Originally posted by TheRedneck

I wish I could figure out when it happened. There had to be a day when suddenly, instead of funny sitcoms and interesting variety shows, there was lame not-so-funny recycled ideas made into sitcoms and the variety shows were replaced with reality TV.

Whenever it was, I am sure it coincided with a major change in my viewing habits.

Great thread &

very nteresting thought Redneck

How about February 8, 1996: Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act 1996 in to law.

The Act was claimed to foster competition. Instead, it continued the historic industry consolidation begun by Reagan, whose actions reduced the number of major media companies from around 50 in 1983 to 10 in 1996 [1], reducing the 10 in 1996 to 6 in 2005.[6]

Consumer activist Ralph Nader argued the act was an example of corporate welfare spawned by political corruption, because it granted broadcasters valuable licenses for broadcasting digital signals on the public airwaves at relatively little cost.[7]

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 set the modern tone of "deregulation," a relaxing of percentage constrictions that solidified the previous history of privatizing the utility and commodifying the spectrum. The legislation, touted as a step that would foster competition, actually resulted in the subsequent mergers of several large companies, a trend which still continues.[3]

That's about right for me - I haven't owned a TV for over ten years.

As an indication of how powerful television is, just look at how it has influenced the minds of those poor pathetic individuals who actually believe the "official" 911 government/mainstream media snowjob. It is a very dangerous world we live in when most people allow the TV to think for them, instead of using their own brains.

Great Post OP, thanks for sharing.

I think that to toss the television out with the trash is a bit excessive. I do believe that it certainly posseses addictive qualities, but it also can serve as a positve outlet for information and great documentaries, just like most drugs have redeeming qualities. The problem starts when these things begin to be abused. You would not give your child an entire bottle of pills, so why would you put them in front of a t.v. set for 8 hours a day without monitoring what they watch.

Everything in moderation.

It's not the TV....,


It's the MEDIA. There's a complete difference. It's like blaming the spray paint for the vandalism written on the wall!

Since the 50's a large-scale commercially-driven scientific effort has been underway to 'make' people consume, and adopt the same values. The Media is the tool. Not just the TV, it's the radio, newspapers, magazines, movies, and any medium capable of carrying their viral message. "Without us you are nothing." The Hollywood culture of 'look at me' a sign of how damaging it is. Even their own 'iconic' tools can't handle the systemic message, many dropping out of reality and floundering in their own excesses.

The internet and PC compete only in the fact that many use it the same way as they use their TV's - as a delivery system, rather than an interactive research tool.

Starred and flagged.

Good post! So many people don't even realize the strangle hold the TV has on our lives. It truly does control us in every way.

You can even tell people don't watch TV its bad for you and they will tell you, "well what else I'm gonna do with my day?!".

Their web is so intricate, they force us to work for them so we help them profit and then we come home and there is nothing to do except watch TV to distract us from the strings that they are pulling in our lives.

So many things and they are all connected. Paper money is worthless I could print out paper money and have it be worth the same as their paper money. Paper money should only be worth something if it is backed by something valuable like gold. However we don't ask ourselves "why are we so worried about using worthless paper money" We watch the TV and the TV shows us everything that we need to live from BIGGER TVs to clothes and food packed full of chemicals. We even watch people who are rich and have tons of worthless paper money and we say to ourselves "man if I could have that" "man if I could live like that".

We watch the news that is always telling us how the robber killed ten people and the GOD like police man shot and killed him and now the cop is a hero. They never mention that the Robber was a father of three who had a good life until he was laid off from his job for some big company, and couldn't get money for food any other way and the ten people he killed were all morally evil evil people who deserved to die. The government is the Hero and the common man is evil.

TV is their mind control it tells us their message it twists our reality. If we are to cripple them we should start by turning off the TV.

[edit on 6-7-2008 by caballero]

[color=Red]Television is a double-edged sword. You can say you love or hate T.V but in the end, its both educating and detromental to our thoughts. The television can be used as a tool for children, to allow them visual stimulation while learning at a young age. Yes, most human beings indulge in watching television, but not all of us indulge in watching mindless shows. I personally watch television habitually, but on the other end I read obsessively. Today I found this website and fell in-love. So yes, I agree there are many forms of educating ourselves. Though lets not look down on television just because most of the shows are partly responsible for our ignorant society. There are many shows and documentaries that have giving me visions of things I never knew. I couldn't have seen the luminent light of an angular fish in the dark depths of the ocean without television. Or seen the theoretical physicist lecturing on dark matter if it were not for television. In the end television is just as harmful as the internet, but if were not for wide web I would not be writing in this forum.[/color]

I think Adderall, Oxycodin, Ritalin, Vicodin's are up there on par with TV. Hell all you gotta do is go to your bathroom and rummage through the medicine cabinet. Chances are, you'll be able to get high.

yes, let's badmouth a medium for legitimate artistic expression and call it a drug that's highly addictive

what's next? the cinema is a drug?
paintings?
the written word?

honestly, this is just a bit more than ridiculous

TV is used for malevolent purposes by evil men - most of the times.

The the shows are not evil per se, they are all steering the viewer towards and inevitable objective - dumbing them down, causing amotivational syndrome type symptoms.

people who watch alot of tv often not participants in any sort of political actions or dissent

If you think I am going to stop drinking Coke or watching TV you are insane. I hunt, hike, fish, boat, and stay in shape with no problems. If others have a problem let them make the choice. Try and force it upon us to NOT do something and we will anyway.

Originally posted by TXMACHINEGUNDLR
If you think I am going to stop drinking Coke or watching TV you are insane. I hunt, hike, fish, boat, and stay in shape with no problems. If others have a problem let them make the choice. Try and force it upon us to NOT do something and we will anyway.

And I think that is great, and extremely possible (even for those obsessed with TV).

I however, do not believe, that it is a control by "THEM" who we have failed to identify even today. It IS however a very serious problem, and a threat to a few future faculties in the world. The first and foremost being, Education. Kids come home, turn on Spongebob, or whatever, and they do not stop watching until both working parents get home. By this point, they're hungry and the parents make them dinner and go about their busy lives, without attending to the child doing his or her homework, or studies. This is the real threat I see.

I don't see some "THE ILLUMINATI ARE USING SECRET BRAINWAVES TO BRAINWASH US INTO OBEYING!!!!!111oneone1!" That is dumbfounded, and the sign of a true person, suffering from schizophrenic-paranoia (usually induced by various pharmaceuticals).

I'm no scientist.. but I do meditate daily and research into the effects of certain frequencies, and I've done some research of my own... that is..

If you're watching tv, even if theres nothing on... do you just find it hard to look away, or walk away for that matter? I am aware of this now and i'll go to turn the thing off and I feel like I woke up from some..spell.. I turn the tv off and think..yeah.. i don't want to watch anything anyway... Even if its something I like.. I turn it off, and I don't care anymore...

I have this habit of losing sleep over tv, and I don't think about it at the time, but theres nothing there worth watching or even losing sleep over!

And what about that high pitch sound it gives off? gives me a headache.. I'm interested to know its screen refresh rate or something like that... similar to computer monitors... after looking at this one, i have to squint just to look at my old monitor! its that bad! But i mean... patterns have certain affects on our thinking... I think the combination of the high pitch sound and how the screen refreshes... it actually induces a numbing relaxed feeling, tv is relaxing is it not?

Why do some people turn on a tv, mute the volume, don't watch it, and then do some chores or talk on their laptop? WHY? Is it because deep down we are aware of the comfort that it gives us?

I haven't even begun to get into the suggestions it plugs into us through advertising and programs, i'm just talking about the hardware and already i'm not impressed. It won't kill you though, just be aware of whats going on, and don't let the suggestions get to you. Watch tv actively instead of passively. I never watch it but when I do, I try to do this.

If it weren't for others living here, I would get rid of my tv.

Turn that thing OFF. Aside from all mentioned, its a distraction. We seek distraction for some sort of fake joy or relaxation, i assure you there are more constructive ways to do this!

I can get behind any topic discussing the negative effects of television.

Turn the tv OFF!

Originally posted by CavemanDD
I'm no scientist.. but I do meditate daily and research into the effects of certain frequencies, and I've done some research of my own... that is..

If you're watching tv, even if theres nothing on... do you just find it hard to look away, or walk away for that matter? I am aware of this now and i'll go to turn the thing off and I feel like I woke up from some..spell.. I turn the tv off and think..yeah.. i don't want to watch anything anyway... Even if its something I like.. I turn it off, and I don't care anymore...

I have this habit of losing sleep over tv, and I don't think about it at the time, but theres nothing there worth watching or even losing sleep over!

And what about that high pitch sound it gives off? gives me a headache.. I'm interested to know its screen refresh rate or something like that... similar to computer monitors... after looking at this one, i have to squint just to look at my old monitor! its that bad! But i mean... patterns have certain affects on our thinking... I think the combination of the high pitch sound and how the screen refreshes... it actually induces a numbing relaxed feeling, tv is relaxing is it not?

Why do some people turn on a tv, mute the volume, don't watch it, and then do some chores or talk on their laptop? WHY? Is it because deep down we are aware of the comfort that it gives us?

I haven't even begun to get into the suggestions it plugs into us through advertising and programs, i'm just talking about the hardware and already i'm not impressed. It won't kill you though, just be aware of whats going on, and don't let the suggestions get to you. Watch tv actively instead of passively. I never watch it but when I do, I try to do this.

If it weren't for others living here, I would get rid of my tv.

Turn that thing OFF. Aside from all mentioned, its a distraction. We seek distraction for some sort of fake joy or relaxation, i assure you there are more constructive ways to do this!

I can get behind any topic discussing the negative effects of television.

Turn the tv OFF!

I completely agree, Turn the TV off...but I don't think it is as bad as most of you think. Honestly, and this is not directed at you, but people make an EXTREME conspiracy out of anything. I suppose this is the beautify of ATS. Explore all options. I, however, just graduated college in Advertising, and as fellow "believer" in certain aspects, I have found NOTHING to lead me to believe that TV is a form of mind-control. Otherwise, I would have been told about it to control the masses (AKA, anyone who doesn't visit ATS). Trust me, it's all in moderation. If you watch Survivor, Big Brother, or whatever those stupid reality TV shows are...you're going to be f'n stupid. If you watch the History channel, Discovery, and learn stuff...you'll probably be okay.

I am referring mostly to something that.. is perhaps only partially to do with television, maybe more then we think, maybe less... more like society in general and tv's just enforcing it as the norm.

What i'm talking about is personalities, standards and ideals. For instance some shows might kind of advocate a certain degree of ignorance.. i mean a show trying to portray a normal family we might say, and some people might watch this and think this is the way it is.. It goes beyond television.. but it certainly doesn't help.

What I'm trying to say is certain things have a tendency to rub off on people, but you can hardly blame television, more like the people who make these shows... I mean.. they say they're doing it out of humour (whether its to your taste or not)... but I mean.. thats something different entirely and I would have to get into this long rant about how humour can affect people if they let it.

What i'm talking about specifically here is enforcing stereo-types that an average human being is supposed to be lazy, un-trustworthy, ignorant etc..

And again, this isn't relaxed to the box itself.. its related to how people think individually, and what i'm saying is it can easily be used as a tool to kind of set a standard mindset into those who are receptive, for the sake of "fitting in".

Look at CNN, its all bright, colourful and loud, its like a comic book, it pops right out at ya, and man.. that channel... they hand pick the most ignorant people I swear.. to represent some field of "expertise" to debunk everything.

In toronto here.. it seems everywhere I go, like in these office buildings, they have this news channel on all day... and all they report.. like 95% we'll say... is entirely negative, completely lacking in information, and usually only related to whats going on locally, and not only that but it has the weather which is rediculously in-accurate, and everyone gazes at this channel, and they talk about it and it just blows my mind.

Yeah I'm a people watcher. I like to meditate in big crowds, helps me study energy and remind me that theres no reason for me to hate people.

We're living in crazy world where down is up and up is down, tv is just the voice for what's already there.


Its not the first time I've heard someone complain about negative stereotypes being pushed on tv, but what are you gunna do? You have to take responsibility and just be yourself, and not feed into such stereotypes.

But.. I'm also talking about the hardware here, this is something where I'd like to talk to some engineer who designs televisions and a psychologist..



My room-mate and I have noted that when walking in an electronics store, the section with all the tv's feels depressing, ha... but the thing is... the computer monitors will be displaying the same thing but feel differently... more energetic and irratic.

If you think TV is, or has the potential to be, the personal identifer and quailifer for you, your neighbor, your kids, your neighbor's kids etc., and/or the baromoteter for the shaping and actuality of your/their ethical and moral belief system then you need to bother to get to know yourself, your kids and your neighbor and their kids, etc.

People are influenced by everything they are exposed to from the moment of sentience, but it doesn't mean that everything they are exposed to holds equal sway in their development. It is a vast over-simplification and also, IMO, a cop-out.

There are a lot of reasons for the disconnected aspects of our culture. It is worth considering the blatant pedal-to-the-metal-consumer-culture-keeping-up-with-the-jones' mentality that is the actual fuel for our economy (70% of the U.S. economy is consumer spending... 70%!).

Every person who's reading this - myself inluded -- has purchased, coveted many, many items they do not need out of an emotional desire to be perceived as something 'more' than they we think of ourselves. And while many of these things are advertised/shown/highlighted on TV, our desire to acquire them are not TV's fault.

Why not look beyond the simple, and obvious, reasons for the perceived lack of personal development in ourselves and others devlopment.

No one is making you (me, your kids, your neighbors) watch TV; and if you really believe that TV is damning the world in-so-far as your peronsal sphere -- which is what you really affect -- then change it. Talk to yourself, neighbor, kid, etc.. Make an effort to move beyond your comfort level when it comes to others seeming interest, engage them on a personal level. It's not TV's fault if you don't/can't make the time to do that and/or lack the courage.

It's not enough to sit around and preach about how long it has been since you've watched TV, or what TV shows you (your kids) will watch that are acceptable.

The topic of the thread is the equation that drug abuse and TV are equitable. What those two things have in common is a perceived lack of 'honest' engagement with the world around. So go engage somebody. You can start with the person sitting next to you, or the one of the people on your speed dial. Go ahead, 'cure the ills of this terrible scourge' and be the change that you seek.