Editing Future Shock (section)

=== Future shock ===
Alvin Toffler argued that society is undergoing an enormous structural change, a revolution from an [[industrial society]] to a "[[super-industrial society]]". This change, he states, overwhelms people. He argues that the accelerated rate of technological and social change leaves people disconnected and suffering from "shattering stress and disorientation"—future shocked. Toffler stated that the majority of social problems{{example needed|date=February 2025}} are symptoms of future shock. In his discussion of the components of such shock, he popularized the term "''[[information overload]]''."

This analysis of the phenomenon of information overload is continued in later publications, especially ''[[The Third Wave (Toffler book)|The Third Wave]]'' and ''[[Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth and Violence at the Edge of the 21st Century|Powershift]]''.

In the introduction to an essay titled "Future Shock" in his book, ''Conscientious Objections'', [[Neil Postman]] wrote: <blockquote>Sometime about the middle of 1963, my colleague Charles Weingartner and I delivered in tandem an address to the [[National Council of Teachers of English]]. In that address we used the phrase "future shock" as a way of describing the social paralysis induced by rapid technological change. To my knowledge, Weingartner and I were the first people ever to use it in a public forum. Of course, neither Weingartner nor I had the brains to write a book called ''Future Shock'', and all due credit goes to [[Alvin Toffler]] for having recognized a good phrase when one came along. (p.&nbsp;162)</blockquote>