their successors?

Heading the list‍ of this year’s Instagram ⁣influencers are⁢ Kylie Jenner (398 million followers), Taylor Swift (270 million), soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo (601 million), and singer Demi Lovato (157 million). Kourtney, Khloe, ⁤and Kim⁤ Kardashian boast a combined total of​ 898 million followers.⁢ And that is only Instagram. All influencers ​post across different platforms: TikTok,⁤ Facebook, Twitter ​(recently rebranded as X), YouTube,‌ and Snapchat.

We still have⁣ carriers of the older tradition — Victor Davis Hanson is one —⁣ but the roster is short, and the audience limited. The⁢ term “public intellectual” is as obsolete as a TV antenna. To a generation weaned onto smartphones, ‍the digital world is the real one. A flickering cosmos, it can‍ erase the foundations of a ​coherent culture — a civilization — ⁤with the click of a mouse.

For ‍adolescents and young ‌adults with little life experience, the kick of peer attention trumps knowledge of⁣ the historical inheritance that supports their well-being. Few online​ celebrities contribute to the public conversation. Most are digital ‍spawns of Vance Packard’s “hidden persuaders.” No longer behind the ‍curtain, they shill openly⁢ for products — including identities — in the multibillion-dollar influencer industry in which persons, too, ⁤become brands.

Intellectual discipline ⁤is increasingly resented. Traditional reading skills are denigrated as elitist, anti-democratic, and even⁤ racist. Deep reading is too⁢ slow, too ⁣demanding. Yet no such thing as deep watching makes up the deficit.

The vacuum showed earlier this month in ‍Manhattan’s Union Square when celebrity influencer Kai Cenet ‍staged an event.​ The most subscribed Twitch streamer on ​the planet summoned his subscribers to ‌a giveaway of webcams, PlayStations,‌ and other paraphernalia for getting in‍ on the game. The smash-and-grab community showed ⁤up, joined by wannabe influencers. ‌When the freebies dried up, the ‌mob did what you’d expect from a rudderless, ⁣youthful, ⁣almost entirely male crowd with nothing‌ to ⁤do in the middle of a workday. ⁣ They rioted.

“These young people will emerge from​ their basements and swarm the streets for a glimpse⁤ of a guy who makes his money off of their time spent in their basements, but they won’t leave the ‍house to go to work and give themselves ⁤a ‌shot ‌at a life as anything other than Kai Cenet’s enablers.”

The shot they want is a chance to become another Cenet. They ​dream‍ of ​being⁣ “content creators” who get paid by subscription plus collaboration​ with brand managers. Influencers showcase⁢ products that promise to make fans⁤ more​ like themselves.

Only 21 years old, Cenet has earned some ​$10 million since he​ dropped out of college ​to hustle “content” — filming himself watching ⁣video ​games and playing pranks.

He uses the lingo and poses of rap culture ⁣to entertain more than 6 million followers on ⁢Twitch and several million more on other platforms. Along the way, devotees eyeball his Tesla ‍Model Y, his ‍Nike Jordans, and hoodies ‍by Armani and Burberry. They develop‍ a taste for Kanye West’s limited edition Yeezy Foamrunners, produced in⁢ partnership with Adidas.

Advertising is nothing new. Neither​ is celebrity endorsement. What is ​new is the annexation of youthful aspiration by what Gil⁢ Bailie calls ​”the howling ‌winds of cultural aimlessness.”⁤ They ‍whip up an⁢ appetite⁣ for online approval that elevates hyping oneself to a life goal.

Being applauded for your personality is proof of​ celebrity, a bankable credential. It attracts subsidies from merchandisers​ looking to install themselves in the buying habits of a receptive audience.

Consider⁣ Demi Lovato’s arrangement with Fabletics, a manufacturer of fitness and workout⁢ clothes, and Girl Up, a United Nations ⁤Foundation program ⁢for female‌ empowerment. Girl Up encourages​ female adolescents​ to see⁣ themselves as a force to “change the ‍face of leadership‍ for generations” on matters from so-called menstrual equity and body positivity⁢ to gender justice, climate ​change, and sustainability.‌ Girls can signal their status ‌as world improvers by sporting tops, leggings, bras, and jackets inspired by Lovato’s ⁣music.

The‌ drag queen look gets a boost from rising makeup stars. Three of the four “beauty ⁢influencers” featured by Neal Schaffer, a‌ digital marketing consultant, are men in makeup. James Charles, with 22.8 million Instagram followers, was the⁤ first male spokesmodel for Cover Girl. Manny⁢ Gutierrez,⁢ Maybelline’s⁢ first male model, makes himself up ‌to chat to 4 million followers about gay issues. Self-described⁢ nonbinary beauty mogul and makeup artist Jeffree Star began wearing⁢ makeup to school⁣ in ⁣junior high.⁢ Now ​he flutters artificial eyelashes at 14 million Instagram ​followers, and 16 million YouTube subscribers.

Schaffer urges merchandisers​ to leverage ‌the mushrooming power of social media. Influencers convey an “authenticity and human touch,” an “emotional resonance,” that beats conventional print advertising. ⁣Moreover, “The barriers to content creation ​and its publication and distribution have never been ​lower.”

The American Influencer Council was launched in 2020 by content creators to advance influencer ⁢marketing. It helps match producers of branded merchandise with social media personalities who have cultivated a “relationship” with their ⁤audience. These present themselves as someone whose image and income their audience aspires⁤ to emulate.

Four decades ago Postman compared the visions ⁣of George Orwell and Aldous‌ Huxley:

“What Orwell feared were those ​who would ⁣ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who​ wanted to read one. … Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture.”

In the surrender of youth culture to technology, the Huxleyan prophecy has been fully realized.