It's interesting to see the millennial culture of Twitter and memes sneaking its way into the mainstream media. The culture of the internet is a defining factor in society as a whole, and to see The New York Times analyze it, means it surpasses much more than trivial teen things. Internet culture has had an impact in politics, entertainment, the youth and society as a whole.

All of the media attention is simply a way the Media makes money. Our national discourse has become mere entertainment. This has been going on before Social Media, but has been hyped to a degree of degradation. Many of the comments I read have pointed to variations on this theme. Until a significant percentage of the voting public sees this degradation our nation will continue to decline. This dangerous to the world. And has become so already. Our leaders simply ignore the existential threat posed by climate change/gobal warming while would-be leaders fight for attention in the debates by attacking each other. Of course they must do this in order to "merit" TV time. It is all very pathetic.

Nice collection of essays by a bright young critic. I can't help but think that she's a little too absorbed into the culture of the internet herself to deliver a proper critique. Rather than this ironic vaporwave tour of our horrific reality, I'm more curious to know what are the actual social forces that underpin the transformation of politics into entertainment? Someone that I can think of that took a nice crack at this was Adam Curtis in his BBC series "Century of the Self."

Reading this article convinced me that social media, especially Twitter, is responsible for the dumbing down of our country.

Eight full pages to say a trivial though: before the Internet only people who regularly read news papers and watched TV mattered. Now anyone with a phone can spit on Twitter any idiotic thought - and all of the sudden politicians and companies listen to that chorus because they have no idea how to react and hence - scared. In the fear feeds even more spitting. And spinless politicians and CEOs bed over even more. And no media outlet of a big sponsor has power or will to stand up and tell politicians - don't care about those loud mouths - I will back you anyway. Well, Darwinism will eventually let new breed of politicians to replace the current sinless ones. In the meantime - watch the Debates - they are useless but entertaining.

Pop culture has become the basic, generic, go-to-culture of the United States. For decades we have had magazines that treat celebrities and royalty with People and US magazines painting airbrushed and edited articles pandering to the mythology that celebrities are living lives far superior to most Americans. Television reality shows make the quest for "number one" the only real test of the value of an individual. If you're not a winner, you're nothing is the basic mantra most Americans get drummed into their minds day and night. Of course, quality is virtually ignored when it comes to this kind of thinking. It is presumed that if you have a number one album, song, or if you win a contest (no matter how you won) that you must have won because you are flat out good at what you do. if you're popular, so the thinking goes, you are forgiven any sins on how you got that way, or even on how you may be at the moment. Subsequently, we have a pop culture with a huge celebrity population - and there is no kind, PC way to say this - a celebrity population of real creepy and narcissistic people. Do we really want this? Because, on the other hand, a lot of good people - hard working and talented people - are ignoring this poisonous cultural dead end. They are focusing on good work, creative work, and on quality over sales. If the media would give them more focus - rather than pander to the dollar signs - things could be a whole lot more grounded. It's a matter of raising the bar.

I quit reading this at the first mention of a tweet. A habit I recommend for all humans.

Now you just need to turn 180 degrees and point that critical lens inward, you might reach nirvana then.

This makes me laugh considering that it is mostly the "internet" fans of these candidates that the news media conflates with the public at large with articles that reference the "internet" and ten twitter accounts as supposedly representing the public reaction to any and all current events. Perhaps the media needs to tune out the social media reaction and focus on the real public.

It's better for people to know who their candidates are, than to be ignorant of the political process that will shape their future.

Reading this piece was the first time I realized that Trump supporters are just fans. Oh my god, this explains almost everything. Constituents scrutinize the people they support. Fans don't care. I've been confused forever about why Trump voters love him despite the obvious trolling and ridiculous behavior. I finally get it. They're not voters, they're fans. I don't know why I couldn't see it before!

Bernie Sanders treats Cardi B "not like a star but like a constituent" -- which is precisely how he treats everyone. My wife and I have heard him speak on a number of occasions (though sadly, none of those very well-attended occasions merited much attention in the press); his speeches are largely devoid of the words "I" and "me." Bernie maintains a laser-like focus on the things that have gone wrong with our society and what "we" as a nation need to do about it. For a couple of old geezer "bros" like my wife and myself, that makes him a rock star.

Like with all good satire and humor, it works because there is an element of truth behind it. The old wo/men shaking their fists at clouds from their lawns best get used to the fact the next generation is moving in across the street. Their time is just about over. NotMeUs

In “Amusing Ourselves to Death: Politics in the Age of Show Business”, Neil Postman forecast the descent of governance into another another form of distraction and entertainment. Once the news divisions of the big three television networks were absorbed into the general business, and they became profit, not public service focused, it didn’t take long for them to co-opt the elements of star making and celebrity worship. The apotheosis of that transformation is a pro wrestling character, void of substance but dazzling in his ability to draw attention, now occupying the White House. As Les Moonves said during the 2016 election, it’s not good for the country, but it’s great for CBS.

Hess recognizes Bernie is an anti-hero. On the talk show Black Coffee, Bernie played a favorite song game where he rejected a Cardi B song, even though his interview with her introduced him to millions of potential new voters. He doesn’t cater to popular trends because he wants to empower people, building a grassroots movement and supporting unions. Trump is a reality TV star turned authoritarian President, who thrives by keeping his opponents in the Democratic Party and media off-balance and passive. We’ll defeat him not by laughing with Trevor Noah, praying for RBG, or waiting for Mueller or some other savior, but by voting, participating in our communities and online, and organizing to fight Trump if he loses the election but attempts to hold on to power.

I can relate to some aspects to a degree but we shouldn't get in the habit of looking at politicians as celebrities.........this is a dangerous conundrum for today's society........💯