| | |
|
IsTVReallyAddictive 8 - 02 Feb 2009 - Main.WalkerNewell
|
| |
| META TOPICPARENT | name="WebPreferences" |
|---|
I know we have touched on this in class, and that we have touched on much more that should perhaps be far more troubling, yet I keep coming back to TV. So, forgive this post for not being on the readings themselves, but it’s been on my mind. I have to wonder, is TV really destroying my ability to retain information? Is it really so simple that, as we heard growing up, television rots your brain? I have to admit that I watch a good deal of TV in a week—at least an hour a day and much more on the weekends. I eat dinner in front of the TV, and my breaks from studying tend to be curling up on the couch and watching a TIVO’d episode of House. Since TV first came up—I’ve been telling myself that I should go a week without watching it just to see what happens. But I haven’t, and when it actually comes down to it, it feels a lot harder than I would have thought. I was at first skeptical in class of the claim that TV is addictive (because, of course, I’m not addicted—the classic response). But this weekend I found that I’d gone through all my episodes of House, and ended up watching a show that just wasn’t good, and that I didn’t even like, just because I wanted to watch something. Google searches actually reveal quite a few websites on the topic, and some contain “survivor” stories of the cured. So I have to wonder, am I really addicted to television? | | |
-- LaurenRosenberg - 02 Feb 2009 | |
>
> |
I've long recognized the detrimental effect that television has on my cognitive functioning. As Gavin noted, though, the same effect could be achieved by other escapist activities; and therefore I don't think television is the central issue in this discussion.
I'm worried about what can perhaps be characterized as a sense of personal entitlement or a right to leisure. I find myself thinking along the lines of, "I've studied for three hours - I've earned the right to have ten beers or watch television for four hours." I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with leisure time, but I am really troubled by my almost constant desire to numb the processes of my mind.
I don't really think that this tendency was brought on by years of television viewership. A more compelling explanation seems to be a broad malaise and devaluation of work ethic within a privileged class of which I'm a part. Since the path of least resistance is clearly sitting on the couch and tuning in, a value system that endorses this activity gradually turns it into a learned behavior that is deeply entrenched in my daily life.
-- WalkerNewell - 02 Feb 2009 | | | |
|
|
|
|
This site is powered by the TWiki collaboration platform.
All material on this collaboration platform is the property of the contributing authors.
All material marked as authored by Eben Moglen is available under the license terms CC-BY-SA version 4.
|
|
| | |