[an error occurred while processing this directive] There are a few different reasons that I think television is fundamentally evil. The first has to do with children and creativity. The second is somewhat more sinister, all about the control of our experiences and world view. The third is the worst of all, the dehumanization of the outside world and the loss of our compassion.

TV Rots Kids' Brains

If you look at a kid who's watching TV, you'll see a vacant face and totally inert body. There's nothing moving but the eyes and even those hardly blink. Now, consider for a moment the purpose of childhood. It's the time when we explore what this "me" concept is all about and how "me" interacts with the rest of the world. What happens when I tease the cat, fight for a toy, eat clover, hug a friend, throw spiders at Mom, call someone names, give someone a present, play by my rules, etc... And sure, kids will find the time to do most of that, but every day spent zoning out in front of the TV is another day in which that kid didn't find out how to cook scrambled eggs, or persuade friends, or do bike tricks.

And educational TV? While it's better than the generic drek out there, it's no substitute for real life. I've met kids who know everything about lions in Africa but couldn't tell you anything about the raccoon in their back yard. Admittedly, lions have way more style points than do raccoons, but so what? That's no excuse for ignoring the real world around you for a glamorous passive world on the screen.

OK, what about the get-a-head-start-on-school programs (Sesame Street etc.)? I have a little anecdote about that. A friend of mine's parents bought a color TV when he was a young lad so that he would be able to learn color names from educational programs. His parents wanted to be sure that he knew what "red" and "blue" were. Um, 'scuse me? Time out? They bought a color television so their child could learn what red meant. This is absurd. Last time I checked, one of the tasks of a parent was to teach really basic knowledge (the stove is hot, the flower is blue, the cat is soft). While Sesame Street et al can teach young children some things early on, they should not be used as a substitute for human contact and human interaction.

TV Turns US into Clones

Everyone's personality and opinions are influenced by their experiences. (Some argue that we're nothing but the sum of our experiences, but I'm just going to sidestep the whole nature vs. nurture discussion.) There is an entire population of TV viewers who get a huge portion of their daily experience from the tube. They are limited to a finite number of programs and vast number of them pick identical programs week after week. A steady diet of Seinfeld, Star Trek and Wheel of Fortune will make its impression on your mind. You internalize certain messages about New York, utopian future, and money. Watch enough programs for long enough and all of your opinions come to resemble the opinions of millions of other devout TV watchers. Originality? Conflicting points of view? Not if the basis of your worldview is the same as everyone else's. The networks decide what is appropriate to show their audience. And they don't decide "appropriate" by what will stimulate creative thought. They decide by what will bring in the most viewers and hence the most $$$.

And the more we watch "mass appeal" programming, the more we come to view the world through the filter of those spoon-fed values. And the more our worldview shifts, the more we appreciate those shows, so the more we watch them, so the more our worldview shifts, so the more we watch them, so... We end up very much like our neighbor who watches the same programming. No one has conflicting values, much less original ones.

Having said all that, I have a couple comments. What I described is just a trend. Clearly, no two people's life experiences are going to be so identical that they'll have the same opinions on everything. Clearly, too, TV isn't going to be 100% of anyone's life experience. However, the tendency is there and the people around us are that much less interesting as a result.

TV Makes Us Numb

Remember the Gulf War? Remember the coverage of the gulf war? The only thing missing was the cheerleaders in red, white and blue. Our troops weren't really fighting a war, they were star players on our favorite team. No one bothered to villianize the enemy. We just pretended that they didn't really exist.

And what do you think of the latest disaster? The latest bloody murder? The latest bombing? The media in general (not just TV) takes advantage of our morbid fascination with terrible events and bombards us with story after story, horror after horror, picture after shocking picture. We respond like anyone in a traumatic environment by shutting down our emotional responses. When was the last time you felt deep compassion for a victim on the news? For most of us, the news is just another form of entertainment.

We weren't designed to be shocked by tragedy every single day. We can't help but get a little numb, distance ourselves from it all. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? We all have a mild case that will only grow and grow as time goes on. [an error occurred while processing this directive]