The Perfect Drug: Some of the Addictive Qualities of Television

"Television provides an escape from reality not unlike that of drugs or alcohol. A person can slip away into the fantasy world offered by television programs and effectively impede the pressures and anxieties of their own lives. This is similar to 'going on a trip' induced by drugs or alcohol." (Hardebeck)

Television is a drug that a large number of people in the World are addicted to. Over ninety-eight percent of homes in America have television, while only ninety percent have telephones. Most often the programs the viewer receives are quite harmful to them physically, mentally, developmentally, and even financially. Not all television is bad, however. Certain shows such as Sesame Street can be educational to young children, but too much of anything, even educational television, can be harmful.

"Television, while chemically non-invasive, nevertheless is every bit as addicting and physiologically damaging as any other drug" (Rivers). An average person will spend about six hours a day watching television, which is approximately equivalent to one third of his/her waking day. "Not unlike other drugs or alcohol, the television experience allows the participant to blot out the real world and enter into a pleasurable and passive state" (Winn 21) Television allows people to forget about their everyday lives, and enter a pleasurable and passive world. This passive ‘trip’ people take when watching television is similar to a ‘trip’ while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. "Real addicts do not merely pursue a pleasurable experience one time in order to function normally. They need to repeat it again and again. Something about that particular experience makes life without it less than complete" (Rivers). Television addicts act the same way when it comes to television. They are usually very anxious when they are not watching television, and when they finally do watch it they usually do not feel happy or get any enjoyment, but rather are simply satisfied. "I remember bingeing on television when I was a child, and having that vapid feeling after watching hours of TV. I’d look forward to watching whenever I could, and I remember that feeling of tiredness and anxiety that always followed those orgies, a sense of time terribly wasted. Television promised so much richness, I couldn’t wait for it, and then it just evaporated into air" (Winn 22). This need to watch television, but with no final climax of happiness--simply satisfaction--helps create the need to continue watching more television.

People who watch consistently often feel that they can quit whenever they want to, and resume their regular activities. Most often, however, people become very passive about their lives, and the other activities seem less attractive and more difficult (Heroin). Viewers often feel that they really should do something else, but the fact that they do not go out and do other things and just watch television, makes it seem to many that other activities just are not as desirable. (Winn 22)

One of the reasons why television is such a good advertiser and pacifier, is that there is no way to stop the flow of information. A person can change the channel: however she/he would only receive more of the same. In other media such asnewspapers, a person can flip the page, or pick up another newspaper to find somethinghe/she wishes to read. There presently is no way to stop the flow of images and sounds,and thus the viewer (person watching television) is trapped into viewing whatever the sender (usually a broadcast station) desires. (Mander) "In its present form, equipment like television or film does not serve communication, but prevents it" (Brooks 75)

The sender has complete control over what, when, and how the images and sounds are sent to the receiver. With this control, a sender can deliver whatever messageto the receiver she/he chooses. This choice however is controlled by a number ofdifferent variables. The most important of these variables is government regulation. The Government has established laws as to what can and cannot be viewed on television. For example, broadcast stations in Canada must devote a certain number of hours to non-profit organizations. The opinions on what can be shown, however, are constantly changing because the mass public’s culture is changing as well. As new technological advancements are made, and the sharing of information becomes easier and more accessible, then culture tends to change as well. Another variable that controlswhat the sender sends, is the advertisers. Advertisers pay the corporations and broadcasters, and help keep them in business. Advertisers are the backbone of television. Advertising sponsors most television broadcasting, and without the financial support of advertisers television simply could not be supported in its present form, and would not be such a popular medium. (Mander)

"By the time most Americans are 18 years old, they have spent more time in front of the television set than they have spent in school, and far more than they have spent talking with their teachers, their friends or even their parents" (Newton). Advertisers obviously want us to constantly watch television so that they can bombard us with theirads. Most people however do not like seeing advertisements, and change channels. Thesame people nevertheless continue to watch television despite the commercials. That is why television is the perfect medium to advertise products presently, and why so many companies are using it.

Television is a very involving medium. The television screen is made up of millions of tiny points of light that the human eye puts together to make images. The human brain is working very hard while watching television to make all of the images make sense. In this way, television involves you deeply with whatever is taking place on the screen. (McLuhan) This factor is very important for advertisers. They can have people in their commercials that act, and look ordinary. The viewers see people just like them having fun with the product that the ad is selling, and think subconsciously that if they purchase the product they will be happy as well. Advertisers also use various other techniques to involve the viewer and sell products, but this is the main technique. Viewers like to see people on television who are just like themselves.

Television viewing can be harmful to the human body. The body burns calories much slower because of the inactivity of viewing television. "Body metabolism (and calorie-burning) is an average of 14.5 percent lower when watching TV than when simply lying in bed" (Daniel). This means with an excess of television viewing an individual will usually store weight more, because of the inability of her/his body to burn away calories, and because of the extra snacks that are usually included in television viewing. The extra eating has direct correlation to advertising commercials that push consumers to buy processed foods. Over five thousand commercials are dedicated to processed foods in the U.S. yearly, and more than half are for low-nutrition snacks and sweets. (Hardebeck) "Men who watch television 3 or more hours a day are twice as likely to be obese as men who watch for less than an hour" (Daniel).

Television viewing is a cause of sleep deprivation. Children as young as eight years old are staying up to watch television shows. Sleep is a physical necessity required to build up growing organisms. Sleep after viewing television may be disturbed vivid images viewed earlier, resurfacing in dreams and nightmares, and thus making it hard for some people to sleep, especially children. (Summary)

Television is very harmful for the human senses, and especially for young children who are still developing their bodies and minds. Staring at a two dimensional screen greatly impedes visual depth perception and seriously damages observational skills in young children. After viewing television for only thirty seconds, the human brain switches over to Alpha brain waves from Beta brain waves (which indicate conscious thought and active thinking). (Summary) This indicates a lower sense of consciousness while viewing television. "In a recent study comparing TV viewing with laboratory simulated sensory deprivation, researchers found that 96 hours of laboratory induced sensory deprivation produced the same effects on the person as only a few minutes of TV viewing" (Summary).

Television viewing can be very harmful, and can stunt a child’s physical development. Constant television viewing is also harmful to adults, and especially those who snack during commercial breaks.

Television viewing tends to prolong dominance of right brain functions, and thus causes a trance-like state of mind. When television viewing exceeds twenty hours in one week, the left hemisphere of the brain experiences serious problems developing verbal-logical functions. Word knowledge and vocabulary are not affected in either a positive or negative way by television viewing, yet creative verbal fluency is much lower for active television viewers than for people who abstain from television. (Summary) "There is a direct correlation between the amount of time a child spends watching TV and their scores on standardized achievement tests - the more TV watched, the lower the scores" (Hardebeck).

"There are more videotape stores than book stores in the U.S. today" (Mander). Television viewing requires little concentration and less thinking than reading does. While reading a book trains people to have longer attention spans, television viewing does just the opposite. When watching television the brain activities switch from beta waves (indicating alert consciousness) to alpha waves (indicating lower consciousness). Certain electronic impulses occur in the brain while watching television which do not normally occur when the eyes are open. These impulses keep the eye in one place for an extended period of time, as well as focused in a manner that is normally unnatural. These side effects are harmful, especially to young children who are just learning to read because they train skills that are the opposite of what reading demands. With extended television viewing, reading books becomes more difficult. (Mander)

Television viewing is particularly damaging to a person's sense of wonder and imagination. During imaginative play, people actively experience the real world and new experiences on their own. When watching television, viewers become passive recipients of experience and are dictated experiences which they have no control over. This is often a reversal of ordinary life, because during imaginative play children have complete control, and can act out any role they desire. In a sense, television leaves no way for the viewer to issue any sort of imaginative control over the outcome of the program. Eventually people become dependent on outside sources to create images, and ideas because a large part of their thinking is filled up with television. (Rivers)

Television often gives people a view of a fast-paced and exciting world which is very unrealistic. This can be damaging to people's real world experiences that cannot possibly compete with the world of television actors. People’s real life experiences are thereby seen as less than perfectand can lead to such mental conditions such as low self-esteem, and depression. Actors on television are often seen as role models for attitudes and actions. People see characters resolve problems easily, and are confused why real life problems are so complicated and take longer than thirty minutes to solve. In this way, television also gives viewers a distorted view the world around them, as well as the people around them. (Winn)

One of the first uses for television was to make money. Advertisers use the fact that they can portray their product into millions of potential consumer’s homes, by giving massive amounts of money to television studios in trade for time on their broadcasts. Television advertising started out in a similar manner to that of radio advertising. However, as the new medium of television became more understood, advertisers started to redefine the way they sold their products. Television allows the advertiser to show consumers their products in a purely positive manner. Older mediums such as radio or print never had the amount of influence television has, and in this way advertisers can sell their products to consumers by the millions, and with a new power of influence. (Alder) If it were not for television’s tremendous power to influence people, television would not be as popular as it is today.

"Television is promoting a lifestyle. It is a virtual reality that advertisers and networksseek to promote in order to gain additional revenue" (Mander). Television advertisements promote a lifestyle that is not natural, and is promoting a consumer oriented society. Television creates a world that is product-oriented; the viewers watching this world mentally connect to the actors on the screen because of small similarities. This is how advertising changes the way in which people think, and interact with others in their society. (Mander)

Television advertising has the power to put a single message or idea into millions of people’s minds at the same time. A powerful ad shown at the right time can influence a large number of citizens in as much as a majority of the world owns, and watches television. Most of the advertisements on television promote commercialism, and buying processed products. With its combination of massive distribution and powerful messages, television is one of the most influential tools in the modern world and it is being used to create a materialistic society.

Works Cited

Adbusters (http://www.adbusters.org/Media/welcome.html) Mar 21, 1998.

Brook & Boal. Resisting the Virtual Life. City Lights: San Francisco, 1995.

Hardebeck, Daniel J. The Kill Your Television Website. (http://othello.localaccess.com/hardebeck/) Feb 23, 1998.

Electronic Heroin. (http://dieoff.org/page21.htm) Feb 26, 1998.

Fat Wreck Chords. Fat Wreck Chords Presents Survival of the Fattest. San Francisco, 1998.

Jerry, Mander. Review of Jerry Mander’s Four Arguments For the Elimination of Television. (http://www.netreach.net/people/kaufman/Jerry.Mander.html) Feb 21, 1998.

Rivers, Karen. Human Values and the Effects of Television on Children. Feb 26, 1998.

Summary of Research on the Effects of Television Viewing. (http://netletter.com/GMWS/unTV/research.htm) Feb 20,1998.

Winn, Marie. The Plug-In Drug. New York: Viking. 1977