"1. Watching TV Wastes Time
5.1 hrs wasted away, every day
Nielsen research showed the average American watched an average of 5.1 hours per day,
or 153 hours of TV a month (Q1 of 2009). That’s 1/3 of the time we are
awake! This figure is increasing too, quarter by quarter. 5.1 hrs/day
is nearly 2,000 hours a year, or 78 days – 2.5 full months. Even though these figures reflect the American population, the figures for other regions probably don’t deviate much.
With all this time spent watching TV,
it’s a wonder how we even have time to do anything else. Just imagine if
we spend a fraction of this time working on our goals – we’d already be
making so much headway by now.
2. TV Slows Down Your Brain Activity
When you watch TV, brain activity switches from the left to the right hemisphere. In fact, experiments conducted by researcher Herbert Krugman showed that while viewers are watching television, the right hemisphere is twice as active as the left, a neurological anomaly. The crossover from left to right releases a surge of the body’s natural opiates: endorphins. Endorphins are structurally identical to opium and its derivatives (morphine, codeine, heroin, etc.). Activities that release endorphins (also called opioid peptides) are usually habit-forming (we rarely call them addictive).Indeed, even casual television viewers experience such opiate-withdrawal symptoms if they stop watching TV for a prolonged period of time. An article from South Africa’s Eastern Province Herald (October 1975) described two experiments in which people from various socio-economic milieus were asked to stop watching television. In one experiment, several families volunteered to turn off their TV’s for just one month. The poorest family gave in after one week, and the others suffered from depression, saying they felt as though they had “lost a friend.” In the other experiment, 182 West Germans agreed to kick their television viewing habit for a year, with the added bonus of payment. None could resist the urge longer than six months, and over time all of the participants showed the symptoms of opiate-withdrawal: increased anxiety, frustration, and depression.
That’s why people who watch TV have
trouble quitting, because they are addicted. If we want to be conscious
people living conscious lives, it’s time to break out of the TV
addiction.
3. Most TV Content Today Is Consciousness-Lowering
The average TV show today is
consciousness lowering, resonating in the levels of fear, guilt, grief,
desire and pride. This differs across TV networks of course – some
channels have better content than others. My comments are in reference
to mainstream channels/show.
Some examples of shows that are more consciousness lowering than consciousness raising:
- Fear Factor, a reality TV where people are dared into doing fearsome stunts for a sum of prize money. You see people getting scared, terrified, forcing themselves through the stunts for the prize money. I’ve only watched an episode where participants are asked to eat a pie of worms, and I can’t say it’s inspiring stuff. I hear about other episodes from friends and they didn’t seem to be done in good taste either.
- Extreme Makeover, a plastic surgery reality show that does “extreme makeovers” for participants. Participants are people who are unhappy because of their looks. They are given extreme make overs that include surgery, after which they are showed as happy and confident. It somehow drives an underlying message to use surgery as a solution for low self-esteem.
- Joe Millionaire, a Bachelor-like show based on a ruse. Contestants compete to win the heart of a guy (Joe), thinking he is a millionaire when he’s not. Throughout the show, he lives on a facade of wealth and luxury and the contestants are led on to believe so, up until the finale where the truth is revealed and the final contestant has to deal with the revelation. I don’t see the point behind the ruse. It seemed more of a stage antic to draw viewers without any meaningful intent behind it at all.
Here’s one way you can use to see if
something is consciousness raising. Get a sense of how you are feeling
first before watching the show. Then as you are watching the show, take
a moment to assess how you feel.
- How are you feeling? Happy? Joyful? Upbeat? Motivated? Inspired? Or scared? Worried? Annoyed? Disgusted? Angsty? Weighed down? Stressed?
- What are you thinking? Positive thoughts? Or negative thoughts?
- What do you feel like doing? Do you feel charged up to take action? Make a positive difference? Or do you feel nothing? Lazy? Just want to go and sleep things away?
If it’s the former group, then the
content has consciousness-raising effect; if it’s the latter then you
can probably do better without it.
4. Lack of Quality Shows
By quality, I’m not referring to
production quality. There is no dispute that production quality today
is higher than ever. Quality refers to the content of the show.
The Message Driven in Shows
Today, there is hardly any show with
that level of impact. There is the occasional good show here and there,
but none that has that kind of definitive message. They seem more like
good drama and entertainment than anything else. For example, earlier
seasons of Charmed would have a “message of the day” embedded in each
episode, which gave the viewer something to think about afterward.
However, in the later seasons, this became replaced by repetitive
dialogue and rehashed plot lines. It was just empty entertainment after
a while. I watch, I laugh, but I’m not sure if I learn or pick up
anything at the end of the day.
Overdone Content
There’s too much of the same stuff
nowadays, and lesser genuine, informative content. Looking at the local
TV programme schedule, it consists of the usual few travelogue/food
tasting shows, variety shows on slimming/shopping/fashion/etc, 2-3
ongoing singing/talent competitions (alternating between American Idol
and local English/Chinese/Malay singing competitions), reality shows of
some sort, and dramas with cookie cutter plots. It’s much faster for
me to get information I want from Internet than to wait for TV networks
to churn out something meaningful.
The genre of reality TV was interesting
when it first started, but after some point it became over done. After a
while it seemed like network producers were just doing one reality
show after the next, creating different spin offs which barely last.
I’ve lost count of the number of singing competitions and sequels in
Singapore. There is merit for a singing competition, but after a while
it seems more like the TV producers are more interested in having
successful talent shows than discovering talent.
Over-Commercialization
TV networks are getting
overcommercialized. There are more sponsorships and product/service
placements in shows than before, more than half of which aren’t related
to the show themselves (American Idol, as an example). Back when I was
watching American Idol (season 4 or 5), it was strange seeing the
finalists sing and dance to a Ford music video every week. There was a
total of 4,151 product placements
in its first 38 episodes during season 7. I’m okay with commercial
advertising, but only where it is relevant and beneficial to the
consumer. Most product placements today seem force-fitted. It’s as if
the network producers prioritize commercial needs over viewer needs. I
believe it’s possible to integrate both together, but producers have not
found the sweet spot yet.
In the context of Singapore TV, there
have been numerous local variety shows commissioned by sponsors (for
example, a beer company, another of a beauty company), and these shows
seem to be more advertising outlets for the companies than genuinely
informative.
5. TV is Linked With Lower Life Satisfaction
Research has showed that heavy viewers of TV report lower life satisfaction and higher anxiety [Source].
Many of us watch TV, specifically drama
serials, because we want to see the stories unfold for the characters.
What’s going to happen to X? What Y get the outcome he/she deserves?
Will A and B get together? What will the ending be? It’s all very
exciting, and the cliff hangers keep us yearning for more. Then for the
whole week, we wait excitedly for the next episode to see what
happens.
I realized many of us watch TV because
we see ourselves in the characters. That’s why TV network producers
study viewer demographics and produce shows in line with our needs, so
we can relate to the characters. We see the characters living life,
going through tumultous challenges, overcoming them and finally
achieving what they want. We feel happy for them when they get their
happy ending. But what we really want is the same happy ending for
ourselves.
No matter how many shows we watch and how
the characters develop through X episodes, watching TV isn’t going to
give us the life we want. To get the life we want, we need to get out
there, take action and create results for ourselves, not live
vicariously through TV reels. The happy outcome is ours for the taking,
if we start working towards it now.
6. Pointless Advertisements
Watching advertisements is one of the
worst ways to use our time. A regular 1 hour segment is made up of 40
minutes actual content and 20 minutes advert. That’s 1-third of TV
viewing time, which is a lot. The ads are either a trailer for an
upcoming TV show, an advertisement for a product/service or an
informercial. The adverts are rarely ever relevant – usually we buy the
products because we see the ads, not because we need the products.
Many times it’s just an ad to scare us into buying something. This is
linked to the next point, which is…
7. Not Watching TV Saves You Money
TV drives us to buy things that we won’t
buy. Whether it’s the stand-alone advertisements or integrated product
placements, we get spurred to buy things when we see them. And there’s a
reason why, too. The advertisements have direct messages and sublimal
messaging to drive us to purchase. Research has shown heavy TV viewing
is linked to higher material aspirations [Source].
Fact of the matter is, most of the times
we buy things because we saw the ad, and not because we have a real
need for those things. The adverts play up on your fears and desires to
trigger you to buy their products. They tell you, in one manner or
another, how your life sucks now and how you will be happier and live a
better life after you buy that product. How many times have you
watched an ad and feel like “Wow, I have to go buy this when I drop by
the store next time” or “That looks good, let me add this to my
shopping list”? Have you ever thought if you really need any of that?
Consumerism and purchase is rarely a
solution for happiness – it’s usually a coverup for unhappiness. We
might be happy the instant we buy something new because it is an
immediate gratification of a current need, but in the longer-term we
dip to our previous state of desire and dissatisfaction. It has been
proven that more material goods makes us happy to a certain extent.
Beyond that point, happiness is not more on this.
It’s been a few years since I stopped
watching TV, but I reckon the products advertised are pretty much the
same. Shampoo, skincare, toothpaste, slimming services, make-up, food
and beverages, restaurants, furniture, etc. In the past, I can be
buying different brands of cosmetics, shampoo and skincare in a few
months, even though I have not finished using my previous products.
Most of the times these purchase behaviors are triggered by ads I see
on TV or elsewhere. After I stopped watching TV (and subsequently
adverts), I have a lot lesser consumptions inclinations. I only buy
things when I need them. Naturally, this cut down my expenditures too.
8. TV Sensationalizes
There is a lot of sensationalization on
TV. Sometimes it’s the sensationalization of what’s there, making it
bigger than it really is. Other times, it’s something created out of
nothing. A lot of things are hyped up. Scenes of people crying,
bickering, fighting, taboo, sexual content, ugly human behavior etc are
played up a lot, especially on reality TV. Many times, they don’t
serve anything other than to create drama and it’s quite pointless. If
I’m a TV viewer, I’m watching to either (1) be entertained (2) be
informed or (3) be educated. I don’t find hyped up content to be
entertaining, informing nor educational. Biased content that reflects
the intentions of the TV producers yes, but none of the 3.
There’s also the sensationalization of TV
news, which is a whole different topic by itself. I’m halfway through
writing an article on this, and will be publishing it within the next
week.
9. Your Life Is More Important than the TV Schedule
When I used to watch TV, my schedule was
tied to the TV programme schedule. Hence, if the TV networks was airing
my favorite show at 7pm Wednesday, I would have to free up my weekly
Wednesday evenings. When the show started, I would have to abruptly
pause whatever I was doing to catch the show. The same thing applied
when commercial break ends. After the episode ended, if it was a
cliffhanger, I would wait in anticipation for next week’s episode. It
was like my life was being steered by TV.
After I stopped watching TV, my schedule
was freed up. I stopped planning my life around the TV schedule. For
the shows I do want to watch, I watch them on demand, either online or
via DVD. There’s no need to wait for TV networks to air the shows I
want to watch.
10. Build More Meaningful Relationships
TV is one of the favorite pastimes in
familes. They spend evenings in front of the TV screen, watching show
after show. Even though everyone is sitting together in the same room,
they aren’t bonding with each other. Each of them is just developing
an isolated connection with whatever’s on the TV screen.
Now, imagine if all this time is spent
talking to each other. Say, asking how each other’s days are,
understanding each other, discussing tomorrow’s plans, being a part of
each other’s lives, just hanging out. Isn’t that a more meaningful way
to connect? Why build a connection with the television and characters
on screen when you can be building a connection with real people? TV
might be a proxy to bond with each other, but it’s clearly more
fruitful to bond with each other directly. I definitely find the latter
more meaningful than the former.
Occasionally, my friends and I will have
sleepovers at each others’ houses. Whenever the TV is switched on,
everyone gets glued to the show that’s airing, and no one ever talks.
Then after say, 2-3 hours of TV watching, the night is over and it’s
time to go to bed. Compare this to when we spend the 2 hours catching
up. Suddenly, we gain new levels of understanding about each other.
It’s a lot more rewarding than watching TV together."
http://becomeabetteryouin365days.com/2010/10/24/what-is-wrong-with-tv-top-10-reasons-why-you-shouldnt-watch/
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