[Erika]

It's a rather long post, but the body isn't up for much else today...and I don't watch TV; so if you have the time and/or interest, maybe grab a cuppa...

I didn't grow up on TV watching and remember being embarrassed when I failed a quiz in grade school, because I couldn't name the characters in the Brady Bunch. I didn't even know what that was because while the majority of my peers watched after-school TV, my parents had me studying, playing sports and practicing my music lessons. Thank you, mom and dad...although admittedly I was not so grateful back then.

From grade 8 through high school (1970's), TV played a larger part of my life, but even then, time in front of the box was quite limited to news programs and family-type shows that were shared with my family; although my DM preferred to read and almost never watched TV.
By early adulthood I seldom watched TV at all; as few programs held my interest as much as just reading or doing activity-oriented things did.

A few years ago when TVs went digital the old TV that had sat relatively unused for years went to recycling and was never replaced. This decision was reinforced by what I found out about television's influence on the brain several years earlier; some of which is included below.

I don't know if these influences affect things like MS, but I just don't like the thought of unwillingly being hypnotized away from my own thoughts. Not that my perceptions and thoughts are earth shattering or anything...but I cherish them not for their value, but for what they represent; independence. Thus even if or when MS steals some more of that away, I will hopefully maintain enough cognitive power to think for myself.

Here's some of the research on TV's effects:

Watching TV changes brainwaves from Beta to Alpha and it also causes the brain to emit excess endorphins and opiates. This combination effectively induces the hypnotic state as well as sedation in a matter of seconds; which in turn allows content viewed to enter the mind without the obstacle of critically thinking, analysis or choice.
Advertisers and program designers have known this since 1969 following the Hubert experiments; and these effects are surely exploited when they present products, opinions, ideologies and politics etc.

On a practical level these effects at least partially explain why it is so difficult to communicate with someone who is watching TV.
The hypnosis is caused by the frequency of light emitted by the TV itself and thus, content has no bearing on this effect. In addition, a TV viewer often displays the physical symptoms of catatonia as well, (decreases in sensory perception, breathing, blinking, swallowing and motion); and these are due to the endorphin/opiate effect.
We only need recall trying to call a person who is engrossed in TV watching to the dinner table.

An observational experiment on the effects of TV
http://world.std.com/~jlr/comment/tv_impact.htm

TV: A weapon of mass distraction?
http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/5jcl/5JCL59.htm

Additional research has revealed that children under the age of 4 who have excessively been exposed to TV, specifically the Baby-Einstein type videos have a higher risk of developing ADHD, anxiety as well as learning and behavioral problems. This is apparently due to TV's influence on the early mapping of the child's brain function to be limited to less than 15 seconds of attention span, coupled with less development in the cognitive portion of the brain which governs critical thinking, reading and comprehension.

Studies have also revealed that adults who regularly watch emotionally stimulating TV have a higher incidence of anxiety and emotional-mental problems and this is apparently due to subconscious physical suppression of the fight/flight response during the watching of such programs. Once the TV influence is removed however, within moments the suppression is also removed and what was suppressed during the TV watching, then has a greater tendency to be released in actions.
Consider the attitude and demeanor of someone who has just completed watching a suspenseful TV program as opposed to someone who has just completed watching a less emotionally stimulating program.
Which would you rather have be the driver of a car that you were a passenger in?

More current experimentation is being conducted in the field of neuroscience to determine whether or not computer monitors and e-readers have the same or similar effects. So far there is some evidence that the effects may be similar but not as pronounced as what has been found with TV.

With love, Erika

[Kitty]

Thank you for that beautiful perspective. I have to agree with you. I hardly watch network TV anymore and what I do watch is either in the INSP channel, TBN, or CBN. I realize not everyone will want to watch these stations but they're exactly right for me and I've discovered I don't miss the network shows at all. I'm much more relaxed and less anxious than I was before, too. Sometimes Animal Planet or National Geographic has interesting shows and I'll watch those. Oh, and I cannot forget Andy Griffith and The Waltons. I do enjoy some shows and don't think I'll ever give up TV entirely but I've really limited what I do watch and it's making a difference.

[Dejibo]

I hardly watch TV, but I too grew up without it. I wouldnt have known the Brady bunch or the partrige family if they bit me. Everyone would talk about my 3 sons or whatever and I would just smile and nod. I had chores. I had cows to milk, goats to milk, pens to clean, horses to groom and so on. no time for TV at my house.

I do see my DH will sit and zone out. I used to do the same when I came home from work. it was a wonderful way to release the stress of a high stress job. Someone would say "whatcha watching?" I would have no idea, it was just a form of meditation or hyponitizm for me.

nice article.

[Jomar]

I will watch the afternoon TV court shows sometimes , but not many of the prime time shows interest me anymore.
PBS or the retro TV channel is what we usually catch in the evening.

[SallyC]

My TV is on 24/7. I don't watch it that much because I'm too busy stimulating my mind on the computer.. I have it on for noise. I keep it low mostly and put it on mute through most of the obnotous commercials.

My Father worked for RCA Victor, so we had our first TV when I was 5 (early 1940s) and haven't been without one since. I was an adult by the time they started all that hypno stuff, so it's all just obnoctous to me..blaugh!!!

DD and DSSons were effected though, I'm sure. I really wish they would be stopped, for the sake of our kids.