What happens to a culture when new technologies enter everyday lives and change the way we participate in that culture?
Television brought the wide world into the homes of almost every North American. Voices from far away talking at you, telling you stories from all over. Stories that in the end created the mythologies of your time. It was so powerful in capturing eye balls that ten years ago, when every one was averaged out, we could say that if you lived an average length of time then you would, on average, have spent SEVEN years of your life watching TV by the time you were through. That was insanity; seven years of willful catatonia, and you can still watch examples of that mania everytime your parents or older siblings hunker down for an evening of turn-on-tune-out.
But a strange thing has happened.
You aren't as interested in that box of lights.
You have a new box of lights to play with.
And the best thing about this one... is you get to talk back.
And that is what is going to make all of the difference now, and forever.
The TV trained us to change with the channels
But the channels suddenly become innumerable
producers = consumers
Welcome to the....?
Posts
I find this very ironic that we are talking about how TV is creating the mythologies of our time yet we are write our comments on the internet which is basically all the other kinds of media and more.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the internet.
ReplyDeleteA technology, merely 20 years old, has climaxed T.V. -- a box of lights that has been clunking on for more than 80 years.
Stats show that there are 1.6 billion TV viewers around the world. There are 1.8 billion internet users, or 200 million more people surfing the web than the channels.
T.V. has reached it's end, and it will soon collapse. The World Wide Web has replaced the tube...after all, why hunt for a remote when you can visit YouTube?
If T.V. were to die today would we notice? Would we mourn the loss of this paramount invention? Or would we simply say "T.V.'s gone oh well?" Would we glance up from our computer screens or celephone's and remember the good times of T.V.? Not likely. Perhaps the older generation would mourn the loss of T.V. and plead with us to save the box of lights that has entertained them for so long. Undoubtedly we would turn up our noses and scoff at them. Tell them that the T.V. is brainwashing them and they need to wake up and realize that the world has moved beyond T.V. In response the older generation might plead with us one more time to remember the Murrow's and the times when T.V. has educated us, made us think, and brought us the news from around the world. Would this plea make us sit up and listen and remeber that yes at one time before we had Facebook, YouTube, and cellphones that we too sat fascinated by the T.V. shows of our childhood. Then would we remember the times when we had been brought news that changed the world like 9-11 and the war on Afganistan? I can't say for sure what will happen when television collapses if I did I would make my fortune on predicting the future. I do have a brain and I have my opinion and this is just something to think about.
ReplyDeleteWho wants to be subjected to whatever the tv puts in front of our faces, when we could simply select the topic of our choice on the internet whenever we wish.
ReplyDeleteThe problem that this creates, however, is that we are experiencing overload on what we enjoy. Playlists get old fast, because instead of waiting for our favorite song on the radio, we can download it for free and listen to it, again, whenever we want.
We live in an instant age. And instant gratification is taking its toll on us.
One could say that TV brought the wide world into the homes of almost every North American, but in comparison with the internet, TV can hardly be considered as a doorway to our world. Unlike TV, the internet allows a person to not only view favorite TV shows and stay in touch with current events, but also connecting with the world by sharing their own thoughts and opinions with the the internet viewers of the world and read those of others. Being able to use the media to express oneself is huge; it's never been this easy before.
ReplyDeleteIn this artcicle, television is being portrayed as something negative, something that has consumed the lives of people around the world. Television gives people oppurtunities to be entertained and learn about the world around them. The television becomes unhealthy when it starts to consume the viewer but the outcome of telivision is mostly positive if used in the right way.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAlthough television gives people access to some of the finest aspects of our culture, movies and music, and a wide variety of programs, most people spend most of their time watching television. Time should be used to be spent reading, working, or socializing and interacting with other people, but, nowadays, people spent in an endless search for more the entertainment. Television is the most realistic medium of communication available, what you see and hear seems a lot like what you experience in real life, because of this is easy to assume what we see in the media is reality. When we spend time for watching fictional characters and situations, our view of peopel's normal behavior can be distorted. People on television can be shown and depicted falsely about the reality of the people in the real world. Many people watch the news on television to learn about the activities around the world. The camera cannot capture the whole picture, only a small part of what is happening in the world, so people rely on these shows to educate them about the world we are living in.
ReplyDeletewhy would you wanna go turn on the TV for something you don't hate if you can find something you like on internet?
ReplyDeleteThis picture is like the internet that is star from a places to other, and will never stop growing!
As much as most of us dont want to admit it, television has had a huge influnce in all of our everyday lives. It's a commen interest that everyone shares...
ReplyDeleteThe television and the media dramatically work their way into our lives everyday. The standards of what is acceptable has been altered by our generation.The media has the ability to influence our opinions on current affairs. It informs us from one point of view and doesn't allow any room for argument.
ReplyDelete