Censorious and trivial

From Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. 

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 those who would deprive us information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. 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, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy.

And as it turns out, apparently both were right.  In Orwell's censoring corner:  Government, mainstream media, tech companies and academia are doing their best to conceal truths of which they disapprove.

Meanwhile, in Huxley's trivializing corner: tech companies and media companies inundate us with inane and unproductive entertainment and social media.  Stuff we enjoy including games, gossip, rampant egoism with envy, and the pleasure of socially ostracizing people we don't like.

Once again, the embracing power of AND.  Censorious AND Trivial.