Television

[speed]

It has been said Spaffe, that a civilization goes into irreversible decline and decadence when they become bored and have no idea how to occupy their time. I think your summary of T.V. highlights this point quite well.

 

[Erik]

There is no spaffe posting in this thread

 

[Kenneth R.]

i very much agree with your earlier post.

 

[infoterror]

What the article doesn't really touch upon is WHY people in general watch so much TV. In the most extreme, sad, and pretty common case, deep down people don't really care much for what they're watching -- the important thing is that they are doing SOMETHING that occupies the mind without requiring much of the viewer. This is painfully obvious sometimes when people complain that there's nothing on and while complaining, still lie around, beer in hand, and watch the fucking thing!

Good point.

Maybe modern society is, as Kraftwerk pointed out, desperately "lonely" and "empty."

 

[no country for old wainds]

When people no longer have the energy to do something productive (well, more productive than watching crap you don't care about at least), they should sleep, but instead do things which stagnate the mind. Stems from a fear of wasting their time on Earth, perhaps? I suggest this because I think that was the underlying reason for my old TV habits.

 

[anonymousnick2001]

I watch plenty of TV. I just refuse to be affected by it. Television's mindlessness is a given. I don't turn on the tube expecting some great revelation. It's just another method of drifting away, escaping reality for a little while. Seeing how the other half lives, watching animals traverse the Serengeti, imagining the lives of imaginary individuals and their imaginary problems, witnessing arrests, standing in nonexistent courtrooms...all to see what could, rather than what is. As long as the viewer is in control, I don't see any big problem with it.

I'm not much of a regular viewer(much less an addict), anyway. I don't watch shows regularly, and sports are boring unless it's tennis or an NBA brawlarama. I just don't see what people always harangue the tube for. Mostly, I just don't care.

 

[Kenneth R.]

and yet, everything you mention you can experience on the internet and in books, virtually commercial free and at your command. why subject yourself to television, the one way conversation? you can't talk to TV, and you can't control what is shown. sure, you can change channels, but nearly every channel follows the same formatting so you can't escape it.

 

[Erik]

why subject yourself to television, the one way conversation?

Huh, you're answering your own question here. People watch TV precisely because it requires no interaction or actual thought whatsoever. It's just a way to escape, to fill the mind with useless shit to keep it off more important things that hurt to think about.

True, idle Internet browsing fulfills pretty much the same purpose, but at least I can seek out content on the Internet that's more interesting and suited to my tastes than I could watching TV. It does require some effort though, which is why most choose TV. Me, I already said I'm not getting a TV at my new apartment, and I'm seriously contemplating not getting Internet access either. This shit wastes too much fucking time for no good reason.

 

[Kenneth R.]

you think alike my thoughts on this subject... i suppose of one didn't have internet, then they would watch TV. but better still are prints such as books...

 

[Doomwatcher]

True, idle Internet browsing fulfills pretty much the same purpose, but at least I can seek out content on the Internet that's more interesting and suited to my tastes than I could watching TV. It does require some effort though, which is why most choose TV. Me, I already said I'm not getting a TV at my new apartment, and I'm seriously contemplating not getting Internet access either. This shit wastes too much fucking time for no good reason.

While I agree to a certain extent with the comparison between television and the internet, I probably wound not go far as abandoning use of the internet to access information. One of the main advantages the internet has over television is that you can easily find information that isn’t diluted by the mainstream media. In this modern age where we are almost completely surrounded by information provided by the television which broadcasts such variants of distribution as the news, documentaries and public discussions, all with a underlying of political correctness which somehow distorts the truth.

 

[Erik]

While I agree to a certain extent with the comparison between television and the internet, I probably wound not go far as abandoning use of the internet to access information. One of the main advantages the internet has over television is that you can easily find information that isn’t diluted by the mainstream media. In this modern age where we are almost completely surrounded by information provided by the television which broadcasts such variants of distribution as the news, documentaries and public discussions, all with a underlying of political correctness which somehow distorts the truth.

I agree entirely, but I waste a lot of time on the Internet just browsing around mindlessly, posting useless posts to forums such as these and in general doing things that aren't much better than watching insipid TV programmes. I have a sort of addiction I guess, which is why I'm considering going "cold turkey" to do something better with my life, even if being without Internet access will bereave me of some useful, positive things as well. I was thinking I could alleviate this via using University computers to access the Internet when I need to.

 

[infoterror]

The internet has become a lot like TV. That's why many of us became trolls at first, but even now, the only good use of the internet is effective use... and that's hard to come by.

 

[ZoMb!M@N]

How is listening to music any different than watching TV? Aren't they still someone else's ideas being fed to you. Either way, you have the power to believe or disbelieve whatever you see and hear.

I love my Tivo, it makes all the government brainwashing go away.:Spin:

 

[Lord SteveO]

I think listening to music is similar to watching TV for some people. But i'm fairly certain most of us posting on here are sensible enough to not be fed other people's ideas. I listen to metal because i like it, but i don't let the band force me to follow their ideals.
As for TV, i'm just about sick of it. Over in here in the sunny UK we only have about 30 free channels, unless you have cable etc. Most of these are full of crappy repeated shows and the rest are reality TV junk.
I only ever watch the odd documentary and the news each day to catch up on events.
Sadly the vast majority of people in this country at least are slaves to the kind of crap that's being shown. And it will continue to be shown as long as they watch it and are happy with it.

 

[Nightendday]

All I do is watch television.

I carry your sarcasm forward. All I do, too, is watch television.

And how could it be otherwise? The impartiality of right-wing FOX commentaries won me over to this invention - the inarguable epitome of all products of culture and civilization - a good, long time ago.


Is stating the sickeningly obvious in vogue? If it is a test of patience wherein forum members test the patience of the reader by agreeing 'entirely' with each other and creating interchangeable posts I regret reading but nevertheless continue reading for hope of content, I am on my knees and succumb to your lack of intellect - there is nothing more devastating.


The issue I have with the television is identical to that with forums: everyone is allowed an opinion.

 

[no country for old wainds]

TVs would certainly be better if they weren't such a prominent cog in the Christian machine, but even if I had control over what to put on them I'd restrict airtime significantly, perhaps only using it to broadcast announcements and the like. It can potentially stimulate the mind, but not half as much as books, conversation and other such things, thus it's redundant and not worth the time. Catering for laziness by creating a passive means of education isn't something I support.

 

[ZoMb!M@N]

TVs would certainly be better if they weren't such a prominent cog in the Christian machine, but even if I had control over what to put on them I'd restrict airtime significantly, perhaps only using it to broadcast announcements and the like. It can potentially stimulate the mind, but not half as much as books, conversation and other such things, thus it's redundant and not worth the time. Catering for laziness by creating a passive means of education isn't something I support.

Whoa.... how is it a cog in the CHRISTIAN machine? And, again, it's a source of entertainment. If you choose to watch it for hours, that's your choice ... if you'd rather read, then read. I personally feel that reading is a big waste of time unless you are educating yourself. I love Stephen King's work, but I have never read one of his books cover to cover. He is particuarly long-winded, albeit helpful in establishing character and mood, it is wasteful. I have enough of an imagination to watch a movie and elaborate on the subtext to get the intended experience of the book (if the film is produced to closely emulate the book that is). I can do this in under 2 hours usually as opposed to having my nose in and out of a book for days on end.

 

[Kenneth R.]

TVs would certainly be better if they weren't such a prominent cog in the Christian machine

have you understood nothing of what us real christians have been saying?

99% of television is at odds with the beliefs of christianity.

the rest of your post i agree with, but don't go stamping your anti-christian sticker on everything you dislike, when it clearly is an unrelated issue.

 

[no country for old wainds]

Alright, the "machine that upholds the current values imposed onto the masses for the purposes of governmental self-preservation". Whether or not Christianity is the underlying origin for said values is a topic we've already been over, and is only relevant in a very indirect way, so I'll leave that there.

 

[ZoMb!M@N]

Alright, the "machine that upholds the current values imposed onto the masses for the purposes of governmental self-preservation". Whether or not Christianity is the underlying origin for said values is a topic we've already been over, and is only relevant in a very indirect way, so I'll leave that there.

you're thinking of Republicans ..