"The Rise of the Reading Public"

"As communion with the Sunday paper has replaced church-going, there is a tendency to forget that sermons had at one time been coupled with news about local and foreighn affairs, real estate,transactions, and other mundane matters. After printing, however, news gathering and circulation were handled more efficiently under lay auspices." - Elizabeth Eisenstein, pg. 103

I believe what Ms. Eisenstein is describing is the detachment of man from experience. What I mean by that is, man is loosing touch with reality, in a sense. Its similar to what we are taught growing up. You give a kid anything they want, and they become spoiled. It also seems like a form of conditioning. If you do not go out into the real world and experience things for yourself, and you tend to only go by what is in front of you, or handed to you, then you are subject to conditioning. You also become dependent. Dependent on the paper for your information, or dependent on the t.v. for your entertainment.

Ms. Eisenstein makes reference to the fact that no one has really recorded the impact on the lives of people since the invention of the moveable type. I believe that as mass media progressed, society became more pluralistic. Things may tend to be more standarized, but, it is inevitable and it will cdontinue to happen.