I agree. The brain is the ONE muscle that most people don't excersise anymore! Shut that damned thing OFF, and pick up a book now & then.
You said it! I hate television probably 99% of the time. All it is anymore is commercials anyhow. I'd much rather read a good book.
I just sold mine. Don't miss it. It's an addiction! Funny (true) story: My good buddy was single parenting his teenagers & got pissed off one day at all the crap they were watching. So he ripped the chord out of the wall & hauled the TV down to the dump & pitched it. This was in Seattle. By the time he got home, there were 3 other TV sets in the house. His sister, ex-wife, & some lady down the street, had heard from his kids what an inhumane thing he had done & brought all these other TV's over to rescue the kids from their crazed father & keep them plugged in to the media drip. Reading is a lost art. You can tell by how kids type.
Yeah, true, besides a lot of books, I have two Macs. The big diff? TV is a passive thing. They are feeding you junk-food for your brain. A steady-diet of commercials unless you pay to opt-out w/cable or dish. Computers are interactive. I spend most of my time creating or talking to other people & yes, of course, reading these infinite blogs.
That's funny you should use Roseanne as an example. I once told a friend when I watched a lot of TV, Roseanne was the only show I would actually get up & physically change even if I did not have the channel-changer. Maybe there were others. She was just irritating to us both. I don't know...my mother digs her. I agree with you on one point though...(see next thread)
"THERE'S NO QUESTION THAT THE MINUTE I GOT ELECTED, THE STORM CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON WERE GETTING NEARLY DIRECTLY OVERHEAD." - GW: MAY 11, 2001
TV is a drug and one that is far more worse for you than any other drug. Now why is it legal and the other drugs not? Then again why do people kill others?
There's the point I was going to make but I guess you beat me to it. The Internet is no better than TV is. Whereas kids used to watch the TV before now they're surfing the net. There's no difference except that the net offers many many more idiotic things for people to spend their time with. I think the Internet is really cool, but then again I only use messenger and a few forums and chats.
I have two Computers. I'm on em all the time. The big difference? TV is that passive thing, again. They are feeding you junk-food for your mind. A steady-diet of commercials unless you pay to opt-out - cable or dishnet. Stupid badly acted Soaps. Comedies that are all predictable. Fake Reality shows. It is generally insulting to a person who thinks during their quiet moments. You're plugging in to the 7-11. Not only that it's germ warfare on the mind! Computers are different. You go where you wanna go. You are writing the story line. They're interactive. You are in-putting your thoughts. Looking stuff up. Downloading, creating. I spend most of my time doing graphics or typing to other people & yes, of course, reading blogs & emails. Yes, it has it's effect, but it's two totally different Seratonin re-uptake inhibitors. Two different drugs for the mind. Didn't John Lennon say TV was like smoking pot? Not everything he said was right, but that was golden, like most of his songs. Some people smoke pot & they are creative & others use it as an excuse to be lazy & eat & do nothing but veg out. TV can help you unwind. But it can be a horrible addiction. The worst thing is when you go over somebody else's house & sit down to talk & they keep the friggin TV on! Your attention is divided & you keep looking over at it even though you are not even interested in the program & you want to talk to this person.
Funny: I moved into an empty apartment once that had a broken television in it. I had no furniture (yet). Well some people found out I had a broken television (oh horror), I wound up with two other working tv's before I had even one chair to sit on. It was that important to them that I have a tv to watch. Anyway, one showed up and was utterly shocked to find me sitting on one and using another to eat off of. It was practical. What can I say? As far as the tv programming us: From the classic article by Wes Moore, Television: Opiate of the Masses Psychophysiologist Thomas Mulholland found that after just 30 seconds of watching television the brain begins to produce alpha waves, which indicates torpid (almost comatose) rates of activity. Alpha brain waves are associated with unfocused, overly receptive states of consciousness. A high frequency alpha waves does not occur normally when the eyes are open. In fact, Mulholland’s research implies that watching television is neurologically analogous to staring at a blank wall. I should note that the goal of hypnotists is to induce slow brain wave states. Alpha waves are present during the “light hypnotic” state used by hypno-therapists for suggestion therapy. When Mulholland’s research was published it greatly impacted the television industry, at least in the marketing and advertising sector. Realizing viewers automatically enter a trance state while watching television, marketers began designing commercials that produce unconscious emotional states or moods within the viewer. The aim of commercials is not to appeal to the rational or conscious mind (which usually dismisses advertisements) but rather to implant moods that the consumer will associate with the product when it is encountered in real life. When we see product displays at a store, for instance, those positive emotions are triggered. Endorsements from beloved athletes and other celebrities evoke the same associations. If you’ve ever doubted the power of television advertising, bear this in mind: commercials work better if you’re not paying attention to them! An addictive mind control device . . . what more could a government or profit-driven corporation ask for?
Maybe yours. TV is a tool, like any other and can be used or abused. This thread reminds me of people who go into the Gay forum and spout all kinds of shit about how awful being Gay is, or people who go into the Vegetarian Forum and talk about how wonderful eating meat is, or the Parenting Forum and tell the parents there they are wrong for populating the earth. You don't like TV? Don't watch it. Why post here, where some people are enjoying discussing what they do like about it? It is no different than trolling any other forums where you don't participate in the activity.
Michael Franti -- hip hop God! My TV is programmed to recieve no channels. I only use it to watch DVDs and videotapes. Perhaps my son will grow up less affected by the government propaganda machine.
I didn't know that. I've heard the lyrics on the radio loads of times but was unsure who the rapper was. Good quote though.! No seriously, nothing wrong with TV, but like I keep saying when threads like these start, the only thing that really annoys me about it is the adverts on every 10 to 15 minutes, the same repetative commercials and ultra annoying jingles or scenes. This annoys me about TV, but I'm glad I'm from the UK where I get 7 or 8 BBC channels who's policy is to be advert free.
