I don't think that we are becoming a stupid culture so much as we are becoming a detached and isolated culture.
Detachment and Isolation can only lead to Ignorance.
These days we're so locked in our individual shells and surrounded by all this "ME" that It's hard to obtain any kind of social awareness or sense of community when you're constantly locking yourself away from your community and not interacting with it out in the open air.
It's amazing how little time we spend outside these days. If you don't believe me...count how many times you were actually "outdoors" today...it's pretty alarming.
There are so many things keeping us indoors...toys, video games, TV, Internet...Even our jobs.
We're not meant to be an indoor creature...Hense the Vitamin D levels that are on constant decline and the obesity rates which have been increasing steadily in the Internet age.
Vitamin D is an essential vitamin that helps many parts of the body including the brain.
Locking ourselves indoors...actually effects the brain...It's crazy...but it's very very true.
And Obesity effects the brain too!!! It's now known to have drastic effects on our brain cells as well as the brains neurons and placisity. Obesity effects the way we think...or don't think.
I guess we need to disconnect from these things a little bit
...
I believe that television has certainly had an effect on the dumbing down of politics in America. People that had little or no knowledge of political affairs a decade ago, All of a sudden believe they are politically adept because they watch 'News' on the Cable. They cannot differentiate between political commentary and political fact... journalism and entertainment.
Ask the typical FOX or MSNBC watcher how much C-SPAN do they take in... they will tell you, they don't eat canned meat.
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
I believe it can in some ways and agree with Cosmo about the political effect.
However, I also feel it gets a bum rap. It's nice to have some "escape" shows where you don't have to really think and you just sit back and enjoy it. You know it's mindless junk and you love it for what it is. I don't think there is anything wrong with a few hours of that each week.
Now, if you can't tell it's mindless junk...well then I don't think the TV has dumbed you down, I think you were dumb to begin with. The generic "you".
If you can believe it...Actually, less and less people are watching TV these days...that's a fact.
Internet, iphones, ipads, video games, ect...
The disturbing thing is that there is less and less pysical interation between humans today.
Facebook, Twitter, Text Messaging, Online Retail...human interaction is on the decline and that is what is destroying culture on all levels.
We're detached from the very thing that once allowed us evolve.
Physical Communication.
When is the last time you learnt something that didn't come from the Internet?
We used to bounce ideas off eachother, share books, stories, music.
We never needed the Internet to converse, and actually physically communicate...Why do we depend on it so much now?
180 characters or less behind a wall, and inside a house.
1994 is viewed as the dawning of Internet Age as well as The Technological Revolution.
What's interesting and more than a little bit alarming is that the specific Vitamin D levels that our bodies used to absorb from the sun have been on a dangerous rapid and steady decline since 1994??
It need not be a mystery as to how we've now become Insufficient/deficiant in levels of an important vitamin that used to be easily attained by just going outside and getting a little bit of fresh air?
I guess it's no shocker that obesity has also rapidly increased in this perriod of time as well.
Did you know that Vitamin D actually helps the brain?
or...that obesity actually kills brain cells?
Something to think about.
hear my name
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
I believe it can in some ways and agree with Cosmo about the political effect.
However, I also feel it gets a bum rap. It's nice to have some "escape" shows where you don't have to really think and you just sit back and enjoy it. You know it's mindless junk and you love it for what it is. I don't think there is anything wrong with a few hours of that each week.
Now, if you can't tell it's mindless junk...well then I don't think the TV has dumbed you down, I think you were dumb to begin with. The generic "you".
Gimli 1993
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
We're not meant to be an indoor creature...Hense the Vitamin D levels that are on constant decline and the obesity rates which have been increasing steadily in the Internet age.
Vitamin D is an essential vitamin that helps many parts of the body including the brain.
Locking ourselves indoors...actually effects the brain...It's crazy...but it's very very true.
Vitamin D comes from the sun, not from just being outdoors in general. Folks living in the North East have low levels especially during the winter, when sun isn't abundant anyways. Not to mention that wearing sunscreen prevents the skin from absorbing it. It's an issue, but not completely due to simply being indoors all the time.
I believe it can in some ways and agree with Cosmo about the political effect.
However, I also feel it gets a bum rap. It's nice to have some "escape" shows where you don't have to really think and you just sit back and enjoy it. You know it's mindless junk and you love it for what it is. I don't think there is anything wrong with a few hours of that each week.
Now, if you can't tell it's mindless junk...well then I don't think the TV has dumbed you down, I think you were dumb to begin with. The generic "you".
...
I agree... television is okay as long as you consider its basic intention... to entertain. There is nothing wrong with even mindless entertainment from shows like 'Jackass' or 'Jersey Shore'. It is when people confuse entertainment with information or reality with imagery. To watch Jersey Shore and laugh at those douchebags is entertainment... to watch Jersey Shore and believe it is a way to gain fame and fortune... by being a douchebag in the real world is a result.
Television is only as moronic as the people who believe it. If you believe that Glenn Beck is actually conducting History Class and you should disgard the history that thousands of 'historians' have written... well, then I guess we can regard you as a 'Situation'.
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
Long answer would be that the user is the one responsible for learning. TV is a tool, and so is the internet, it is up to the user to get out of it what they want. The TV isn't responsible for how people use it. Ultimately it comes down to the person either wanting to learn and improve their life or wanting to go through life like Flounder...
Blaming TV or any programming for human failure isn't right, it is more passing of the buck. I watch television during the week, and it doesn't make me want to learn any less, in fact a lot of what I watch would be considered educational.
All that being said, some of us just want to relax and watch the Situation be a jackass.
that’s right! Can’t we all just get together and focus on our real enemies: monogamous gays and stem cells… - Ned Flanders
It is terrifying when you are too stupid to know who is dumb
- Joe Rogan
Long answer would be that the user is the one responsible for learning. TV is a tool, and so is the internet, it is up to the user to get out of it what they want. The TV isn't responsible for how people use it. Ultimately it comes down to the person either wanting to learn and improve their life or wanting to go through life like Flounder...
Blaming TV or any programming for human failure isn't right, it is more passing of the buck. I watch television during the week, and it doesn't make me want to learn any less, in fact a lot of what I watch would be considered educational.
All that being said, some of us just want to relax and watch the Situation be a jackass.
I kinda agree; we can't really blame TV (although I still hate advertisers). It's us making that choice of whether we even turn it on to begin with. Everyone's got that choice, but placing blame on why we're collectively dumber than in the past seems so much easier.
I do think there's more crap on TV than there used to be though. There's a difference between entertainment that involves a well-thought-out, creative story and entertainment that just involves watching someone make an ass out of themselves.
.....
Regarding TV teaching kids to value celebrity, I was listening to a story about a documentary called Teenage Paparazzo the other day and this part really struck me:
The film references an eye-opening study that looked at how teenagers view the celebrity world and how it affects their goals. Cited in Jake Halpern's book Fame Junkies, it "asked middle school students and high school students whether they'd rather be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, a president of a college, a Navy Seal, or an assistant to a celebrity," Grenier recalls.
The result? Forty-two percent said they'd want to be a celebrity's personal assistant.
As Halpern says, in the film's voice-over: "That was twice as much as [the percentage who wanted to be] president of Harvard or Yale, three times as much as a U.S. senator, four times as much as the CEO of a Fortune 500 company."
Those numbers say a lot about how American teens see the celebrity lifestyle, Halpern goes on to say.
"They put such a premium on fame that they're willing to give up some of the most coveted jobs in America just to be the bag-carrier to the celebrity," he says.
Grenier doesn't disagree.
"For a long time in our culture, there was an emphasis put on working hard [and] contributing to your society," he says. "Now it's not about that anymore. It's about the bling and how quickly you can get it without working."
We're not meant to be an indoor creature...Hense the Vitamin D levels that are on constant decline and the obesity rates which have been increasing steadily in the Internet age.
Vitamin D is an essential vitamin that helps many parts of the body including the brain.
Locking ourselves indoors...actually effects the brain...It's crazy...but it's very very true.
Vitamin D comes from the sun, not from just being outdoors in general. Folks living in the North East have low levels especially during the winter, when sun isn't abundant anyways. Not to mention that wearing sunscreen prevents the skin from absorbing it. It's an issue, but not completely due to simply being indoors all the time.
We now return to our regular program.
White people only need about 5 to 10 minutes of sun a day on their arms and face for the body to max out on the amount of vitamin D it can produce.
African Americans generally have the vitamin D deficiancy.
Now, if you can't tell it's mindless junk...well then I don't think the TV has dumbed you down, I think you were dumb to begin with. The generic "you".
Vitamin D comes from the sun, not from just being outdoors in general.
Wow...I really must get one of those indoor suns!!!
Vitamin D comes in many forms...I was talking about the form of Vitamin D that humans get specifically from sun exposure.
Vitamin D helps the skin...that is widely known; but the form of Vitamin D that we recieve from sun exposure is now found to have a dramatic effect on the brain as well.
Vitamin D is actually a hormone...It's seen as a vitamin because it is not something that the human body actually produces. We must gain vitamin D from another source...Thankfully we have the sun which provides this for us.
Vitamin D is directly releated to brain development at all stages of life as it promotes the growth of brain cells and aids in neuroplasticity
Neuroplasticity is particulary important because that is what enables the brain to process information and LEARN!!
While it is true that African Americans are at the highest risk of vitamin D deficiancy,
From 1994 to present day vitamin D defciancy has been rapidly increasing in people of all skin colors.
More troubling is the fact that vitamin D deficiancy has grown rapidly in the 12-24yr age group as well as the 25-38yr age group.
This increase is largely the result of our society's decline in sun exposure.
While it's true that humans only requrire limited sun exposure...as you said...5 to 10 minutes..
Think about how much exposure you've gotten today.
Office Jobs have increased as have the amount of hours spent at work.
We're waking up and going to work before the sun rises, and we come home when the sun sets.
When we're not at work...we're on the internet, or on the couch watching TV.
We're robbing the body of a hormone/vitamin that is essential to our bodies and more specifically
Our Brains!!
You're right, but remember that skin cancer is quite widespread, which is why so many cover up in sun block or stay out of the sun altogether. Sunblock prevents Vitamin D absorption. It explains why so many of us are deficient. But staying indoors, office work, not being active, etc like you said are all reasons also. I have to take 2,000 units of Vit D in a pill, which is supposed to help, but I have to get my blood tested to see if it's absorbing the supplement, as supplements are more difficult to absorb by the body. (I don't get enough sun because I'm wheel chair bound and not able to get out every day).
You're right, but remember that skin cancer is quite widespread, which is why so many cover up in sun block or stay out of the sun altogether. Sunblock prevents Vitamin D absorption. It explains why so many of us are deficient. But staying indoors, office work, not being active, etc like you said are all reasons also. I have to take 2,000 units of Vit D in a pill, which is supposed to help, but I have to get my blood tested to see if it's absorbing the supplement, as supplements are more difficult to absorb by the body. (I don't get enough sun because I'm wheel chair bound and not able to get out every day).
You make a very good point Jeanwah.
Vitamin D also helps the body fight off skin cancer, yet the sun which is our biggest source of Vitamin D, also puts us at risk of developing skin cancer if we get too much exposure .
as for the rest of it, it's chicken/egg. Which came first, stupid audience or stupid TV?
You just blew my mind.
The TV execs and the advertising companies must be on to something. Who would have ever thought that the most advanced animals on the planet would be obsessed with a show where "celebrities" dance?
Comments
Detachment and Isolation can only lead to Ignorance.
These days we're so locked in our individual shells and surrounded by all this "ME" that It's hard to obtain any kind of social awareness or sense of community when you're constantly locking yourself away from your community and not interacting with it out in the open air.
It's amazing how little time we spend outside these days. If you don't believe me...count how many times you were actually "outdoors" today...it's pretty alarming.
There are so many things keeping us indoors...toys, video games, TV, Internet...Even our jobs.
We're not meant to be an indoor creature...Hense the Vitamin D levels that are on constant decline and the obesity rates which have been increasing steadily in the Internet age.
Vitamin D is an essential vitamin that helps many parts of the body including the brain.
Locking ourselves indoors...actually effects the brain...It's crazy...but it's very very true.
And Obesity effects the brain too!!! It's now known to have drastic effects on our brain cells as well as the brains neurons and placisity. Obesity effects the way we think...or don't think.
I guess we need to disconnect from these things a little bit
And "Step outside on your Porch"
Words to live by.
I believe that television has certainly had an effect on the dumbing down of politics in America. People that had little or no knowledge of political affairs a decade ago, All of a sudden believe they are politically adept because they watch 'News' on the Cable. They cannot differentiate between political commentary and political fact... journalism and entertainment.
Ask the typical FOX or MSNBC watcher how much C-SPAN do they take in... they will tell you, they don't eat canned meat.
Hail, Hail!!!
However, I also feel it gets a bum rap. It's nice to have some "escape" shows where you don't have to really think and you just sit back and enjoy it. You know it's mindless junk and you love it for what it is. I don't think there is anything wrong with a few hours of that each week.
Now, if you can't tell it's mindless junk...well then I don't think the TV has dumbed you down, I think you were dumb to begin with. The generic "you".
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
:wave:
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
We now return to our regular program.
This.
I actually think this is one of the biggest problems of our country today.
I agree... television is okay as long as you consider its basic intention... to entertain. There is nothing wrong with even mindless entertainment from shows like 'Jackass' or 'Jersey Shore'. It is when people confuse entertainment with information or reality with imagery. To watch Jersey Shore and laugh at those douchebags is entertainment... to watch Jersey Shore and believe it is a way to gain fame and fortune... by being a douchebag in the real world is a result.
Television is only as moronic as the people who believe it. If you believe that Glenn Beck is actually conducting History Class and you should disgard the history that thousands of 'historians' have written... well, then I guess we can regard you as a 'Situation'.
Hail, Hail!!!
Long answer would be that the user is the one responsible for learning. TV is a tool, and so is the internet, it is up to the user to get out of it what they want. The TV isn't responsible for how people use it. Ultimately it comes down to the person either wanting to learn and improve their life or wanting to go through life like Flounder...
Blaming TV or any programming for human failure isn't right, it is more passing of the buck. I watch television during the week, and it doesn't make me want to learn any less, in fact a lot of what I watch would be considered educational.
All that being said, some of us just want to relax and watch the Situation be a jackass.
It is terrifying when you are too stupid to know who is dumb
- Joe Rogan
I kinda agree; we can't really blame TV (although I still hate advertisers). It's us making that choice of whether we even turn it on to begin with. Everyone's got that choice, but placing blame on why we're collectively dumber than in the past seems so much easier.
.....
Regarding TV teaching kids to value celebrity, I was listening to a story about a documentary called Teenage Paparazzo the other day and this part really struck me:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... =130104565
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
White people only need about 5 to 10 minutes of sun a day on their arms and face for the body to max out on the amount of vitamin D it can produce.
African Americans generally have the vitamin D deficiancy.
I love it!!!
Wow...I really must get one of those indoor suns!!!
Vitamin D comes in many forms...I was talking about the form of Vitamin D that humans get specifically from sun exposure.
Vitamin D helps the skin...that is widely known; but the form of Vitamin D that we recieve from sun exposure is now found to have a dramatic effect on the brain as well.
Vitamin D is actually a hormone...It's seen as a vitamin because it is not something that the human body actually produces. We must gain vitamin D from another source...Thankfully we have the sun which provides this for us.
Vitamin D is directly releated to brain development at all stages of life as it promotes the growth of brain cells and aids in neuroplasticity
Neuroplasticity is particulary important because that is what enables the brain to process information and LEARN!!
While it is true that African Americans are at the highest risk of vitamin D deficiancy,
From 1994 to present day vitamin D defciancy has been rapidly increasing in people of all skin colors.
More troubling is the fact that vitamin D deficiancy has grown rapidly in the 12-24yr age group as well as the 25-38yr age group.
This increase is largely the result of our society's decline in sun exposure.
While it's true that humans only requrire limited sun exposure...as you said...5 to 10 minutes..
Think about how much exposure you've gotten today.
Office Jobs have increased as have the amount of hours spent at work.
We're waking up and going to work before the sun rises, and we come home when the sun sets.
When we're not at work...we're on the internet, or on the couch watching TV.
We're robbing the body of a hormone/vitamin that is essential to our bodies and more specifically
Our Brains!!
You make a very good point Jeanwah.
Vitamin D also helps the body fight off skin cancer, yet the sun which is our biggest source of Vitamin D, also puts us at risk of developing skin cancer if we get too much exposure .
Very fustrating
as for the rest of it, it's chicken/egg. Which came first, stupid audience or stupid TV?
Wash me in the blood of Rock & Roll
You just blew my mind.
The TV execs and the advertising companies must be on to something. Who would have ever thought that the most advanced animals on the planet would be obsessed with a show where "celebrities" dance?
ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!!!!
It all comes down to changing your head~~John Lennon
MSG 6-24-08/MSG 5-21-10/Philly MIA 9-2-12/Chicago Wrigley Field 7-19-13/Brooklyn NY 1&2 10-2013/Philly 1&2 10-2013