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IsTVReallyAddictive 17 - 05 Feb 2009 - Main.YinanZhang
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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? | | | Nevermind the fact that I found it while I was catching up on the COMMERCIALS I missed by not watching the Superbowl on Sunday. The more I think about it, the more tragic my behavior becomes.
-- MolissaFarber - 04 Feb 2009 | |
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I wholeheartedly agree with one particular aspect of Alex's argument regarding various forms of escapism: excessive escapism does more harm than good. In fact, I'm a stout advocate for the idea that absolutely anything, when taken to the extreme, inevitably lead to more harms than benefits. But I will save that argument for another day. The main issue in here concerns the addictiveness of TV. In and of itself, I believe TV is neither good or evil. As Alex said, when used in moderation, television watching provides a person an opportunity to relax while familiarizing oneself with the society, indeed, the whole world, in which he lives. TV enriches people's lives and provides a pleasant break from our hectic lifestyles. However, a person who occupies a majority of his time by watching TV and nothing else definitely wastes valuable time by not focusing on other activities such as work, study, or physical exercise.
Similarly, I believe daydreaming in moderation enhances our creativity and expands imagination by freeing the mind. However, too much daydreaming lead to similar problems as watching too much TV: people fail to dedicate time to other useful activities.
In effect, I do not think that TV and daydreaming, or escapism in general, can be categorized as good or bad because they foster addictive behavior. Indeed, arguing in such a way suggests a pushing of blames on anything but ourselves. I believe that we should have enough self-control to limit our enjoyment of escapism to a moderate degree. Perhaps failure to do so implies weakness within ourselves.
-- YinanZhang - 05 Feb 2009 | | | |
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