TV Rant - I hate that thing

[Robert]

Both my wife and our 16 year-old watch way too much TV, especially those "reality shows" like The Bachelor and similar crap. Yes, I think that stuff is complete garbage and I find it so frustrating to see people waste their time watching such things. Especially when it's family members. Watching complete strangers try to fall in love with each other and win a ridiculous amount of money if they go all the way. Survivor, same thing. I call it TRASH, but then most of TV shows are just plain trash, and a complete waste of time. Nothing is learned from watching, it's all passive information of low quality, that doesn't benefit us much in any way. There are exceptions of course, I know that. There are educational shows that are good, scientific ones, some news channels can be very good, and there's of course many good movies shown on TV. But most of TV is still garbage, I maintain that stance.

And the worst thing is that TV seems to have people glued for hours. After one 30 minute show, another similar 30 minute show comes on. Oh yeah, we have to watch this one too, and next one, and so on. Pretty soon several hours just passed by.

As for our family, I try to suggest lets do something together instead. We've also talked about how to use the TV time to do fun, fulfilling and meaningful things instead. It only occasionally works. With our littlest girl, I just tell her it's enough. I shut off the TV, and we go outside or something. No problem there, but I can't do that to my wife and teenager - there would be a big fight leading nowhere.

I am of course not perfect either. I do watch TV once in a while, but it's usually not for long. I feel "guilty" sitting there staring passively, and pretty soon I feel like I should go do something meaningful instead (like wash dishes, do a guitar lesson, or whatever).

Perhaps our society is becoming one of mediocrity, where we are perfectly happy just "being there", not trying any harder than what's needed to get by. What happened to "striving for excellence"? I don't see much of that anywhere. But we should strive for excellence. Hard work always pays off. You get good at something, you enjoy it more, life becomes more fun and rewarding, you make good friends, etc.

Staying away from TV and instead working harder on school assignments, guitar playing, work, etc, can get your somewhere. Better grades, a promotion at work, get hired for gigs, etc. Or perhaps learning something new by taking evening classes. Go for another degree, or help out as a volunteer at some local event. There are many meaningful things people could do if they didn't watch TV.

I do everything I can to stay out of the "swamp of mediocrity". Not that I'm that great at anything, but the journey is the important part - not the end destination.

Rant over.

[Tig]

We all have our guilty pleasures on the boob tube I guess. My family watches too much TV, but the summers are so hot, indoors is the norm. We mix in board games too, but not enough. My Dad refers it as "The Vast Wasteland".

We try to stick to PBS and other educational channels, and HD Theater has some great programming as well. Occasionally sports, get our time, and the Tour Day France is a must! We also watch a few silly time wasters, and I admit liking So You Think You Can Dance, because sometimes it is absolutely beautiful what art the body can produce.
http://blog.newsok.com/television/files/2009/08/jeannine2.jpg

[markb]

I've had no tv since 1993. It can be done. If there's something really interesting it usually comes out on dvd and I'll rent it. I did feel a bit cut off for a while but the web has expanded to fill in all the holes.

[piebaldpython]

I understand your rant at the TV......about the Mindless shows.

Sometimes, people like to watch Stupid, Idiotic stuff because it helps them decompress from the pressures of the day. You decompress with your guitar, they decompress with the TV. Too much of anything is not good, and so long as they are functioning well with what they HAVE to do in life, then just let them have their TV.

[kiteman]

I'm with you Robert. I don't know what tv's like in Canada but here there's too much commercials, I mean way too much commercials so my tv's off almost all the time. I got better things to do.

When I do turn on my tv it'll be on news, history, discovery or geographic channels I'll watch but most of the time I'll play my DVDs.

Yea, tv sucks.

[otaypanky]

Years ago I had a little fishing cottage on an island in northern Ontario. I'd get there once a year for a month at a time. No electricity, a hand pump at the sink for the well water, a wood stove, just the basics. Man after a month I was relaxed. It was definitely culture shock when I got back.
But I admit I am a tv junkie. If I'm in my shop working I have MSNBC or C-Span on as I work.

[pes_laul]

I usually dont watch much tv. I hate mtv with a passion. It's called music television but all I see is lame reality shows.

Though I do enjoy me some cartoons like spongebob haha

[Heywood Jablomie]

I'm totally with everything you said, Robert, and I can feel your dismay and frustration. The only practical thing I can suggest is to get rid of the TVs.

[Rotor]

I have to agree Robert, most TV is brain sucking drool, but as you mentioned, educational TV is pretty acceptable to me. I watch Science channel ect a lot. As a ME student, I also indulge in How it's Made and like shows as that is pertinent to my major. Come fall semester though, you'll find my daughter and I doing homework, and the wife has her nose in a book for most of the evening. Pretty quiet around here during school.

There! I've made my first post beyond my welcome thread.

[Tone2TheBone]

Thats why we play video games on the PS3.

[bcdon]

I do everything I can to stay out of the "swamp of mediocrity". Not that I'm that great at anything, but the journey is the important part - not the end destination.

Rant over.
Great, rant! I, like most Americans of my age (40s), was raised in front of the TV. However, about 8 years back I decided that I was tired of wasting so much of my life in front of that idiot box and I started to wean myself off of it. I was amazed to discover just how much time I had to do other things like.. read a book (imagine that).

Like any addiction, and TV is an addiction, it takes time to give it up but it is well worth the effort. After loosing interest in TV I still kept a TV and cable over the years to watch some of the better shows. However, this year, I finally canceled my cable and haven't turned the TV on since the Olympics and that was only for a few events -- which were in French because that was the only channel that I could pick up without cable. :-) I also download a few old shows and watch them on my computer when practicing guitar scales and such.

There have been many studies that show the ill effects of TV on your brain (basically you go into a passive state and are much more susceptible to suggestion -- perhaps the reason it is called "programming." ;-) ) Even if TV wasn't harmful, it is still a waste of time.

That said, be forewarned, when you give it up for good you'll be amazed just how much of the time other people spend talking about this show or that show and you won't be able to join in. It is really weird once you remove yourself from the pop-TV "culture," and listen objectively to people's conversation -- they talk about a show and the characters as if they are real people and that they really know them.

As for your situation, I see you have two alternatives: Be the spoil-sport and cancel cable and not let anyone watch it; OR, lead by example and start cutting back on TV yourself -- whenever the family is just vegging in front of the TV excuse yourself and do something else (like make another guitar video! :dude ).

don

[Monkus]

I'm with you Robert... but I'm hooked on Lost. After the series ended someone gave me all the episodes on dvd. Im in season 2. Its so....addictive. I was also hooked on Serenity, Stargate and Stargate Atlantis.

I find myself watching the sports channels as background noise.

[bcdon]

A few quotes and links:
http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/
http://www.tvturnoff.org/



http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/247802/your_brain_waves_change_when_you_watch.html

If you experience "mind fog" after watching television, you are not alone. Studies have shown that watching television induces low alpha waves in the human brain. Alpha waves are brainwaves between 8 to 12 HZ. and are commonly associated with relaxed meditative states as well as brain states associated with suggestibility.




http://www.odec.ca/projects/2005/zerb5m0/public_html/negEfBrain.html
In the April (2001)issue of Pediatrics it says that watching an hour of TV a day increases the child's chance of developing attention problems by almost 10 percent. "The newborn brain develops very rapidly during the first two to three years of life", said Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a researcher at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle. "Even educational TV can be damaging. That's because it's not the content [I disagree with this, the content changes your perceptions and not necessarily in a good way. -don]that is the culprit," says Dr. Christakis. "It's the unrealistically fast-paced visual images that may alter normal brain development."

[R_of_G]

Moderation is the key. There is plenty of intelligently-written and entertaining programming available. That the vast majority of the viewing public ignores it in favor of so-called "reality" tv tripe doesn't mean it's not out there, and not just in the realm of documentary programming (ie. science/nature) but fictionalized scripted television, is out there and it's harmless. Don't underestimate the value of shared cultural experience. Say what you will, I am a better person for having watched The Simpsons.

[omegadot]

I gotta say, my wife and I love finding a season on Netflix and following it through fairly quickly. We are also not built for the heat of Virginia, growing up in Western NY.

The reality shows make no sense to me, though. I love a good drama or comedy, but I don't need more interpersonal drama. I work in an office environment, I don't need that petty crap running around on my TV too. I suppose it helps that I don't have cable, too. That said, unless I'm gaming, I've got my guitar in my hands. I just geek out on whatever is in front of me and that doesn't make one obsession superior.

[Eric]

Yeah, I haven't watched TV in about 8 years, and I haven't had one even hooked up for reception in a few years. We now have our only TV (a 19" CRT) out of the basement to watch the DVDs of Arrested Development we recently received, but that's about it. I think it will go back down pretty soon.

That having been said, I have no illusions about being perfect as a result. The internet and places like thefret.net have displaced the TV as a thing that uses up my free time.

[kiteman]

It's the internet. :)

If there's no internet there's tv. :D

[Katastrophe]

Great rant, Robert!

I don't watch much TV, unless we rent a movie.

However, I've started waking up anywhere from 3 am to 5 am every morning. It's too early to do things around the house, so I've started watching some tv shows on our "Video on Demand" channel.

There's a whole "free" section, and one of the channels, called Mag Rack, has a whole section devoted to guitar, bass, drum and other instrument lessons. They're pretty good, and I've had some fun playing along, sans amph. Instructors are Luther Dickinson from the North Mississippi Allstars, and Andy Aledort from Guitar World. Good stuff!

I must admit to a small addiction to A&E's "Billy the Exterminator." Many hijinks involving pest control in Louisiana.

[hubberjub]

We got rid of cable several years ago and I have never regretted it. We watch a DVD probably once every three weeks or so. The only time I actually see TV is when we stay in a hotel. Then my wife insists upon watching house programs on HGTV.

[Katastrophe]

Then my wife insists upon watching house programs on HGTV.


Those shows drive me up a freakin' wall. I've watched a few with Mrs. Kat, and they just bug the heck out of me.

[tjcurtin1]

I'm really interested to hear how many folks here have managed to get away from the TV:dude ! Good on you all! Once you quit, you hear people talking about 'the shows' and you can't imagine where you would find the hours to waste - your life fills up with more interesting and useful activities (at least that's what I've found). It becomes especially horrifying to see/realize how many children spend endless hours transfixed before the box. Someone once pointed out that if you gave your child something to eat or drink that induced the same state of mindless zone-out as an hour in front of the TV, you'd be calling the Attorney General, the FDA and a lawyer!

[Tig]

Those shows drive me up a freakin' wall. I've watched a few with Mrs. Kat, and they just bug the heck out of me.

+1 - Mrs. Tig loves that sh**! I'll watch a few minutes now and then, but it usually drives me nuts, especially the spoiled house hunters.

[Robert]

I'd take house shows before beauty shows any time! The Bachelor makes me want to vomit.

[djmcconnell]

Amen! Imagine how much more I could improve my guitar if I substituted 1/2 the time we spend watching TV playing music. Stress would be reduced as well!

My wife and I watch more than TV than we should, but have started playing games and putting on music more often. So when we do watch TV, it's never live, but rather than recorded on DVR so we can skip the commercials.

[oldguy]

I loathe these shows. People at their worst trying to win a prize. If that's reality as it exists today, I'll pass. I might have given the competitions such as dancing and singing a pass and one time, but they've ruined those as well with their childish remarks and temper tantrums. In a way, some of the nonsense reminds me of the insulting remarks I see on Youtube sometimes.......... LOL!

"Your veins are too big.... but you play pretty good".........:thwap

[kiteman]

All sensations. People eat it up. :hungry