TV is Big Brother

I was going to post the following as a comment to the article “The Most Dangerous Appliance in Your Home: The Television” but their captcha anti-spam thing doesn’t work (I f**king HATE captchas) so I’m posting it here in an extended form.

* * * * *
I also agree with all of these statements. The best step you can take in fighting the constant feed of manipulation is to TURN IT OFF or better yet, cancel your cable subscription. I do watch some tv, mostly on dvd of downloaded episodes of currently running shows I actually enjoy.

Many Americans are in a habitual state of behavior by which the tv is turned on immediately after coming home from work, school or whatever fills their day. Often, the tv stays on through dinner and remains on until bedtime. Many of these people then watch more tv in their bedroom prior to sleep. Some fall asleep with the tv on, set to a sleep timer. “I can’t fall asleep without the tv” is one argument. The tv delivering some feeling of comfort and security is frightening to me. In these kinds of all too common cases, the bombardment of messages, suggestions and advertising is constant.

Try, for one week, to not turn on the tv when you walk into your home. The desire to watch will seem, at first, almost unbearable. After that week, you may just realize how little tv contributes to your life and, in fact, how much it takes away.
* * * * *