TV: The Opium of the People

I got rid of the TV a couple of months ago. It’s one of the best things I ever did.

Now I read, play games or watch quality shows or movies on DVD. Or I spend time on the internet, which at least is more active.

What’s more, giving up TV has made my mental state more positive. At best, a lot TV is an opiate; at worst it’s a kind of poison.

The funny thing is, when you tell people you’ve shut off the cable, they look at you as if you’ve just said “I’ve stopped eating food.”

That’s how much of a drug it has become.

Unfortunately I just bought a 40 inch TV. I caved into the family pressure.

Gotta make wife happy…lol.

I will try to not watch it as much as I used to but it is going to be hard.

However, get my million dollars spend it well.

You’re exactly right. I say as I’m watching UFC 102, but it is my business to watch this, I guess that’s ok. I’m using your autoresponder series to write about it right now.

Great post, Perry. I got rid of the TV 1996 when I moved out to the mountains in Southern California. I did continue to go see a movie once a month.

Today we do have a TV. No cable, satellite, etc. It’s off in the corner of the living room with the surge controller off. It takes about five minutes to set it and the furniture up so its easy to view. We rent a DVD by mail order each week (via Zip.ca — the Canadian version of Netflix) which allows us to provide a list of what we want to see.

You’re point about people not watching TV on TV is something I never spotted. But, yes, people on TV see to have much more meaningful lives — almost as if they can “live your life for you.”

But so much of it doesn’t make sense. We saw a series a while back (good sci-fi plot) which featured a two-income family, with kids who never could left a finger, yet they had a perpetually immaculate house and the mother had time to cook these big home cooked meals. Where did she have time to do all this cooking and cleaning? You never see anyone clean. They live in this big house in a great neighborhood, yet it never seems like they are struggling to keep up.

So true, Perry!
I don’t have a TV since the the single chanel I liked (popular science)was cancelled. That was 4 years ago. I got to a stage where it irritates me if there is a TV switched on when I visit people, or in public places. Unfortunately I’m surrounded by people who don’t really understand. Your article makes me feel less alone!! Thanks!!

When I was in college, I knew people who scheduled their classes around The Young and The Restless. Unbelievable.

As for your post, another way it could be stated is, “Garbage in. Garbage out.”

Paul

Eat Well. Live Well.
PurpleGreenPops.com

I have completely stopped watching TV about 7 years ago and I feel much better and have more time.

However, together with my daughter I sometimes watch her child-DVDs ( Winnie Pooh etc ) together. She does not watch TV ever, too,
but only DVDs. And she repeats watching the same DVD very often until she fully understands it and she aks questions etc.

My spouse uses TV sometimes, alone.

***

Before that 7 year I used it for 4 years. ( Complete waste of time )

Before that 4 years I also had a period of several years without TV. Then my girl friend manipulated me into purchasing a TV ( which was the worst buying decision I ever made. )

So in total I have about 12 years without watching TV and it is really much much better without than with TV.

***

You are really right that TV is the opiate of the people. It’s the number one addiction world-wide and since 95% of the population is affected, it is not qualified as a sickness but regarded as normal.

Chris

P.S.: Nice pun to the original quote with the “religion being the opiate of the people” which was issued by some communist leader. Which I think is quite funny, because I think that communist/socialistic ideology also qualifies very well as “opiate for the people”, right after “TV”. Because communism and socialism teach people to blaim others for their failures instead of learning from them. So instead of working on personal growth they remain locked in their regressive blaim-others game which makes them easy-to-suppress and easy-to-manipulate sheep for politicians and (wanna-be) dictators.

Perry, my wife and I put our television in the barn three years ago, where it became a target for the pigeons and barn swallows.

Haven’t missed it a bit.

I am very anti TV myself.

I did have one years ago to watch the news but it broke down one day and was not replaced. I just don’t know how people find the time to watch TV programmes every night…

By the way, Marx did of course write what you quoted but he wrote about religion in a very compassionate way.

Where people feel a hole in their lives they will fill it.

With TV or sport or religion or perhaps even FaceBook…Twitter…

FaceBook rant coming up Perry?

Perry – I’ve recently realized that the entire elderly community of the world spends 80% of their time watching the tube. And I’m really curious what would happen if they couldn’t. If it was just shut off.

There was a blackout in NYC in 2003 that was incredible. There were all these people in the streets at night that you’d never seen before… nice people who could play guitar and laugh and stuff. Makes you think.

But if we’re being honest here, the internet will replace TV as the opiate for the masses soon enough. I don’t even own a TV, but I’m practically wet wired to the internet. So I’m not one to talk.

Lucas

Living in Detroit, one of the highlights of Thanksgiving is watching the Lions football game. We recently hosted Thanksgiving for my family, and they immediately turned on my TV. Unfortunately for them, I didn’t have cable, satellite or a digital tuner/antenna. They still huddled around the small fuzzy screen.

The last time I looked forward to watching TV on a regular basis was during my childhood when my favorite shows were Leave it to Beaver, Dukes of Hazard and Get Smart.

When we in the UK only had 4 channels, the BBC produced some fantastic work – I, Claudius, Smiley’s People to name but 2.

Now we have hundreds of channels of mainly rubbish and much of the best stuff is from the USA (The Wire, Sopranos etc)We do have some good documentaries though – just watched one on the coming food crisis.

Moderation in all things – TV is great if you just want to flop and relax for an hour. It’s when you watch it endlessly without discrimination.

A survey here in the UK said 50% of people would not change a channel they didn’t like if they couldn’t find the remote!

Sorry, I’m not getting rid of the idiot box yet.

What do most people do when they come home? Crack open a beer and sit in front of the television for 4 hours.

And we all wish we made more money…

Geez, I can’t imagine paying money for cable television! I haven’t had TV since I went to University. I forget that people still watch it!

Amen and AMEN!

I work tech support for a national cable / HSI provider and the amount of stupid that pours through those phones are mind boggling!

The internet calls aren’t so bad, but if “Dancing With The St@rs” or your daily slop opera gets interrupted people get UGLY. Even make bomb threats.

If that’s not bad enough, now you can record it and watch it over and over in Hi-Def. These same people just can’t comprehend the fact that power supplies fail and hard drives fail. Now all there recorded porn is gone –

I get every channel available for free and have not found one I like yet. I do keep the TV on at all time, mostly with the volume down and it’s don’t matter what channel. I’m accustom to the back ground noise and frequency it makes… but that’s an addiction for another blog.

Boy do you have this stuff the wrong way around. People watch TV when they’re skint because they can’t afford to go to music concerts or the theatre or the football game. It’s not *because* they watch TV that they get skint.

There ought to be ONE exception to the rule: sports. I can give up TV shows, but my NFL, NBA, and USC Trojans Football… I can’t give THAT up.

Perry,

I think you hit the nail on the head here. I’ve hated television since I was in junior high school (23 years ago or so), and I couldn’t agree with you more about how it sucks you in, puts you in a trance so you don’t process anything, you just blindly absorb and accept it, and it imparts dependence, non-action values.

I haven’t made my extra $100K-$1M yet, but I’m much closer than a lot of people I’ve come across simply because I hate television.

Like John Manley, we have a tv, but no cable or satellite, etc.

And Simon, I’ve come to find it humorous when people look at me funny when they make a tv reference, and I tell them I don’t know their reference because I don’t watch tv. It completely throws them off. Pretty funny.

- John

It was not a conscience thing on my part but I am in front of my computer screen 10X more than TV.

I just cannot do productive things with a TV. My computer helps me get things done I guess.

But I think that is Perry’s point. TV is one way communication, while ‘input devices’ (people, BlackBerrys, computers) are two way or interactive devices.

It’s funny, but I know the years I spent learning the ‘Internet thing’ in the early part of this decade came at the sacrifice of TV.

My wife saw the back of my head more than the front as my office at home was configured that way!

Love this post. I don’t watch much TV because I don’t have time. When I do make the time it is generally a movie with the family.

It’s definitely addicting if it’s front & center, we’ve noticed with the kids. So we just cancelled the cable with great moans of “What about Lost? What about Heroes? What about ___?”

Addictions, see what I mean? They can watch that stuff on Hulu, not to mention it saves over $100/month.

That said, we LOVE Netflix and they’re probably losing money on us. If it’s a night to watch something (adults make that call) then we enjoy choosing some great stuff there…classics, documentaries, concerts, good old TV series from yesteryear, etc. It’s not like we never watch anything.

As I heard Gregg Harris say one time on this issue, “If you don’t want to get rid of the TV and tell me you only watch news and sports, I’ve got news for you, sports.”

It’s a time gobbler, and that’s got a really high opportunity cost.

Becki

Hi Perry,
Once again you have hit the nail on the head, my wife Jane and myself are far too busy to ever watch TV.

We occasionally try and watch a video but it has to be exceptional for us to get to the end.

I liked this article so much I posted it on my own website, with full credit of course.

Perry,

Very very true. Networkers hate the TV, and for the past 5 years I have barely watched anything at all.

No radio either. I can barely tell who the current pop artists are or what their songs are.

News is what’s really really bad…That can throw an individual right down the scale, can creates fear and hostility.

I also don’t watch sports, except for the occasional UFC match. But I do have a guilty pleasure or 3.

TrueBlood, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Entrourage.

To me there is nothing like watching Curb and laughing my a** off from time to time..

Very keen observation, no one on TV watches TV. Even made up characters have better things to do, lol

Perry,

I think there is a wealth of information on TV.
My Fav’s: Discovery, NatGeo, Home Improvement shows, Gardening, CNBC, Food Channel, and of course, the Yankees.

Don A.

What a timely post. I just this week returned home from volunteering my summer at a kids summer camp. No TV there. Funny, you don’t miss it when you are living well without it. I don’t watch much anyhow but I do have a couple shows I like. I have never had cable, I get 3 channels over the air.

I sat down last night to watch something – what a waste of time! Sometimes I just need to take a break from what is going on and TV certainly can empty your mind (since it puts nothing useful in to it).

But, ya, I have reduced my watching time considerably over the last year or so. Great post.

My dad and I had this very conversation 5 years ago or so. We, too, agreed that TV is the opiate of the masses.

To this day, one thing I’ve never purchased in my entire life is a TV. We’ve gotten a couple for free, as gifts. But then never bothered to get programming — so just had static.

We did have channels at one time because a relative brought over a TV antenna and insisted on setting it up. So we had programming for about 1-2 years. But it got to where I couldn’t stand it.

One day, I carried the TV out into the garage and put a potted plant where the TV had been. Ah, peace and quiet again.

One of the biggest problems with TV is that it robs you of reading time… learning time… time you would normally use to “sharpen the saw.”

Anyhow, excellent post. I fully support your suggestion to move the TV out of the main living space — at a bare minimum.

Ryan

I watch a few things on TV. I used to watch CNBC all day as I worked. Since I am in the financial area it seemed a good idea to keep an eye on the markets for any “Breaking News”. A few months ago I decided that breaking news simply meant “We want to be first so stop thinking and let us tell you something trivial”. I still turn it on occasionally but rarely.

I watch NCIS, old CSI, Psych, Eureka and a couple of others that require your brain to be engaged if you truly want to enjoy it. I like trying to solve the plot before they do or doing internet searched on the science they bring up to see if it is realistic. I have learned a ton of things and it make TV interactive.

My son watches the history channel and rarely anything else.

Oh, umm , does college football count? Because you do know this is the kick off of the season right? How else can I spend hours scouring the internet looking up obscure stats to impress my friends with my arcane knowledge

Be active in your life. Be responsible for it. Too few people strive for greatness.

I thought I was the only person that felt this way. While, I still have my tv, I don’t watch it as much because know I spend my time preparing marketing strategies for my business. I have noticed the manipulation techniques they use on tv to keep people tuned in. I can’t hate em for their marketing strategy because it appears to get the job done.

Perry – you are absolutely right.

We don’t watch much tv at all, and if we do, it’s usually interesting shows on the History channel or Discovery. We do get rental movies to our house and watch a couple a week.

One that that I think ties in to your discussion is that television, the media specifically, is extremely negative and promotes fear. I don’t recommend watching the news.

I think being an entrepreneur requires staying positive and as emotionally balanced as possible. Watching the news does not help you to stay balanced. Many people watch it before bed, and they wonder why they don’t sleep well at night. All of that “bad” news, fear, depressing news etc seeps into your subconscious.

Yep – pulling the TV is a great move and I totally agree successful people are less likely to imbibe in it.

Michelle

On this one you are preaching to the choir. I am somewhat reluctant to say that we only have one TV in the house and it is a 10 year old, 19″ one.

This is one very valuable lesson I learned a few years ago and it has contributed immensely to my personal growth. Instead of watching TV, I read, listen to or watch business, marketing, self-help Cds/DVDs.

Perry, you certainly hit the nail on the head with this article.

It reminded me of a comment from a customer years ago. She limited her children’s tv watching to one hour a night.

Her statement then, back in the 70′s, is still perfectly valid today.

“TV is nothing more than a mental douche”

Hi Perry!

In April of this year my wife and I moved. One of the things we did was not sign up for any tv from any provider. Our thinking was anything we want to watch is available online or thru Netflix.

Many a day goes by now that the only TV we watch is at the end of the day around 10 or 11pm. We throw in a disk and generally fall asleep to it.

So far it hasn’t increase our income (it will!) but my wife and I have spent a lot of time learning about internet marketing, social networking and fine tuning my skills at creating blogs and websites.

I always believed tv was a serious problem in the developed world but like any good drug it’s hard to stop…

I think the issue is self-control. The TV doesn’t make anyone do anything – waste time or overeat – it just provides distraction and instant gratification. So does the Internet. And we are using that even more than the TV. If we would just become mindful of our own processes- and catch ourselves using TV/Internet to relieve us of the need to be productive right now we wouldn’t need to take the time to move anything to another room.

Great post Perry. The only shows I’ve been watching lately, when I remember, are…

Daily Show – satirizes TV news and politics

Colbert Report – satirizes TV news and politics

The Soup – ridicules reality television

So, I guess that only watching TV shows that make fun of TV shows counts as staying “above” it?

My dad spent 20 years of his life watching tv instead of being my dad. It ties into living vicariously through other people, he was nothing, so whatever was on television that day, that’s where he was…

Hey Perry that’s why we call TV “the electronic income reducer”.

I am super selective of what I watch. It is for sure 99.9% garbage and soft porn everywhere.
My kids are 12 and 9 and they can’t just TV surf because after 8 o’clock you don’t know what you’ll get; and that’s almost any night now.
We programed the TV to get only a few channels but usually we kick them out to play like my Mom did.
The main stream media got freaked out when Janet Jackson had her boob exposed on the super bowl which made my chuckle.
I cut my TV watching way back 2+ years ago but I’ll be honest I love my sport of hockey and being Canadian living in Toronto I watch the Leafs games but that is about it.
There is a direct relationship to watching little or no TV and me starting to make weekly checks in my online businesses this summer.

Blah, blah, blah Perry.

I am an actor, and I watch TV. Our national culture surrounds TV. I admit that we probably watch too much, and that it IS another form of escape, but so is the internet and every last damn bit of “marketing advice”.

There is some garbage, and there’s some fantastic stuff- just like on the internet.

I think some of that “There’s no PV in TV” Ambot stuff is still in there….

Personally, I’m a sucker for good storytelling and nice visuals. For that combination, I can either watch TV or read comic books. I prefer comics, but there is still material on TV that I enjoy.

I don’t watch a lot of TV because I don’t find much to watch that’s worth my time. I turn on the TV when there’s something I specifically want to watch. After that, I turn it off. There’s no need to keep a distraction going. I got my story, time to move on.

BTW, remember in the 80′s when a lot of sitcoms revolved around either rich or well-to-do families? Hell, Different Strokes was about a savvy investor who made it big and was able to adopt to kids. Occasionally on the show, and on the spin-off (Facts of Life), you’d hear investment facts and advice.

Ducktales was an enriching series for one episode where Scrooge McDuck explained how he made his fortune, and told the Huey, Looey and Dewey “Don’t work hard, work smart.” That lesson has stuck with me since. There was another episode that explained how money worked, and how continually printing it would destroy the economy.

Compare that to the shows of today, which feature lower-middle-class families with men who’s mental abilities are mediocre at best. Somehow they marry these beautiful women who are so extremely loyal to them they stick around no matter how stupid they get.

The portrayal of these idiots is always positive, and when you see rich people, it’s always negative. Dishonest, mean, manipulative and downright evil. Is it no wonder you see so many people who don’t want to be rich these days? Financial intelligence has been vilified.

My advice is this: Find the good stories, turn off the sitcoms and the reality shows (this includes talk shows) and only watch the things you turn the TV on for. After that, turn it off. Keeping it on is like finishing a book and trying to read more on the cover, the dust jacket, the margins…

Hey Perry,
Good article, not a very popular message for most people it would seem though.

Oh, and your misspelling of favelas made you #2 in google for “favellas”
I thought that was funny.

Perry the timing for this post couldn’t have been better…

We are quickly closing in on the last quarter of the first decade of 2000…

Time for people to really assess what they accomplished during this decade…and if they want to improve their results…turning off the TV just might help to get them closer to fulfilling their goals for the second decade of 2000…

I haven’t watched TV since 1983 when I moved to Italy…Italian TV was horrid…and I was too enchanted with Italy and her people…so I never missed TV…When I moved back to the States…I was too busy working to fulfill my goals…

Funny thing…I don’t read the newspapers either..but in the last two and a half decades I always know what is going on in the world…the information is so pervasive that it bombards us 24/7/365…Why waste my time going through redundant information…???

I so loved this post that I posted it on my blog…full kudos to you and a link to “The Nine Great Lies…”

You and your vision are appreciated !!

Rose

So well put. The TV and main stream media have people in a trance. They are so manipulated at the unconscious level that they are enslaved to the life of being just over broke or broke. TV tells that “what” not the “how”. People who are awake are aware of the “how” and are making things happen. Lets continue to lead by example and turn of the cable. I is one of the best things I have done.

Perry you have just pointed out one of the greats things that has influenced the minds of the people and slw them down from achieving thier goals fast.
So many people sent more time on T.V than there jobs,friends and even thier family.

Nicely put.
Never had a TV, but occasionally watch one to ensure nothing’s changed.
I will definitely never get one.
Apart from the worthy news and educational bits, TV has fueled a whole lot of ignorance and fear in this country.

We had to cut out the cable bill after the tech wreck in 2000 – the same year our son was born. What a blessing it is to have him grow up without watching TV. He finds it boring and the commercials annoying. He’d rather be doing something. We spend more time together as a family creating our own memories rather than just remembering some fictional show.

I have quite a strong attachment to Tv, and have been able to quit several times. As someone mentioned above, when you visit a friend, their Tv is on. It seems to pull me back in.
Where I live, there are Tv’s in Banks, Restaurants, and even the community center where I work out. I don’t even have to look at a television for it to affect me, I can always feel ‘the buzz’ if there is one on in the room.
Thank you for this article to remind me how much I want to leave Television behind.

Cheers,
Ambre
http://www.losetokeep.com

Wow – looks like you touched a nerve w/this post.

We got rid of the TV 20 years ago – we’ve been too busy. And the kids are much, much better off w/o it – their imaginations are stretched more with duplo, lego, and reading. playing. they are in better moods since they are interactive, not so passive in front of the screen.

and me – well, i click the mouse now and again.

While reading this excellent post, I couldn’t help but thinking you could substitute ‘surfing the web’ for TV, as least how most do it:

Paraphrasing Perry:

“Even the poorest of the poor (surf the web).

Which is interesting because (surfing the web) obviously shows people things they want. But what is not so obvious is that it teaches them nothing–

- absolutely nothing –

about how to get it.”

Obviously, there is good information on the web, but you have to be just as careful about what messages you internalize, whether from TV or the internet.

Thanks, Perry for being real.

If I’d believe everybody always tells the truth, then the replies to your post, Perry, prove you wrong because I doubt most of them are that successful while hardly any of them watch much tv. (or so they say )

Also, thought you might be interested to know that a 1957 Time Magazine article was entitled “Television: Opiate of the People”, a fascinating interview with Edward R. Murrow. Worth a look:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,809673,00.html

Perry, that is so true. I went backpacking during most of 2004, came back to stay briefly with my parents and they watch tv a lot of the time. I couldnt believe it but eventually fell into that routine too, although not a prolific tv watcher, I had my favourite programmes and watche them religiously – like the correlation with the Marx statement re: religion with regards to that. Since I have been building my online business, I cant remember the last time I watched tv. I joked with someone the other day that if someone came into my house and stole my tv, I wouldnt notice for around 4 weeks.

Apart from some good educational programmes, it is largely nonsense. I feel at bit embarassed about having a tv now to be honest.
Tina (UK)

I make enough to buy a large plasma every week, yet I live without a TV and very happy that way. I might consider buying one just to watch movies every once in a while, but no cable, thanks! It seems like there’s only more and more garbage out there… I feel very sorry for TV junkies who consume all that humongous, monstrous flow of… nothing – even worse, absolutely degrading crap (never mind so-called “news” – oh I hate those.. nothing really new – or true – accidents, deaths, police reports, sponsored political messages from all over the world dictated by current big brother)… It’s sad and scary – my children are supposed to live with this crap around them sometime soon. Glad you wrote this, Perry.

Good point Perry!
Here in Spain the television is pure garbage. If you want to see something good you have to wait late night until 2’00 in the morning.
Two years ago my wife and I decided to put the tv on the floor, behind a chair. I just watch some tennis match from time to time. that’s it. And the news, you better don’t watch them. You just learn how to kill someone or listen to a circus of politicians insulting each other.
Since we do not watch tv i’ve develop a range of habits like reading, listen to internet marketing interviews with my mp3 player, learn adwords…
Now that i have kids i’m kind of worried that they will want to watch any of those horrible cartoons where thay just fight, just because that’s what other kids watch.
It’s so obvious to me that those kinds of programs/films shouldn’t be allowed to be shown. What good can they teach to our kids?

Ohhhh… the “Time Vanisher” – that’s what I call TV…

I didn’t have one for years, then kids came along – and I gotta say – it’s MAGIC allowing them to watch DVD’s or the (good) kids shows on a rainy day!!!

I watch about 2hours of TV a week, literally to “veg out”, i.e. literally turn myself into a form of couch dwelling vegetable.

I pity those without the same level of self control.

However, the flipside is that some people replace the TV, by watching crap online.

There’s no teachin’ unless the student wants to learn huh…

Dave

Perry,

You would have to agree that TV does also inform the public as well, so it may not all be bad.

Yes – have to agree it wastes a lot of time but there I think there is a small positive side to it as well.

Regards

Gerry

Perry,

Outstanding post you have some very valid points TV warps the mind. Personally i hardly watch it at all i may watch the occasional movie to unwind from all the work i do here at my desk trying to get traffic for my various sites or to get a sale of whatever i am peddling at the moment.

keep up the good work my friend.
Kind regards

John s

Wow Dude, I’m not the only one who CAN’T STAND TV !
My current living situation is with someone who must turn A TV on whenever she enters the room ! A TV in every room. When she’s not around I’m in Heaven, I can actually think ! I simply cannot understand people who grow uncomfortable being in a room for more than a few minutes without a TV on.

Also my bank remodeled recently,guess what’s behind the tellers facing the customers ? A HUGE TV.
Also in DunKin’ Donuts, Doctor’s offices etc, etc.

Watch Fight Club, not for the fighting, but the philosophy. . .

When I was 13 years old, we had 3 TVs in the house, they were our babysitter, and the biggest source of strife in our house. I actually got (verbally) thrown out of the house once by my parents for changing the channel on the TV when noone else was in the room. I asked my parents at least a dozen times from the time I was 13 till I finally moved out at 15 years old, to get rid of the TVs. I hate television, and I have very little respect for the people who watch it. One of the best decisions I’ve made in my life was to never buy a TV.

I got rid of the tv for MANY years back in my amway days, but stupidly brought one years later when I was feeling miserable about a relationship break up!

Big mistake that was, and it only made me feel better for about 4-5 hours. Waste of money!

My partner just splashed out on a big ol Plasma (42″) and I started getting hooked into it again and not doing my business stuff! I have got her taking the remote control to work now every day, so I can’t turn it on.

Works a treat!

Eran

One of the problems with TV is there isn’t that many good shows on.

It’s amazing when you think about it. We have more channels now than we’ve ever had and for the most part they all cater to the lowest common denominator.

Become a Coast Guard Pilot

Right on Perry,

TV sucks, the idiot box that has sucked the brains of many people while brainwashing them into sheap. I am glad I haven’t watch TV in 3 years, and now I’m stress free. My Rant

Perry,

Nice piece. I couldn’t agree more. I gave it up over 2 years ago. I do study ads and I still have to watch my Steelers and Lakers.

I rarely disagree with you Perry but this time I do.

Sure too much TV is no good but there is some great content here in the UK (yeah and a lot of junk) but you have to be discerning.

You can also watch TV to learn about poeople and how to market to them (most of your customers watch TV so why, what can this teach you?)

If you really want to learn about people and marketing watch one of the TV Shopping Channels – these people really know how to market!

Do I know what I’m talking about well see details of my BBC interview to learn more – http://www.stefandrew.com/ShoppingChannelSalesStrategies.htm

Regards

The BBCs Marketing Magician, Stefan Drew

I dont believe this..I love my TV.

Guess I’ll always be poor

Children, especially very young, are adversely affected.

Researc shows that even watching ‘educational’ TV, the hours devoted to TV equals the hours lost in language development. This could easily be scores of hours a week for some kids.

This is obvious really as the kids aren’t talking or interacting.

Also commercial kids’ TV has adverts for junk food, junk toys, developing a mania for consumer goods, by making them feel they are lacking.

Keep up the good work Perry.

My wife and I do watch TV during the week, however, we only watch PBS and the news channels. Watching the right programs is educational. I have learned about famous people and events, animals and current events.

Perry,

Something interesting I’ve noticed while reading the replies to this post is, while some people have made the valid comment that a person can substitute web surfing for television watching to waste time, it appears the people defending television in these replies seem to primarily be people who make their living via some connection to television (actors, working at the BBC). And, with no disrespect intended, these people wouldn’t seem to be disinterested commentators since they have a vested interest in people watching more television.

Maybe those few commentators just stood out to me… or maybe I noticed that correctly.

- John

Perry,

Just read the article and suggest a re-listen (because I’m certain you’ve heard it before) of Frank Zappa’s “I’m the Slime”. The song nails the button you just pushed. “I am gross and perverted, I’m obsessed and deranged, I have existed for years but very little has changed. I’m the best you can get, have you guessed me yet? I’m the slime oozing out of your TV set!”

I was fortunate to learn a quick lesson about TV and life when I was very young. An elderly lady in the community stopped me as I walked past her house on the way home from school.

She told me that my dad would want me to stop in for tea and cookies. I told her I didn’t drink tea, so she quickly corrected that to ‘milk.’ I was only about four or five (I’d started school early) so I was thinking if my dad approved it this must be okay. Besides, there were cookies at stake!

Fortunately she only wanted me to watch her soap operas with her and listen to stories about the hotel she and her deceased husband had built.

I learned that: someone always needs an operation; people may lie to achieve what they want and; there’s always a note or letter that would straighten everything out if only it would make it into the right hands–so you should always give people the benefit of the doubt if what you hear doesn’t sound right.

Later that week my dad caught her in the act of inviting me in. He put his foot down and said I was to come straight home after school. Little did he know how much I learned that week!

…and in line with Larry’s theme, I also thought of a musical reference when I read this – a little more contemporary than Zappa maybe, but still with a great deal of gravitas: Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy – Television, The Drug Of A Nation (Quote – “Breeding ignorance, fear and radiation”). Funny how music that could be decades+ old still rings true. Who says we learn by our mistakes?

Interesting! “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” That is what Marx and Engels proposed, and Lenin built upon it. “Television is the newest religion.” We pray upon the alter of HBO, Showtime, and ESPN every night and we depend on CNN for our world view. Heaven forbid we should be required to read a newspaper, a magazine or a book! It is frightening, and it is true, TV has become the latest-greatest method of inducing mass-anesthesia, keeping us occupied, living life vicariously instead of living life for ourselves! I too have traveled the world and never quite got over the sight of a massive satellite dish outside of a hut no bigger than the dish! Inside, the peasants living on $21 per month watching Dallas, Dynasty, and Baywatch…aka BabeWatch (the most popular show in the world at one time). The world shrinks, expectations shift, and we continue to live life through others. Sad really! Great post Perry!

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.

“Poor people have big TV’s….
Rich people have big libraries” — Jim Rohn

Thanks for helping me grow my library

Very astute as usual, Perry.

I was addicted to the box at uni, hated myself for it – thankfully I did just enough work to get my degree.

We haven’t had a telly since graduating in ’81. People often ask how we manage to get so much done and are usually gobsmacked by my reply…’No TV’

Our children are SO much better for it too. Very creative and bright.

Perry

I totally agree and haven’t watched TV for going on 18 years now (apart from horseracing Saturday afternoons, my one indulgence) whilst I accept I do miss some worthwhile programs I’d still rather read a good book anyday.

With the amount of rubbish on TV these days and competition from the web it’s little wonder the TV stations are in decline. What a contrast with 20 years ago when they were making so much money it was unbelievable.

I’m afraid I’m in a minority of one in our house as everyone else still watches fortunately I don’t have to endure it although I occasionally hear it and one thing I’ve noticed is the constant hooping and hollering as the audience are no doubt being whipped into a frenzy by whoever is running the show. Hyperbole seems to be the order of the day and reality TV is anything but.

Duncan

I would agree however, I myself couldn’t take off my eyes from it. Well it really would depend on the show. Like what Cheryl Clausen stated on her post titled Octomom -Mom or Entrepreneur Marketing Example?, Television stations are producing and airing reality TV programs in droves. Viewers can’t seem to get enough of them, and the more we watch the more reality TV we’ll get.

Well if everyone would have an iPhone and just watch on Youtube then we’d have no problem about TVs.

Balance and not extremeism seems to be one of the greatest sticking points of humans. Not all T.V. is bad..Some things do spark the imagination. I have always watched all of it with critical and open eyes. I just can’t and won’t assimilate to the Prohibition/Ban all of it model. There are some truly educational programs, too; history, science, discovery, documentary programs. Some movies, no. Some of the so-called News and todays version of Journalism. No. But utter and blind amusement. Never has been me. Commercials,they have always marketed us into consumeristic oblivion. Shows. Some have, too. What is reality about reality t.v. I guess if some prefer to not be aware of what the rest of the world really has to offer..so be it. Stay behind blinders as to the fact that we have a very widely diverse population.
I have had this running debate with my Mom for most of my life. If it is on and the parents don’t want their kids to watch it, it is up to them to limit, or discuss it with their own kids. As well as to interact with them on other levels. I have to agree with “Bones” some of the Ambot still hanging out in there. Many of the, based on real life experiences in drama, have always been about being awake. You said that some of the more religious were the more awake, and I have to respectfully differ and say in my own very humble experience ( of 45 years now ) some of the religious are the very ones that need to wake up. It is just the opiate of personal choice. All opiates have the same power to blind in the same way. Repectfully meant rant over.

Exactly exactly exactly my thinking ! You put into words what I had in mind. TV truly is worthless and yes, those are marketing tactics.
The only truly advantegeous shows are on Discovery and History !

Well Perry, we all know that TV is of no good… and we also gave it the term “idiot box” despite of this fact and the observation that you have made in Brazil… I think people won’t change because the Opium called TV has already made gazillion of addicts already which seems like a hard thing to make this number low… anyways it was a nice post to read

This post is too dramatic. Sometimes it is fun to watch TV and unplug yourself. I agree it is not good to watch it too much but this problem is among people who is lazy to do anything else.