Postman defines societies as having three distinct stages:

1) Tool-using: where tools are just something humans use to further their basic needs.

2) Technocracy: Where inventing for the sake of inventing starts to happen for the sake of "progress" and the tools start to attack the culture.

3) Technopoly: culture becomes subservient to technology. At this point the reason for technology is to serve technology and not people or culture anymore.