Television or Reading and Social Interaction?

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Straight to the point.

Lately, I have simply lost all interest in watching television or movies or cinema. The time that I would have spent engaging in such trivial matters, I now read voraciously. I also go out with more friends and interact more with people.

Before, however, Television used to excite me - but after reading various studies and experiments, I was only too delighted to scurry quickly away from that hypnotic black box!

As you should all know, television is in no way good for you. Your brain is said to go into 'neutral'. As in, your brain slips into 'Alpha' frequency or brain waves from your regular 'Beta-brain wave state' - this is akin to hypnosis. Your logical faculties, not to mention the grand Prefrontal Cortex and Frontal Lobe, are temporarily shut down and you thus soak in a lot of information without filtering it or questioning it!

The experiment regarding the Frontal lobe is particularly interesting - that is the part of the brain to control us and develop personality and the area said to hold 'our being', 'our individuality', 'our character'. The frontal lobe is where higher-order' functions and activities take place in the brain. Yet, when viewing the television for a some time - this temporarily goes into hibernation and activity increases the hind-brain and lower brain hemispheres to do with the limbic system - this is where lower-order functions take place.

If you are sceptical about television being likened unto hypnosis - ask yourself why when children watching television are called by their parents yet do not answer or do not remember what their parents said?

Television is not stimulating for the brain however 'educational' the program is claimed to be! The brain goes into neutral and brain waves slow down - in other words, one becomes dull. If one were to watch television a lot in the long-term, the frontal lobe is said to 'atrophy' and not function much anymore without stimulation and activity and thus activity redirects to the lower brain where instinctive behaviour and such occur.


(I had much more to say, but time did not allow...)

IF REPLYING, I HUMBLY ASK THAT YOU QUOTE.

Totally get what you mean, HOWEVER:

Education BBC4 documentary > reading Heat magazine

So I guess it depends what you watch.

But yeah, reading novels are much more better than watching ******* Eastenders tbh.

You sound cute. :blush:

TV is a brainwashing tool. No doubt about that. It can be entertaining and informative and an educational tool, but it is, like newspapers, a brainwashing tool. It's a perfect medium for corporations to say to your kid, your mum, your dad, your son or daughter, or even yourself; "you need this product".

Perfect for that. Imagine. Do you really need clear mascara or a peanut butter maker? Do you really need sweet smelling sanitary towels with the dotted or the flowery pattern?

I either agree or disagree depending on whether when you say television, you mean TV channels, or just the television in general.

If its TV channels, I really agree. There is usually nothing good on and it just send you in a state of vegetation.

If its the television option then I disagree completely. I dislike it when people treat movies, TV shows or documentaries as below books. Books are very good sources of information and entertainment. However, a great deal of artistic ability and attention goes into making a film or TV shows. And many of them are great works of art, and would easily trump most books. Whats more documentaries can inform in a much more visual way, reading about a volcano exploding is very different to seeing a video of one.

Documentaries are of course informative and educational, however I would personally want to read what would have otherwise been watched - my own preference!

Nah i agree. An hours reading holds more information then an hours documentary.