What did the author want you to think/feel regarding this text

Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Pedestrian” takes place in a dystopian future. It is the year 2053, and the story’s protagonist, Leonard Mead, leaves his house late at night to go for a walk. We quickly discover that, although Leonard walks nightly, his behavior is quite odd in this future: everyone else is at home, watching television. While there are other people in the world, the story is post-apocalyptic in feel. Leonard’s isolation is on full display for the reader as he sadly wonders what everyone is watching. 
Although science fiction tends to be set in the future, it often helps us see something about our own historical present. “The Pedestrian” warns us about the dehumanizing and antisocial potential of the television. Leonard is a writer, but he has not written in years. We learn that there is no longer any crime because everyone is at home watching television; similarly, there is no longer any need for fiction. This metafictional moment likely produces a sense of sadness for the reader, who is currently reading “The Pedestrian” instead of watching television. In this way, the story invites us to identify with Leonard and his sad fate. By doing so, the story warns us about the dangers of television and the culture that forms around it.