Kill Your Television

Originally posted by Apollo at Lone Star Hip Hop

The television has irrefutably changed the landscape of industrialized nations’ cultures across the globe indefinitely. The far-reaching effects of this relatively new technology are still being discovered and researched, even now as the television seems to have become an intrinsic part of American society.

Most people seem to agree about a few positive benefits provided by the television; the almost immediate transfer of news and information, a fairly diverse and creative availability of programming that includes many educational shows, and it also combines visual and auditory stimuli which has been shown in recent studies to be healthy in moderation for developing minds.

But what advertisers and media corporations aren’t so willing to openly discuss are the overwhelming problems arising in the United States which are largely associated with our dependence on the television, and the avid fervor with which we succumb ourselves to its flashy and fast-paced tantalizations.

Physical inactivity (and the slew of health issues that come along with that including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc.), inaccurate perceptions of reality, behavioral concerns and rising amounts of mental passivity are all increasing at an exponential rate.

According to the Weight-control Information Network, with nearly 70 percent of American adults overweight (nearly half of them being obese), turning off your television in exchange for nearly any other activity is one of the healthiest things any individual can do.

Beyond obvious physical repercussions of the inactivity associated with watching television, researchers across the globe are discovering frighteningly strong correlations between dysfunctional behavioral concerns and the number of hours spent in front of the picture tube.

According to a study released by Reuters Health, kids who spend more time watching TV, regardless of the content of the programming, are more likely to behave aggressively and have other types of social problems.

"Prolonged television watching may be considered to be one of the new symptoms of this era of technology, and it deserves more attention and evaluation in every aspect," write study author Dr. Elif Ozmert of Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey and colleagues. "Families should be advised to restrict the television viewing hours of their children and to encourage them to participate in active peer relationships."

But the changes often occurring in those who watch television are not merely contingent on an excessive amount of time spent in front of it, but oftentimes arise from the format itself.

“While watching television, the viewer is not seeing the world as it is. He or she is looking at a world created by advertising. Television programs are put together with the conscious attitude of promoting a consumer society,” according to Ron Kaufman in his review of Jerry Mander's ‘Four Arguments For The Elimination Of Television.’

“The multitude of technical events and special effects that saturate the viewer throughout an average dose of television occur with such rapid frequency that any response is essentially eliminated,” said Kaufman.

"Since television images move more quickly than a viewer can react, one has to chase after them with the mind," Mander originally said in the book.

“Television watching is not active, it is passive. Both the viewer's mind and body do not react, and cannot react,” said Kaufman.

Mander calls such television imagery a form of sleep teaching. That is to say that advertisers and networks don't want viewers to actively engage in thought, they want them to just be good consumers and spend money on their products. And according to John Condry’s book ‘The Psychology of Television,’ the medium of TV most certainly has the capacity to shape society in such a way.

"Television influences human behavior because their are 'routes' or mechanisms whereby the content of television can have an effect on what we do, and on how we act," says Condry. "Part of television's influence comes about because of how we learn (by observation and imitation), because of how we respond to certain kinds of story material (arousal/desensitization), and because of the structure of our inhibitions and the way television provides the kind of stimulation necessary to release them (disinhibition)."

By shaping our attitudes, beliefs and judgments, Condry argues that television watchers are subjecting themselves to behavioral mechanisms that may guide future actions. The images TV places in our minds will inevitably mold and distort our reality into one we believe is true. Whether these negative aspects of television are intentional or not is debatable, but the effects are real none-the-less.

"There's no question machines will be smarter than people," said John Malone, president of Tele-Communications Inc. (the nation's largest cable operator), at the National Cable Television Association convention in Dallas. "And we won't have to think so hard."

Television may have certain positives, and arguably has proven beneficial for aspects American society’s development and progression, but I would not dare to go so far as saying that it is a good thing. People are fading further and further away from any form of community in exchange for solitary entertainment and an overabundance of advertising encouraging unsustainable consumer behaviors. We’re getting lethargic and unhealthy, loosing our sense of reality, and programming ourselves to sit back and take it all with a grin.

Where’s the TIVO, I want to record our downfall for viewing at a more convenient time...?

As an ode to our pixilated protagonist, I leave you with this verse from Gil Scott-Heron’s poem ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised;”

The revolution will not be right back after a message


about a white tornado, white lightning, or white people.


You will not have to worry about a germ in your bedroom,

a tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl.

The revolution will not go better with Coke.


The revolution will not fight the germs that cause bad breath.

The revolution WILL put you in the driver's seat.

The revolution will not be televised, WILL not be televised,


WILL NOT BE TELEVISED.

The revolution will be no re-run brothers;

The revolution will be live......




Peace (though more likely war),
-Apollo



Peace (though more likely war)-

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