do any of you watch tv? i put it on sometimes when i am alone in the house for noise, i find it less distracting than music when i am trying to get something done. generally i can totally ignore the content, it's just background noise, but lately i have been noticing the commercials more and more, their tone of fear and terrible crisis. it used to be that when you had a serious health concern you'd go to the doctor for advice and maybe treatment if it was warranted, that seems reasonable to me. but now every other ad is about asthma, osteoporosis, restless leg syndrome, erectile disfunction, herpes, glaucoma, cancer, etc etc etc with an endless list of medication and treatment centres that people are encouraged to approach their doctor about. these days we live in a culture of illness where asking for drugs with long lists of horrible side effects is considered better than the symptoms of the many diseases we are told we have or may have or are at risk of getting. doctors are bombarded by requests for medications by name and i suspect tons of them are prescribed where they are not needed at all.

i know there is nothing technically wrong with pharmeceutical companies flogging their wares, they have to make a living (turn an enormous profit at the expense of their test market, the people they dose with their poisons) but there IS something wrong with it. very, very wrong. we are breeding new generations of kids who think that the normal state of being is one of very bad health and heavy medication. these commercials air at all times of the night and day, during all kinds of programming. it's frightening to think of all the children exposed to these ideas as their minds are deciding what the world is all about. terrifiying. i think the best thing anyone can do for their kids is to eliminate all tv exposure. it's in my top ten best parenting moves.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/03/2008 05:26PM by coco.

ive noticed this alot too over the last few years ..

my husband laughs at me because the minute he leaves the room or house i shut off the t.v.'s

i prefer to get my news from the internet and discern what is right and wrong an true to me rather then being spoonfed crap every 15 minutes

im still waiting to see a *GOT FRUIT* ad on Tv

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

From June of 1976, when I was inducted into the U.S. Army, until July of 1983, when I moved from Anchorage, Alaska back to Baltimore, Maryland; I was basically television-free..It was only during the last year that I had part-time access to a TV..When I did not have a TV, I found things to do whenever I was not working..At the very least, I read books..I played 8-Ball billiards, I rode a bicycle, I fished, I hiked, I rock climbed, I rafted, I shot handguns, I played Ultimate Frisbee competitively, I swam, I practiced 35mm photography, I cross-country & alpine skied, I played tennis..I hung out with friends, most of whom did not own television sets due to very poor reception in the mountains..

As I have become less active these past 5-10 years, I have found myself spending a greater amount of time, percentage wise of my waking hours, than ever before in my life in front of a TV set..As I have become aware of the raw vegan way of life these past two years, & as I have struggled mightily the past year and 5 months to become a raw vegan; I have slowly come to realize that eliminating the television set completely from my life is going to be absolutely necessary if I successfully wish to become 100% raw..I am enabling my food addictions & mental health issues by using mindless television programming to anesthetize myself, much in the same way that I do with cooked food..

The amount of useful informational programming on either the networks, or on cable television; is dwarfed by the amount of silly, mindless programming..I cannot see spending the large yearly sums of money required to subscribe to even basic cable..Here in Baltimore, that amount is approximately $960.00 per year..For full-access cable, less the specialized pay-per-view-only channels, the amount rises to approximately 1800.00 per year..

When I next move (hopefully within the next 12 months) I will have two computers, & no television..The first computer will be a first-class Apple desktop unit that IS NOT connected to the internet..It will be strictly used for digital photography, scanning negatives, image manipulation, & inkjet printing..The second computer will be an Apple laptop that I will use for all other computer-related aspects of life..In order to access the internet I will have to leave my house & go someplace that has a Wi-Fi connection..This will drastically reduce the amount of time I spend on a computer..It will force me to perform a kind of computer triage in order to prioritize my time spent online..As a result I intend to limit myself to a maximum of 1 hour per day online for any & all reasons..I will not carry over any time not spent online to the following day(s)..My best guess is that this triage will eventually result in less than 3 hours per week spent online; thus freeing up an enormous amount of time for other activities that I currently spend sitting in front of a PC..

I've not completely made my mind up what to do as regards to telephones..I have several old A,T, & T desk phones that I am contemplating installing in this new home..I don't want any wireless portable phones in the house..I'll have dead-man switches installed in these phones so I can turn off the bells if I don't want to be disturbed..I'll have one cellphone that is for emergencies, or if a situation arises where I feel the necessity to be in contact with someone..It will remain off most of the time..I distinctly recall the pre-cellphone days when people dealt with everyday life WITHOUT being in 24/7 contact with the entire rest of humanity..Life went on without all of the drama that now is evidenced in everyday life..Those people that can afford a cellphone, & that's fast becoming the majority of the world's population, spend far too much unproductive time on them..

Bruce

i just switched the cordless phones for old fashioned ones and boy, does it ever cut down on the time i am willing to spend on the phone! and i'm thinking of tossing out the tv that gets channels, there is another one that only plays movies and i kind of like watching a good one with little some nights. it's a bit tricky for even that though because i don't want the baby exposed to those rapidly changing images, i have read studies that it changes their brain development and that is ScarY! i have to think about that. oh, and i do have work out videos though. i guess that one stays. i can play music for company instead of the telly when i'm working during the day, that's not too hard.
the computer. for economic reasons (and also because i think i am slightly addicted) i am going to have encyclopaedia galactica (the internet) disconnected very soon. i can go to the library once a week to check on stuff. i know that when i don't have the internet i get a TON more crafting and work done and i like that.

i really do think that the news and shows that i'm exposed to have a residual effect on my subconscious mind, one of fear and anxiety. i'd like to free myself from that.

I have a cousin that before she was capable of speaking coherent words in the form of complete thoughts, was able to sing in their entirety the jingles for the toys & foods that she watched on television both pitch perfect & word perfect..

This was due to the fact that my aunt was of the first generation of mothers that felt it was OK to use the TV as a distraction, read baby sitter..

Anyone that has been around normal human babies knows that the majority of them have a short attention span coupled with an insatiable curiosity..

Unless confined inside of a playpen or structure of some kind, they will crawl about using their rapidly developing brains to explore, touch, & taste anything that they can get their tiny little fingers wrapped around..

Television is an easy way for a weary parent to get some time to themselves as the moving images are at once both distracting, as well as mesmerizing..

Scientists should have figured out long ago that anything that was short circuiting the human baby's brain from acting normally was not a good thing..

I think that television should only be allowed in very small doses, if at all, until a child is at least 5 years old..

Bruce

they say not to show it until 7 actually. that the developing consciousness has no context for the fantasy shown on tv, that it is interpreted as real and affects the viewers mind as such.
we love nature shows though, i would be hard pressed to give those up altogether...

the entire first floor of our house and the bedroom i share with the baby are totally baby-proofed, she can touch Everything! no monitoring needed, she has a great time.

I don't have a tv, haven't watched one regularly in 20 years or so.

But I feel like a ding dong for having high speed cable now. And there's lots of places where you can watch free tv online now, which makes the point sort of moot.

Wish I had the strength of mind to dump it. I waste way too much time online, when I could be living instead.

i have no internet will power either. that's why i'm cutting it off soon. i can still use it at the library but it will be purposeful if i have to plan it and walk over there and i only get 20 minutes/visit. that seems good to me, i could waste my whole life looking up all the cool and amazing facts, crafts and information on here! you should see my files, they are bursting full of images for inspiration! i could never do all the crafts on my computer in 100 years, i tell ya.

Thanks for relating your thoughts and experiences everyone. I find it fascinating to get insights into other peoples life stories and that it often offers perspective for my own. I hope we will not be seeing the last of you two when you cut your use of the internet. Computers have been a large part of my life for about 25 years and I personally live by the internet.

As crazy as this sounds, I have expanded my knowledge and awareness through its use 10 fold in recent times, and consider it to be a major catalyst in my spiritual development. I see alot of our current technology as archaic and intrinsically destructive due to its materialistic conception, but also that the value of human connectivity cannot be overstated.

Coco :
I think that there are vested interests who wish to keep the world sick in order to make money from it, and that they influence what is premoted by the media in more ways than one. Modern health treatments are often aimed at creating temporary relief while keeping a person coming back for more. I feel that T.V is quite destructive due to issues such as this, but that the visual format of entertainment/information on a screen is no more right or wrong than the reading of books is.

Oh and p.s... what is wasting life ?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2008 01:32AM by Lightform.

wasting life = not living it fully. for me anyhow. doing something lame and unfulfilling when something awesome is waiting right there for me to take advantage of.

yes, totally agree about the medical vested interest. just like advertising cigarettes to a young crowd, gotta get folks hooked on things and keep them that way for maximum profit.

i agree that the computer has played a huge role in my personal development but... it's time for a break. and it's time to unplug my life a bit too. no car, no tv, less phone, much less computer, it's all good for me right now. i've been really thinking about changing my sleeping pattern too so that i am going to bed very early with the kids and getting up very early in the morning, i can burn less lights that way (even though it is still dark in the AM, for some reason dawn seems brighter than dusk. perhaps that's only the quality of the light though). and i've been doing a lot of hand crafts lately, stitching by hand instead of machine wherever possible. i'm feeling good about the voluntary simplicity, you know? it's still far from a "natural" life but it's working for me.

I reckon thats awesome Coco

Funny thing is though, in the same breath I would add that I don't believe that life can ever be wasted. I think that the waste part comes from viewing what you are as being less than something else. Consider this, no matter what you are doing, there will be someone who thinks it is worthless and vice versa. No matter what you are doing, there will come a time when you will wish to change it to something else.

When you are making a cool handcraft, there would have been the option of say... seeing some spectacular natural wonder with your kids had you made other choices, or say... listening to your most favorite music performed live. The point being that what we consider to be worthy is all relative, and as long as we make destinctions then there will always be something better or worse. How do you achieve the "highest satisfaction" ??

Music is the sticking point for me regarding the computer. I gave up my high end stereo and my piano many years ago. But I still listen through the computer.

The current plan is to get another piano and stop spending so much time online. But that will mean that I have to use the a/c and possibly invest in a dehumidifier also.