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IsTVReallyAddictive 14 - 04 Feb 2009 - Main.EbenMoglen
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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? | | | Lauren, I am not saying that daydreaming necessarily "dulls the cognitive senses and brings about evils", just like I am not saying that other examples (TV, drug use, etc.) necessarily "dull the cognitive senses and bring about evils." I merely used daydreaming as an example of perhaps the "purest" form of escapism. While I will not dispute your understanding of daydreaming as allowing one to explore thoughts and relax, I would also defend TV, etc. as allowing one to explore thoughts and relax. I grouped it with the others because I believe they are more similar than different: when used "properly", they allow someone the temporary escape that they need to feel happy and sane, but when overused, they result in the problems (brain degradation, etc.) What I wish to say, basically, is that daydreaming can be just as destructive as TV if taken to its excesses. Feel free to disagree with me, but I believe that someone who is "addicted" to daydreaming may suffer the same "brain degradation" and inability to focus as someone addicted to TV and such.
-- AlexHu - 04 Feb 2009 | |
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- Alex, it's time for a chat. Please make it convenient to drop in on my office hours on Thursday 5 February anytime between 10:30am and 1:00pm. Thanks.
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| Revision 14 | r14 - 04 Feb 2009 - 12:24:41 - EbenMoglen |
| Revision 13 | r13 - 04 Feb 2009 - 06:01:04 - AlexHu |
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