I don't know if anyone here feels this way, but TV is obviously a distortion of truth, and summit for propaganda, a means where big organisations control the market according to their own needs, a profiting business for greed. Almost everything is an exaggeration, and some twisted lies are totally an over-exaggeration. Problem is people know it, yup, but don't know the extent of the lies. Peer pressure is the means TV uses to eventually stimulate their means. The ugly biz world causes all these befelling trauma, inciting it in our perception of life and viewpoints. Social peer pressure is the means that companies use, as a means to 'trap' their 'victims'. So they resort to all kinds of means, from simple world of mouth push pull sales to the extent of picturistic graphical presentation like TV. In the world of TV, almost every picture i see is a means of inciting propaganda. Even movies, short dramas are ways to tell us how we should live our life, how we should behave, how we should react in our families etc... Fine as TV is in entertainment, but i see many people who have simply been so blinded that they cannot consciously understand why they are doing some things and behaving the way they behave. Their behaviours and perception of life have been hypnotised by the constant simulation of ethics and morals instigated by large organisations dominating the TV media.
The question is "WHat if?", what if TV never existed, would our perception be the same??? Have we been so blinded by everything that we cannot have our own unique mind anymore??
The TV effects has caused trends, simply patterns of cohesive behaviour, a plain generalistic viewpoint. Many people follow trends, plainly unconscious. Isn't TV the exact obstacle in our journey to find who we really are, what we really want??? Isn't TV the influence that instigates what we should want and where we should work and what we should be, instead of our real choices inside, which is already unconsciously pushed aside...????
I'm never in favour of watching too much TV esp for children.
There was an interesting article about watching TV by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a prof of psychology, I think in the Straits Times, on 2 Jan 2005
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Television is attractive to the architecture of the human nervous system: Our brains are built to absorb information and follow rapid changes in the sensory field. TV provides these in easily digestible, sumptuously prepared morsels.
Constant change and the appearance of excitement absorb viewers' attention. The Sistine Chapel cannot compare with it - most children will become bored after 10 minutes by the frescoes of Michelangelo, but will watch a detergent commercial with riveted interest.
All of this applies just to the way the medium works, without taking content into consideration. The content, in turn, reinforces the seductive qualities of the medium by offering generous helpings of sex, violence, easy comfort and other material that we are prepared to respond to genetically, but that in large doses detract from the ability to lead productive and serene lives.
Indeed, by now, the evidence that television watching is a dangerous habit has grown to such proportions that it is a wonder that stronger warnings and effective prevention have not been adopted. Among the many findings is that watching too much television induces passivity, both at the level of neural functioning and of behaviour, and that it interferes with learning and reduces political and civic participation. It also encourages aggressive behaviour in children and produces negative moods, such as sadness and loneliness. Nor is there any evidence of benefits to counterbalance these negative effects.
When television was in its infancy, many thinkers - and not surprisingly, TV producers - painted the future of the medium in glowing terms: TV would keep us informed, cultured and entertained; it would strengthen family life and civic virtues.
of television turned out to be a dream: Individuals and communities that watch TV often know much less about what is happening in the world than comparable audiences that do not.
The only clearly positive effect of TV watching is that people feel relaxed while doing it, and many people are willing to exchange that relaxation for the more enjoyable and useful things they might be doing instead. Like the bear that learnt to fill his stomach comfortably, they feel satisfied to be entertained without having to exert themselves.........
TV isn't the only source of propaganda.
There are both pros and cons to having TVs. The good thing is, of course, it provides entertainment, people feel relaxed when they watch their favourite TV shows. The downside is that there are some people who try to emulate the lifestyles of the rich and famous seen on TV.
Sometimes I feel that watching is a waste of time, but on the other hand, it provides great enjoyment and entertainment for me.
And anyway, if you don't like the TV, you can always switch it off or sell it.
Mass media influenced. Question is who has the right to hold that influence?