Not too long ago...I've ceased my semi-routine activities of watching TV, due to a schedule change, and a general lack of interest that increased as time flows by. I could easilly find something to relate to on daytime tv, I'm sure...but instead I choose to read books and study subjects and indulge in the occasional internet-conversing, bulletinboard posting, and whatnot. And just yesterday..during a vague moment of introspective train of thought..I realized; I feel alot more clear headed and concise lately, and wondered if it was in any way related to the fact that I dont watch TV at all anymore; which speculation is supported by a fact that I've read a fact somewhere a while ago that stated: Your brain is more active during your sleep then it is when you're watching TV. Anyways, just today, I came across some material that striked in surprising accordance to my aforementioned thoughts; as follows.
Television is an extraordinary invention which should greatly improve our lives. Our world has been changed by television. You can turn off the TV set, but you can't turn off television's influence. We have been exposed to a wide variety of cultures and been given insights into life around the globe and in outer space. Television programs bring us athletics, encourage physical fitness, and provide many opportunities for learning about medicine, the arts, economics, local learning opportunities afforded by television programming are unparalleled in the experience of any pre-television generations.
The sad truth, however, is that because of the type of sponsorship necessary to support television in a free market system, very little broadcast time is devoted to stretching our minds, expanding our spirits, and enriching our understanding of ourselves and others. Much of the influence of television is negative. Many programs are dominated by crime, violence, and stereotyped or deviant portrayals of people's lives. A recent study by Harvard University revealed that many adults, as well as children, cannot distinguish between reality and fantasy on television. Children who were interviewed said the things they saw on TV were true because "you can see them actually happening."
Many hospitals have reported patients who requested a doctor whom they had watched on television because that doctor was more familiar with cases like theirs. Every year, TV doctors get thousands of letters from viewers asking for medical advice. When one actor gave a splendid performance as an alcoholic, his wife recieved dozens of letters of advice and sympathy from women who said they were also married to alcoholics.
If adults have this much difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality, the effect television has on children is cause for real concern. We all learn by observation and imitation. This is especially true with children. They have a tendency to mimic the individuals they use as role models in their lives, and many of their role models are characters from their favorite television programs. Values are also beamed into children via TV, and many are negative or at the very least, out of touch with reality.
Television constanty exposes children and adults to antisocial behavior performed by the incompetent, the uncouth, and the insane. At the other extreme are the superheroes with unnatural strength and superhuman abilities, who are beautiful and handsome. When average individuals compare themselves to their TV heroes, they usually see themselves as inadequate.
According to the A.C. Nielsen Company, the major broadcast ratings firm in the United States, the average amount of time each individual watches television is over twenty-four hours per week. Children average over thirty hours per week in front of what we commonly refer to as "The One-Eyed Babysitter," and they spend more time watching adult programs than children's programs. Preschool children average over four hours per day in front of the TV set and 41 percent are watching between 8:00 and 9:00 P.M. By the time children reach school age they have watched over 20,000 commercials, most of which teach them to consume more and that life's problems can be solved by a certain product in thirty seconds, or less.
We are growing up with television as our "window to the world" and the TV world has become the basis for many of our beliefs and values. By the time we graduate from high school, most of us will have spent 50 percent more time in front of the television set than in the classroom or having quality experiences with our parents and families. We can't really blame the television industry for the situation, because the quality of programming is only a reflection of the character of our families in the American social gene. But let's remember, if a sixty-second commercial, by repeated viewing, can sell us a product, then isn't it possible for a sixty-minute soap opera or "smut-com," by repeated viewing, to sell us a life-style?
Recent studies conducted by a Stanford University research team have revealed that "what we watch" does have an effect on our imaginations, our learning patterns, and our behaviors. First, we are exposed to new behaviors and characters. Next, we learn or acquire these new behaviors. The last and most crucial step is that we adopt these behaviors as our own. One of the most critical aspects of human development that we need to understand is the influence of "repeated viewing" and "repeated verbalizing" in shaping our future. The information goes in, "harmlessly, almost unnoticed," on a daily basis, but we don't react to it until later, when we aren't able to realize the basis for our reactions. In other words, our value system is being formed without any conscious awareness on our part of what is happening!
What if you and I could switch TV channels to one inside of our own head, in which of our minds were cameras instead of recievers? What if we scripted, produced, casted, rehearsed, and broadcast our own programs, and, at the same time, videotaped them for our own enjoyment and for future broadcasts?
Well, we can and we do, every day and night of our lives! and herein lies a secret of success: One of the Best-Kept Secret of Total Success is that our minds can't tell the difference between real experience and one that is vividly and repeatedly imagined.
Understanding this secret of the power to the imagined experience is the fundamental key to understanding human behavior. What you "see" is what you'll get. We perform and behave in life, not in accordance with reality, but in accordance with our perception of reality. Many of our everyday decisions are based upon information about ourselves which has been stored as "truth"--but which is really a combination of hearsay from famy, friends, and peers, actual past experiences, and information we read, listen to, and view on television...
..and so forth. 
Seeds of Greatness, by Dennis Waitley. 
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Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.
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Yeah I just derailed your thread with that tangent, but I thought it was appropriate.
... throw away... music?... m-mm-muusic..... Error: Does Not Compute, Does Not Compute. 
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