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This summer, the A.C. Nielsen Co. released its American media consumption statistics for early 2009. The findings were not exactly earthshaking: Americans watch a lot of television.
I could have guessed as much, but was shocked to discover the actual numbers: five hours per day. That’s the average. For an annual period, this translates to over 76 days the average American spends with their eyes glued to a screen.
This wouldn’t be a bad thing if they were keeping up on their current events or learning valuable skills that could improve their lives. Unfortunately, the most-watched and lucrative programs fall into the category of entertainment television. Programs like “Lost,” “NCIS,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “House,” “CSI” and a legion of reality shows attract millions of viewers every season.
You have a show or two you love, don’t you? Almost everyone does. So, what’s the problem if one of your favorite things to do after a long day is to laugh along with a few episodes of “South Park,” or if your guilty pleasure “One Tree Hill” gives you something to look forward to when life stresses you out?
The problem is that entertainment TV is not real — least of all reality TV shows, which are a brazen television industry copout the public never should have bought into. These programs give us false ideas of what love, work, friendships and romance are supposed to be like.
Worse yet, television is an addiction.
A recent study by University of Maryland sociologists came to an interesting conclusion after analyzing over 30 years of national data: Unhappy people watch more television than happy people, who are more likely to socialize or read. The fact that many use television as a means of escape is troubling by itself, but even more so is the discovery that television watching produced effects very similar to that of addictive substances, including short, temporary pleasure and long-term misery and regret afterward.
Another finding by the Maryland team was that bad economic times are a major factor in increased media consumption. With people working less, experiencing more free time and feeling less happy, they naturally turn to Conan or Leno to make things better.
This tendency — coupled with the current recession — probably accounts for the summer Nielsen ratings, which predicted television viewing would go down due to greater access to Internet and mobile phone videos but instead found that all three increased.
This research indicates television can be, and often is, an unhealthy sedative — an enabler for sloth and even depression. Granted, not all television is bad, but there is not much good in spending 75 days a year doing an impression of a vegetable. Imagine the good that could be done with those millions and millions of days wasted by the American people. It’s such a shame.
If you’re reading this column, you’re already off to a good start. Being a college student bodes well too, since not many of us have the luxury of five hours daily to spend on television even if we wanted to.
The danger comes later, when we enter the workforce and find a lot of free time can exist in a world without homework, student groups and halls filled with interesting, friendly people our own age.
Don’t squander that valuable time disengaged from reality, immersed in a world of fakery and diversion. Instead, seek out meaningful ways to use your time, like being with friends and family or helping someone in need. I guarantee they will appreciate your attention more than the voluptuous vixens of “Sex and the City.” You could even read a book or two — it is OK to keep learning after college.
Karl Marx famously said, “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” These days, we have a new opiate: entertainment television.
Personally, I’d rather have religion.
Tyler Francke is one of those annoying people who usually says, “The book was way better,” when someone mentions they saw a movie.
