We’ve been dead behind the eyes Switching stations as our country dies......

We’ve been dead behind the eyes
Switching stations as our country dies


Let me start out by saying I love to read.
However, I am also an avid TV watcher.

I was recently involved in a conversation about how television has destroyed society as we once knew it.

For a while i just listened as a couple of people tore television to shreds and banged on about how nobody reads anymore.

Now like i said. I love both books and television, and usually i would agree with these people about how television has changes society for the worse ( on the whole ). However, i was unhappy with their complete lack of acknowledgment of televisions benefits and how, if used correctly, it could change things for the absolute best.

Many critics compare television to a mind-altering drug.

While the medium has been greatly abused, it still has great potential that has not yet been realized.

Critics of television imagine a television viewer as one who sits entranced before a magic box, unable to turn away from the constantly changing images that entice, assault and stupefy.
Television is proclaimed to be a mind-altering drug, one that leads to isolation and depression; it is a killer of time and creativity; it is obnoxious, sensationalist, violent; it is a vast wasteland.

Yet in its early years, television was looked upon with awe. It represented the dream of the creation of a marvelous tool for communication. Television would serve as an educational medium, so some thought; through it, viewers would be transported to distant lands, to the cutting edge of scientific research, and to the stages of Broadway.

Needless to say, the early twentieth century visionaries had no idea of what television would become at twentieth century's end. Modern day critics of television have been correct in their assessment of how the medium of television has been abused. But the answer to the problem of modern day television, according to many, is to "turn it off".

This is, at times, an appropriate response, but it can not be the only response. The fact remains that television still is a marvel, and the visions from the early twentieth century are as yet unrealized. The problems associated with modern television are real. But the problems involve more than the television medium; the problems are complex, intertwined with other problems that plague modern society.

A writer responded to a recent report concerning a parallel between Internet use and heightened feelings of isolation and depression. The writer remarked that other modern inventions should share the blame; even the automobile contributes its share of isolation. The passenger is shielded from face-to-face contact with other travelers, cocooned in a temperature controlled environment, caressed (or bombarded) by music emanating from the stereo.

So it is with other modern inventions; the telephone, airplane, personal computer, and many other devices. The convenience that they offer is not without a cost, and the cost is not often realized until many years after the device has been absorbed into society's everyday routine.

The story of modern television is a tale of excess.

If the excesses were restrained, could television become a useful device, one that actually benefits society? Could television become a device that communicates and educates, instead of one that violates and enslaves?

- Matt Bynum

So, what do you guys think?

I did a search for the topic on ATS and there were quite a few concerned with Televisions negative effects.
This thread is more about its positives and potential positives in the future.
Does television get a bum rap?

In my view it has been made a scapegoat for the failings in society.
An "idiot box" it most certainly isnt.

It's not the box. It's the pop culture machine behind it.

And frankly, the Internet has potential to be more detrimental than television ever could hope to be.

We gave up Terrestrial TV as a family 7 years ago.We still have TV sets and watch DVD's but the internet suits our needs far better than TV ever did.

My ex-husband was and is a TV addict.He was king of the remote control,sat up until all hours glued to the screen and didn't read,exercise or even talk while he was sat there with square eyes.I think you can see what led me to ditch both him and the TV!He is the classic 'TV abuser'.

Many of my friends CAN'T miss their weekly soaps/big brother/Britains got talent/decorating program/fashion program blah blah blah and i find their day to day chat is often centred around whatever they watched last night or are about to watch tonight and is so boring.

The thing is,i know i'm coming across as a TV hater
But,i'm NOT!(suprised?)

I just think the stuff that is put on TV is largely biased and humdrum and targets a certain audience,plus the escapism it offers is leaving the majority of watchers numb to reality because they spend too much time in TV land.
I also think it DOES create TV addicts because the claptrap that is being broadcast 'most' of the time gives the watcher just the antidote to everyday life that they need.
It could all be so different if it was used in an alternative way is my view.

Thank God for DVR! I can watch the programs I enjoy, and zip through the mind numbing commercials that make me want to run out and get a burger and fries and a pizza all at the same time.
I actually get to enjoy "Heroes," "Dr Who," "Torchwood" and "Saving Grace."
The rest of the time, I am getting my daily fix of news.

Originally posted by TheLily

Many of my friends CAN'T miss their weekly soaps/big brother/Britains got talent/decorating program/fashion program blah blah blah and i find their day to day chat is often centred around whatever they watched last night or are about to watch tonight and is so boring.

I have a few friends like that, but not many. I would probably watch alot more TV if they didn't show so much rubbish. It's all gameshows and soaps. Can't Cook, Hate Pets, Won't Decorate, or something along those lines.

All I really watch TV for is documentaries, and Top Gear. It's the same with my books. I haven't read a novel in years, but buy reference books all the time.

I thought that with the dumbing down of our TV programs, people would find other things to do. But it really shows you how much the population is dumbing down. It's happening so slowly that people don't notice. They need to stand back and take a good hard look at what television is doing to the population.

reply to post by System


I don't think people are becoming less intelligent because of television. They certainly are becoming much more LAZY.

I dont understand how people can blame television for the rise in obesity. Surely if anything is to blame its the microwave oven coupled with the fast food society we live in.

Still, programs like Planet Earth give me hope that television can be used to educate the masses instead of distracting them.

reply to post by LiveForever8


Planet Earth was a wonderful series. I have the DVD Boxset. I was also a big fan of Iain Stewart's - Earth: Power of the Planet, and Ten Things You Didn't Know About....

Unfortunatly the majority of people I meet have no interest in documentaries on TV. They would much rather watch Big Brother, X-Factor, Who wants to be a millionaire etc. The list goes on and on.... and on.

I have never blamed obesity on television but I can see how it plays a part. I also think it plays a small part dumbing down the population. They can both probably be linked to lazyness. We just have to find what is causing so many lazy people.

reply to post by System


Yer, those are all brilliant pieces of television. Just goes to show how influential ( in a positive way) television can be.

As for the laziness...i think its many things.

Everything must be fast these days.
Fast food - even if its very unhealthy.
Fast news - even if its not accurate.
Fast cars - even if they are dangerous.
Fast relationships - even if they are fake.

It seems we have given up quality for quantity and the speed at which it arrives.

Why would i want to read in depth about a topic when i can google a keyword and get the basics off Wikipedia?

Its just the way things are im afraid.