After more than seventy five years of watching the boob tube, we put aside its dangers the same way we disregard our fast food eating habits. We know that it causes obesity because we burn more calories when we are using our brain. We also know that it dims the mind because it feeds us information in its most reduced form.
We have moved on from monochromatic televisions to HD color, which is why people who watch black and white TV are more prone to dream in monochrome. We have traded broadcast TV for satellite Dish Network Las Vegas ones. We added Internet to our boob tubes so we can binge on shows, known as the Netflix effect, the perfect food for either show connoisseur or television addict.
The social impact of television has long been recorded but most of us have been blindsided and we have unwittingly been living with it day by day. TV is the chosen platform for propaganda, whether political or social or economical. We have been mirroring our ideal selves from what we see, often losing our cultural selves and creating a wider conflict between our real selves and what we deem ideal.
Unlike filling in the search bar when we use the Internet, television has none of those active searches. Whether we like it or not, once we turn it on, whatever is on regardless of channels, we passively devour. And because information on television is in its most reduced form, there is no challenge whatsoever when our brain decides to accept what we see as vital information, never mind if it is fiction rather than fact, smokescreening rather than real issues.
Most of the items on our grocery list right now are not really basic needs, but created needs by advertising campaigns we constantly are being fed when we watch television. That deodorant you are buying never became a thing if not for that marketing campaign that told people that there is shame in sweating and having natural body odor. Before that, people do not really care.
Depending on the show or program, television also feeds us with social archetypes that are more or less wrong. But there is a positive and a negative side with this story. Shows, following the patriarchal, dominant male format, used to portray women as second class characters. The good news is that times change and television did as well. In fact, it also gave rise to feminism, and now we have stronger female roles and gender equal programs.
Speaking of news, studies have also shown that watching news on TV has negative psychological effects. This is why we worry, especially if we have seen some tragic news on screen. The even worse thing is that negative news is being sensationalized.
Those are just for adults. For infants and children, it is more harmful such that it prohibits the development of cognition in children under two years old. It also shortens their attention span and are also triggers for ADD.
On the bright side of the coin, cartoons have been proven to have a soothing effect to children in pain. TV also combats loneliness, according to the Social Surrogacy Hypothesis. In conclusion, like most things, TV has both pros and cons, and it is up to you to moderate your dose.
We have moved on from monochromatic televisions to HD color, which is why people who watch black and white TV are more prone to dream in monochrome. We have traded broadcast TV for satellite Dish Network Las Vegas ones. We added Internet to our boob tubes so we can binge on shows, known as the Netflix effect, the perfect food for either show connoisseur or television addict.
The social impact of television has long been recorded but most of us have been blindsided and we have unwittingly been living with it day by day. TV is the chosen platform for propaganda, whether political or social or economical. We have been mirroring our ideal selves from what we see, often losing our cultural selves and creating a wider conflict between our real selves and what we deem ideal.
Unlike filling in the search bar when we use the Internet, television has none of those active searches. Whether we like it or not, once we turn it on, whatever is on regardless of channels, we passively devour. And because information on television is in its most reduced form, there is no challenge whatsoever when our brain decides to accept what we see as vital information, never mind if it is fiction rather than fact, smokescreening rather than real issues.
Most of the items on our grocery list right now are not really basic needs, but created needs by advertising campaigns we constantly are being fed when we watch television. That deodorant you are buying never became a thing if not for that marketing campaign that told people that there is shame in sweating and having natural body odor. Before that, people do not really care.
Depending on the show or program, television also feeds us with social archetypes that are more or less wrong. But there is a positive and a negative side with this story. Shows, following the patriarchal, dominant male format, used to portray women as second class characters. The good news is that times change and television did as well. In fact, it also gave rise to feminism, and now we have stronger female roles and gender equal programs.
Speaking of news, studies have also shown that watching news on TV has negative psychological effects. This is why we worry, especially if we have seen some tragic news on screen. The even worse thing is that negative news is being sensationalized.
Those are just for adults. For infants and children, it is more harmful such that it prohibits the development of cognition in children under two years old. It also shortens their attention span and are also triggers for ADD.
On the bright side of the coin, cartoons have been proven to have a soothing effect to children in pain. TV also combats loneliness, according to the Social Surrogacy Hypothesis. In conclusion, like most things, TV has both pros and cons, and it is up to you to moderate your dose.
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