‘We
call man a gentle animal;
and, if nature has been kind to him
and his education has been
right,
he is the most gently and god-like of creatures.
But if his education is inadequate or bad,
he becomes the most savage of all the products of the earth.’
-Plato
Television
seems to have taken a major part of the entertainment business, and a
major part of our time and life. There was a time when watching TV was a
luxury, which only a few could afford, and now, even a poor household is
glued to a TV set. Whether this indicates advancement or dependence, it
is an issue to be thought about. It is difficult to explain to all
something that appears a normal and regular part of their life. That is
why it becomes difficult to make people see and think what TV viewing
has landed them into.
The
greatest of faults is to be conscious of none.
To confess a fault freely is the next thing to be innocent of it.
I think it is
high time that we took a moment to think about what TV has done to us.
How its fever is gripping each one of us and has affected our lives;
molded our personalities. The implications of TV are not free from being
beneficial as well as adverse. As can be understood, the TV itself is
not faulty but its contents and usage make it so.
Just visualize this general scenario. A baby in a family gets familiar
with the TV screen since his birth. As it grows up, so is its attraction
to this idiot box. The kid seems to be staring at it like anything and
we keep on telling it not to do that. The child grows up seeing his
elders watching TV with deep interest and precision and develops a
similar interest. But then the mother scolds and spanks the child for
watching it, as it is not good for small children or their eyesight
(what a concern!). The child is confused-“ How is it that the elders can
watch it all the time and I can’t? If it is bad, it should be so for
all. This is not fair!” Yes, I agree, not at all fair.
Gradually, the child is allowed to watch selective and safe
programs-like cartoons and kid stuff! A good start! Well, the child is
glued to his own set of programs and won’t budge a bit from them. The
conflict arises when the grown ups and the children have to watch their
programs at the same time. Now, that starts the family war. Who should
give in? If the family has another set of TV, good for both. Send the
child to the other room and enjoy your program. If not, then the trouble
is there. Well, no worries! Start the same old talk-“It is not good for
kids to watch TV all the time. Go and study.” What an escape! At other
times, if the child seems to be bothering you with his talk or actions,
switch on the TV for him and the headache is gone. What a darling the TV
is! How supportive and convenient! Now that elders are not always at
home and nor can they keep an eye all the time on what the children are
watching, the child is free to flip the channels and watch what
fascinates him more. And what does he see? Variety indeed! Funny
cartoons, jumping animals, disturbing violence, cheap songs,
advertisements, family dramas, Qur’an recitation, movies, news broadcast
and so on. The choice is his. If he desires he can imbibe all the
world’s knowledge or witness the filth and obscenity that has gripped
the modern life and entertainment world.
OK! The scenario is over and now comes the implication part. The kids
are becoming too inquisitive and informed about all things around
them-good as well as bad, the beauty as well as the ugliness of life.
They are aware about issues that their minds are yet raw to understand
and grasp in the right manner and essence. Then TV also brings about
some sort of embarrassment or awkwardness at times for the adults. It
consumes the precious time of a person, leaving no time for family
talks, reading, thinking, get together, chats, etc. When the program is
a regular one, like the daily soaps, people plan the whole thing
accordingly. We have grown accustomed to planning our time around what
show is on at what time. Even if you are not physically watching TV, it
just goes on playing in your mind. Mentally you are with it most of the
time. Television has become a psychological refuge for many. It presents
a fantasized and dramatic world that one desires or believes in. A world
full of handsome men and women, and symbols of apparently good life-
money, fortune, success, glitter, beauty! It has become an obsession, a
habit and an addiction. Yes, an addiction that refuses to go. The
question is, can an addiction to television be destructive? The answer
by science is a "Yes!"
The societal impact is also there which leads to a cultural cost to the
country. The entertainment industry is a vehicle for ideas. It has
evolved into a medium transmitting thoughts across people and the world
at large. It is taking the lead in promoting products, services, ideas
and trends. Countries are competing to take a lead in vulgarity and
obscenity in films, advertisements or serials. Times have changed
drastically for the film industry as well as the TV industry, which is
following suit. The portrayal of characters and life is cheap and
unrealistic. Music and movie channels are showing filthy programs and
vulgarity all the time. Rather than educating, it is disillusioning
people and retarding their thought process.
The influence is such that people are more concerned about the
characters in the dramas and movies than their family members or
relatives. Television shows have become more important than socializing
with family and friends. The dramas and movies seem to have gripped
their mental faculty, arrested their thought process and deviated them
from the real life. Except for the occasional news and documentaries,
evening television is the average man's view of the world. A less
percentage of the masses watch sensible programs like news,
documentaries and informative serials. The vast majority doesn’t budge
from Star Plus, Zee TV, Zee Cinema, B4U and other nonsensical channels.
And such channels are increasing in number. There is a constant
transition between the programming and the advertisements, which has
lead to a numbness that has desensitized and confused the viewers. We
seem to spend a major part of our lives in viewing false realities,
exaggerated violence, misguided truths, and boastful commercial
promises. Whether TV reflects the social trends and evolving culture or
it is the other way round, TV content is becoming pathetic.
Unconsciously, people are becoming slaves of the TV in every sense of
the word.
If you think
this is an exaggeration, believe me, you are mistaken. There is a wide
concern among people as to what is happening to their children. Some say
that their children cry when they are not allowed to watch their
favorite television show. A study stated that television consumption
wastes more than 4 hours of our day and 13 years of our lives on an
average. One could do so much with that wasted time! There is
neurological evidence to prove that television is an addictive opiate
and one of the most dangerous mind control devices ever produced. 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 that releases the
body's natural opiates – endorphins, which are usually
habit-forming.
An article
from South Africa's Eastern Province Herald (1975) described two
experiments in which people from various social backgrounds were asked
to stop watching television. The result was that some gave in after one
week, and the others suffered from depression on losing their ‘friend’.
None could resist longer than six months, and over time they showed
withdrawal symptoms- increased anxiety, frustration, and depression.
Research shows that while watching TV, the brain treats incoming data
uncritically, leading to emotional rather than intelligent responses.
Hence the revelation by researcher Jacob Jacoby that 90% of the research
target misunderstood what they watched on television. Recent surveys
have shown that 75% of American women think they are overweight, likely
the result of watching thin actresses and models daily. Besides that,
obesity, sleep deprivation, and stunted sensory development are all
common among television addicts.
As with other
things, there are advantages of watching TV that cannot be ignored. One
can get educated and knowledgeable through informative channels like
Discovery (though the regional or local versions seems Greek to us!),
National Geographic, History, Animal Planet, QTV, NDTV, CNN, etc. Though
one can really gain a vast amount of information and knowledge through
TV but there are strings attached to it. Such channels don’t have ardent
and loyal viewers like the other common channels. People are tempted to
watch other channels as well. This is a fact that needs to be admitted
and addressed.
So, what about the solution? To uproot the whole problem, don’t buy a TV
set. As is said:
‘It is
easier to suppress the first desire
than to satisfy all that follow it.'
This could be
the best option ideally. But the problem is –what to do with the idiot
box that is already there? One option is to throw the TV sets in the
trashcan. Not practical! Another is to disable the cable connection and
be content with the national and local channel. Mercy upon those
viewers! Jokes apart, as this problem is a part of the western world
too, a family out there discarded the cable connection. The fact that no
one died of boredom, the children stopped complaining, family members
found more time to talk with each other, rediscovered reading for
pleasure, and games for enjoyment. It has been a blessing for them to
rediscover what they were missing all the time. It was a simple way to
grow stronger bonds with the family.
Yet another
option could be to develop a strict sense of self-discipline and
self-control on watching TV. Not easy! Generally, it should have been
the Communications and Broadcasting authorities to regulate the program
content at least on TV if not the entire Entertainment Industry and
solve this problem for us to some extent. But as with other issues, they
are lethargic and unconcerned. So we will continue to look for our own
solutions. What about selective channel viewing? Ever heard of ‘What
makes people unhappy is not too little choice but too much’? It
applies here. It could prevent viewing undesirable or indecent material
to a great extent. Subscribers can ask for selective channels and pay
accordingly. Cable services can be provided in tiers or categories for
which the cable operator charges a separate rate. The cable TV operators
have not yet implemented this system here, though it should have been
given highest priority. Better than the rest I suppose! But till this
happens to our part of the world, we have to resort to the other
options.
What is
important is to be conscious of the fact that excess of everything is
bad and this applies to watching TV too. Not only ‘how much’ but
‘what’ you watch, that too is important. We need to safeguard our
homes, culture and expression in the face of globalization, competition,
and the power of dominant unseen forces. We need to come out of the
distraction and experience life meaningfully.
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