# Post-literate society > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Post-literate_society > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Post-literate_society.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-literate_society > Source revision: 1350242191 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Society in which literacy is uncommon due to technological advances This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (August 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) A **post-literate society** is a previously literate society in which people no longer read, write, or correspond, instead preferring to consume new forms of [multimedia](/source/Multimedia). Literature Oral literature Folklore ceremonial poetry epics evocation fable fairy tale folk play folksong incantation legend myth proverb Oration Performance lyrics spoken word storytelling Saying Major written forms Drama closet drama Poetry lyric narrative Prose narrative Nonsense verse Ergodic Electronic Religious Long prose fiction Anthology Serial Novel/romance Medium prose fiction Novella Novelette Short prose fiction Short story Drabble Sketch Flash fiction Parable Wisdom Prose genres Fiction Children's Encyclopedic Genre action adventure coming-of-age crime erotic fantasy horror military paranormal romance science fiction supernatural western Historical Realist Speculative Non-fiction Academic history philosophy Anecdote Epistle Essay Journalism Letter Life Nature Persuasive Travelogue Poetry genres Narrative Children Epic Epyllion Dramatic Verse novel National Lyric Ballad Elegy Epigram Ghazal Haiku Hymn Limerick Lyrics Ode Qasida Sonnet Villanelle Dramatic genres Comedy Libretto Play historical moral Satire Script Tragedy Tragicomedy History Ancient Medieval Early medieval Early modern Renaissance 18th 19th 20th Contemporary 21st Media Voice audiobook speech Writing book digital electronics ebook manuscript Lists and outlines Outline Glossary Books Epic folk-epics Poets Writers Movements poetry groups Cycles Literary awards poetry Short story collection / Cycle Lost literary work lacuna Theory and criticism Sociology Magazines Composition Language Narrative Comparative Circle Society Post-literate Society Peer Feud Estate Workshop Circle Literature portal v t e ## Background The term appears as early as 1962 in [Marshall McLuhan](/source/Marshall_McLuhan)'s *[The Gutenberg Galaxy](/source/The_Gutenberg_Galaxy)*, albeit referring to the current society, in which literacy is ubiquitous.[1] It differs from the reading revolution[2] of the 18th century as defined by Rolf Engelsing[3] as it refers to the contemporary decline in the 21st century. [4] Its contemporary usage was referred to by the journalist and writer, James Marriott. [5] He was also interviewed on the BBC World Service as part of the Global Story.[6] A post-literate society would differ from contemporary or historical oral cultures, which do not deploy writing systems and whose aesthetic traditions take the form of [oral literature](/source/Oral_literature) and [oral history](/source/Oral_tradition), aided by art, dance, and singing. A post-literate society would have replaced the written word with recorded sounds ([CDs](/source/Compact_Disc), [audiobooks](/source/Audiobook)), broadcast spoken word and music ([radio](/source/Radio)), pictures ([JPEG](/source/JPEG)) and moving images ([television](/source/Television), [film](/source/Film), [MPG](/source/MPEG-1), [streaming video](/source/Streaming_video), [video games](/source/Video_game), [virtual reality](/source/Virtual_reality)). A post-literate society might still include people who are [aliterate](/source/Aliteracy), who know how to read and write but choose not to. Most if not all people would be [media literate](/source/Media_literacy), multimedia literate, [visually literate](/source/Visual_literacy), and [transliterate](/source/Transliteracy). ## Books While a post-literate society is often invoked in the sci-fi genre, the idea of a post-literate society is an issue of philosophical relevance as well, in regards to McLuhan's work and his Global Carnival Theory. In science-fiction societies are post-literate due to their anti-democratic nature, as in [Ray Bradbury](/source/Ray_Bradbury)'s *[Fahrenheit 451](/source/Fahrenheit_451)*, [Dan Simmons](/source/Dan_Simmons)' novel *[Ilium](/source/Ilium_(novel))*, and [Gary Shteyngart](/source/Gary_Shteyngart)'s *[Super Sad True Love Story](/source/Super_Sad_True_Love_Story)*. The nonfiction books *[Amusing Ourselves to Death](/source/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death)* by [Neil Postman](/source/Neil_Postman) and *[Empire of Illusion](/source/Empire_of_Illusion)* by [Chris Hedges](/source/Chris_Hedges) both observe a sudden rise of post-literate culture.[7] ## See also - [Asemic writing](/source/Asemic_writing) - [Cyberculture](/source/Cyberculture) - [Daniel Bell](/source/Daniel_Bell) - [Pivot to video](/source/Pivot_to_video) - [Post-industrial society](/source/Post-industrial_society) ## References ### Footnotes 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** McLuhan, Marshall (2014). [*The Gutenberg galaxy : the making of typographic man*](https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781442612693). University of Toronto Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781442612693](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781442612693). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [993539009](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/993539009). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["I want more! The revolution in reading in the eighteenth century"](https://www.habsburger.net/en/chapter/i-want-more-revolution-reading-eighteenth-century). *Die Welt der Habsburger*. Retrieved 2026-04-10. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Engelsing, Rolf (1974). [*Der Bürger als Leser : Lesergeschichte in Deutschland 1500-1800*](http://archive.org/details/derburgeralslese0000enge). Internet Archive. Stuttgart : Metzler. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-3-476-00287-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-476-00287-7).{{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: CS1 maint: publisher location ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_publisher_location)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["The lamentable decline of reading"](https://www.ft.com/content/583de986-a295-4697-a2fe-3c6b13c99145?syn-25a6b1a6=1). *The Financial Times*. 22 August 2025.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: url-status ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_url-status)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Marriott, James (2025-09-19). ["The dawn of the post-literate society"](https://jmarriott.substack.com/p/the-dawn-of-the-post-literate-society-aa1). *Cultural Capital*. Retrieved 2026-04-10. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["The Global Story - The death of reading - BBC Sounds"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct71cy). *BBC*. Retrieved 2026-04-10. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Hedges, Chris (2009). [*Empire of illusion : the end of literacy and the triumph of spectacle*](https://archive.org/details/empireofillusion0000hedg). New York: Nation Books. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781568584379](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781568584379). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [301887642](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/301887642). ### Bibliography - [The Dawn of the Post-literate Age](https://web.archive.org/web/20101202002011/http://www.wfs.org/node/1000), by Patrick Tucker, THE FUTURIST Magazine, November–December 2009. - *The Gutenberg Galaxy*, Marshall McLuhan, University of Toronto Press, 1962 - *Empire of Illusion*, [Chris Hedges](/source/Chris_Hedges), 2009, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-56858-437-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-56858-437-9) v t e Literacy Learning Adolescent literacy Emergent literacy Family literacy Functional illiteracy Phonics Post-literacy Whole language Locations List of countries by literacy rate Canada China India Bihar New Zealand Tokelau Pakistan Romania Somalia South Korea United States Institutions International Literacy Association International Literacy Day National Council of Teachers of English No Child Left Behind Act People Marie Clay Ruth Johnson Colvin Paulo Freire James Paul Gee Griffith Jones Frank Laubach Brian Street Other types AI Agricultural Braille Carbon Computational Computer Critical Cultural Data Digital Diaspora Ecological Electracy Emotional Faith Financial Geo-literacy Graph Health Mental health Occupational Safety and Health Information Information and media Legal Media Metaliteracy Multiliteracies Musical Numeracy Object Oracy Political Power Physical Psychological Racial Religious Scientific Social Statistical Technological Transliteracy Visual Web Related Aliteracy Asemic writing Children's literature Composition studies Dick and Jane Dyslexia Literacy test Media consumption Orality Oral literature Post-literate society Reading Writing Writing system This science fiction–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Sf-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3ASf-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Sf-stub) This culture-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Culture-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3ACulture-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Culture-stub) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Post-literate society](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-literate_society) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-literate_society?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.