I have always said that despite how much time I spend watching television I don't really like anything that's on. I've always found it difficult to answer questions regarding my favorite programs, simply because I don't have any. This is not to say that I spend less time than others watching TV, I just don't like it. Some people have asked me "If you don't like TV, then why do you watch it?". My answer is always the same, simply that I start watching TV while I'm doing something that requires hands. By that I mean eating. It always seems that I prepare myself food, and if I'm alone turn on the TV and end up watching for sometimes up to three hours. Three Hours! And I don't even like what I'm watching! It brings me to believe that television is somewhat of a drug, and idea touched on in Danny Schechter's The Death of Media: And the Fight to Save Democracy. In fact, Schechter refers to television as a "plug-in-drug", which really made me look at it from a wider perspective. By this I mean I took a step outside my little television world and tried to see the television audience as the huge amount of people it really is. I thought about how many people come home from a stressful workday or something of the sort and, feeling the need to forget and numb themselves from that hectic life, turn on the TV and do absolutely nothing. Alright I'm sorry, not nothing. They breath a bit. Maybe eat. Maybe the occasional outburst of an answer for Jeopardy! But I really began looking at TV as a drug.
My roommates and I have toyed with the idea of dropping cable from our list of bills because we don't feel like paying for it anymore but there has really been no progress. We can talk all we want about how we hate whats on, or how it's expensive to keep, but really nothing happens. It may be a fear of boredom. Last year when I was living in residence I had no access to television, and for some reason I can not recollect any time saying "I wish I had TV," or even "I'm bored". So at the beginning of this year, I had the idea that I don't really want to have cable in the first place because, well, it will make me watch it. And as I said before, I don't even like anything that's on anyway.
Well, 3-1 and I'm outvoted, so we got cable. I don't like it. I still watch it. A quote from The Death Of Media came to mind "programs exist to sell eyeballs to advertisers, not information to viewers". So Maybe the reason why I don't like anything on TV is because the programmers are no longer creating enjoyable programming for our entertainment or information, but rather creating programs so that advertisers will have an audience when the actual program isn't even playing. It makes sense because television gets its money from advertising costs, so why shouldn't they attempt to boost their profit? It's not like we HAVE to watch it if we don't want to right? I can quit any time I want. I swear.
1 comment:
i'm interested in what you have to say about how your dissatisfaction with television has led you to pursue other avenues for entertainment and information. if you were to give up television, where would you turn for information/entertainment? if you were to give up on television, what other forms of mediation would you rely on to stave off boredom? i think it's important for you to ask yourself these questions because they may lead you to new areas of inquiry that could be incorporated into a term paper.
keep writing,
i.
(i also hope you aren't bored because i think i've given you more than enough work to do over the course of the semeseter... let me know if you'd like me to add to your reading list.)
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